Tips and tricks for the better work-from-home routine
By: Exactly
Tags: Exactlycom, Payment Processing, Tips And Tricks, Home Office

We posted the first part of this article almost a week ago. Taking into account the current situation, even more businesses have transferred their employees to the home office since then. It is great if the employer provides a laptop or a desk computer and even some pieces of furniture so you can arrange a proper working spot at home for more productive performance. And even if you have not received such support from the company you work for, there are ways to stay on track.

In part one of this article, we told the reader about how and where to set the perfect working space at home, how to plan morning for your day to be successful, and what to do to keep your body fit with no stress because of the home office routine. We are now ready to share the rest of the tips and tricks on arranging your new reality, your new office, and your lockdown mode.

19. Create a reward system for yourself

The Reward system works pretty well. This is why many job positions are based on bonuses for performance results. Develop a similar approach for yourself. Create a plan for a day with the milestones to achieve. Do something good for yourself when completing a part of the way to another checkpoint. For instance, after finishing task A, take a short break, go outside and grab that Starbucks coffee you love so much. For finishing task B, order that nice T-shirt you wanted to order so badly. Do motivate yourself. And not only with the purchases. After completing task C, stand up, turn your favourite music on and dance a little. But why not? You should keep a positive mood.

20. Use productivity apps

A lot of people tend to procrastinate and put off important tasks. If the reward system itself explained in the previous tip doesn’t really work for you, try to add the productivity app. Set tasks for yourself and let the app log how much time you have spent for each of them, remind you not to get distracted while working, inform you when you are working on the same task for too long. Try it if you haven’t yet. It might help you out.

21. Stay off social media

Do not waste time on social media much. The Internet does steal a lot of your time, and it is wasted for nothing. If you open Tik Tok during one of the breaks, do not forget to get back to work after. Better don’t even start chatting with friends or watching those videos. This process is nearly infinite and brings no result.

There is such a cool thing in modern smartphones that can control how much time you spend on social media during the day. After analysing their own statistics, some people wish to set the limits for certain applications. If you have ever caught yourself surfing social media for more than 15 minutes in a row, think about it. Remember, time is one of the most valuable assets of our lives. And there are no refunds for it.

22. Listen to music

There are different types of people — someone loves musical background while working or doing something and someone adores working in quiet. So, try that opposite variation to yours, just for contrast, just for a change. Maybe you will find it useful to boost your productivity.

23. Step outside or at least go to a balcony

Have a sip of fresh air on the balcony or if you don’t have one, then open a window more often to ventilate. When there is more air in the room, the thinking process goes much faster and better. Also, the doctors advise you to aerate as much as you can for virus prevention.

24. Use video chat

Indeed, you have colleagues. Most probably, you need to interact with them for work or even for some not job-related questions. There are plenty of different communication channels to be used to get in touch. It is recommended to use those with the video call option. By seeing each other during the meetings, you keep the sense of real communication and it spares you from feeling lonely.

25. Spend your lunch break productively for yourself

Lunch breaks during the lockdown could become more productive than you have thought — now you can use it for a short workout and a meal prepared in advance. Or, if you didn’t manage to cook it before, you can use this long break to make healthy food for yourself and your family.

Even when working in the office, lunch is considered your personal time. So, leverage it to take care of yourself — go to see a doctor if there is a need, arrange an appointment with the hairdresser or the online session with your psychotherapist. This is your time, spend it as you want. Still, make certain you don’t overuse it.

26. Try not talking to family and friends while working

It is hard, especially if you have children of younger age. But it is one of the most valuable tips of all. Try to explain to your family and friends that during the working hours you are unavailable. It might help you not to get distracted.

27. Create a vision board

While looking for inspiration for this article, we have found a creative tip to motivate yourself while working from home. Many bloggers recommend creating a so-called “vision board” of your dreams and goals. It might be a personal or work-related target summary drawn up by using images, motivational quotes, sketches, etc. Put it somewhere to be seen from time to time, so it keeps you in a better mood. Having determined goals is the most motivating fact.

28. Check-in with co-workers frequently

The more communication and updates you provide to your co-workers, the better. If the 5-minute questions were not considered as meetings in ordinary life and seemed not meaningful at all, then the time of 5-minute video calls has come.

If you are a manager, schedule a daily 15-minute stand-up for your team. It will help you stay informed about their planned task execution, know what their mood is and how all this home office thing is perceived by them.

If you are not a manager yet, do not be afraid to text or call your colleagues in case of questions. The discussions will help you to understand any matter you have questions about and will let you stay “connected” with the team you work in.

29. Declare your WFH availability

Many of us work for international companies, having offices all over the world. For more understandable and productive cooperation with foreign colleagues, set your availability in shared calendars or the internal systems you are using for the communication. Most of the people do check your calendar before calling, texting or scheduling a meeting.

30. Synch your schedule with your manager

Share your calendar and plans with your manager, so even the most disquieting type of person is sure that you are doing much enough even from home. Also, sharing of your daily, weekly and monthly “to-dos” will prevent the misunderstandings or execution of the unnecessary tasks.

31. Be positive

It is extremely hard to stay positive in a world where people are dying in such amounts every day and every news portal finds it important to tell you about it. But if there is a constant fear haunting you, it is impossible to stay sane for long. So the advice is to relax, solve the problems upon receipt, and choose a positive mood every morning.

32. Communicate with your team not only about work

Each of our colleagues is a unique personality with a different type of character and complex of habits. But what is it that makes us a team? Certainly, our professional knowledge and specialisations which are our hard skills. Yet also the soft skills do play a significant role here and the main of them to be mentioned are the ability to communicate and coexist together with interest for the people from your team.

To stay more productive, try to understand how your colleagues are doing. The idea that you are not alone in this lockdown and home office situation could help to stay calmer. So, keep communicating with other team members! Arrange not only work-related meetings and chats. Maybe even agree on a Zoom party with your colleagues to exchange news, talk about movies and hobbies, tell something new about your kids, about upcoming holidays, and feel free to discuss many other subjects!

33. Invest in a good pair of headphones

Ah, yes. There was a tip to invest in technology, but this one is to be highlighted separately. As the home office is quiet and calm not for everyone, buying a good pair of headphones is a good investment. Find those with excellent sound and strong noise reduction, so you are able to concentrate on work better.

34. Do not forget about the security risks

Many employers provide laptops, iPads, and phones to their employees. These devices are meant to be used for work. Even if you have taken them home, nothing has changed. So do not forget about all the security risks you might face. Remember to access all internal systems of your company in the most secure way. For example, you better do not use free wi-fi or your neighbours’ network for work. Also, do not download anything from the Internet to your work computer, except it is from a trusted source and is paid.

The fact you are at home doesn’t mean that your computer is not interesting for hackers. So, be aware.

35. Use professional communication tools

For the best online communication and safe file sharing experience, use professional tools. Avoid using WhatsApp, Facebook, WeChat, and other channels you are using for a personal touch. Firstly, it is not good to mix personal and work communication. Secondly, there are more advanced communication tools to be used for work.

These are 35 tips and tricks for home office organisation summarised and explained the way we see it. In fact, the home office appears to be a special kind of art if it is set and arranged correctly. Some people say they are even more productive while working from home, not only in terms of work but also in household questions. One saves a lot of time by not spending up to 3 hours to get to the office daily! Can you imagine how much you can do instead of sitting on the bus and waiting for your stop? Exactly®! Tons of useful things. So use the opportunity of such a situation we are all in now.

Stay safe, stay healthy, and follow our tips to stay on track!