4 Tips for Successfully Working Remotely During This New Age

Things sure changed quickly for many of us in just a matter of weeks due to CoronaVirus Covid-19! All of us at Stickerbeat can relate to how different things have suddenly become for many of our customers and friends. Many of us have unexpectedly been thrust into the position of working remotely, and we wanted to offer our customers some tips on how to continue to be productive at work despite not being physically at your office or usual place of business. Together we can successfully get through this tough time together!

4 Tips for Successfully Working from Home/Remotely During This New Age

Lots of on-site employees often dream of working from home on a daily basis. The Novel Coronavirus now has many companies pushing workers to stay home to work, so many of us are getting our first taste of what it’s like to be a remote employee.

The challenges of working from home are many, particularly when you are accustomed to direct contact with your manager, peers or the business owner on a daily basis. Now is the time to master a new way to work remotely with success in these tough times.

Don’t be daunted by not being able to walk into your manager’s office to ask a direct question. Pick up the phone, send an email or use available online tools to have meetings and share work. Many businesses and managers are using simple online tools to keep in contact with their peers and manage their teams remotely so productivity continues. Some great internet tools are:

• Slack: provides communication for projects, direct communication with employees and customers
• Asana: a terrific project management tool that helps teams stay on task and know the status of projects.
• Zoom / Join Me / Google Hangouts: enable easy ways to create virtual meetings where employees can literally see each other to discuss work.
• Google Drive: Allows teams to create and share documents such as spreadsheets, reports, photos and anything else you want.

Many of us don’t yet know how long we may be working from home due to Coronavirus, but you can be highly industrious when working remotely. In fact, many individuals who work remotely feel that they accomplish much more because typical office distractions are removed.

Working from home for the first time can seem daunting at first, but truly all you need to do is FOCUS. Find a quiet place to work so that all disruptions can be removed, and get comfortable. You can do this!

Here are some great tips to make sure you are successful working from home and add continued value in your job:

1. Get out of Pajamas

Keep your morning routine the same as when you were working on-site. Set your alarm, take a shower and get dressed. You don’t need to put on a tie or anything fancy, but try to avoid staying in pajamas all day. Just dress comfortably and casual so everything still feels professional. If your boss asks you to join a video meeting, you want to look like you are continuing to take your job seriously. Say “no” to messy hair and PJ’s!

2. Separate Home from Office

Not all of us have the luxury of a separate office space in their home. If you are lucky enough to have a specific room in your house you can retreat to in order to get work done, that’s terrific. Carve out a quiet space where you can sit and work without distractions--even if it’s a small desk in a corner of your bedroom, your dining room or a hallway nook. Make sure all the tools you need to work are readily available to you.

Just as you would do at work, be sure to keep a distinct work schedule. Just because your office is now in your home, doesn’t mean that you alter your work hours from the norm. Stick to a schedule so your peers and manager know that you are available when they are. And just because your workplace is now located at home, it does not mean that you should slave away endless hours either. Clock in and out at your normal work hours, and then walk away from your desk until the next day. It’s time to relax.

3. Minimize Distractions

Resist the urge to turn on the TV, organize your kitchen cabinets or clean the house when you are working remotely. If you normally listen to music while you are working, don’t hesitate to put on some tunes in the background. There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking a normal break during your day.

You can certainly listen to the news to keep informed about COVID-19, but don’t obsess or stress out about it while you are working. Concentrate on the tasks you have to do to complete the day’s work. Working remotely successfully is all about staying clearly focused. Keep checklists that you can continually refer to so you can stay on track and make sure everything gets done by the correct deadline.

4. Stay Connected: Talk with your Peers

You don’t need to isolate yourself just because you are working from home. If you are used to taking a break and hanging out with coworkers at the copy machine a few minutes a day, by all means, pick up the phone and reach out to your peers during breaks. Set up a quick video chat and say hello to the people you normally chat with at work so you still feel connected to them and their activities. Checking up on one another and making sure everyone is okay is a great way to keep the comradery going even in these tough times.