The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 changed the game on how most businesses conducted their daily activities. Remote working is happening. But can employees remain productive while working away from their offices?
Now that’s the big question. Many of us go to work so we can avoid all the distractions at home, now some of us has been forced to work away from the offices. Even when working remotely saves us a lot time and money (check here on our article about remote working), it will also bring back the challenges on how can we remain productive while working outside office environment.
HubbedIn Singapore will provide you with some useful tips on how to maintain your productivity.
Get a good start, get up early
Just because you no longer have to travel to the office, doesn’t mean you have to prolong your slumber time. When you go to the office from home, your body is adjusting the transition between your sleeping period and your active hours. It has started even from when you are preparing to leave your home. Delaying your wake-up time will only shorten this transition period, and will make some of you feeling anxious and uncomfortable when working hours has started. So, get up early and let your body adjusting as usual, before you go into working mode for the rest of the day.
Role play, pretend like you are actually going into the office
After you wake up, just go about your usual morning routine. It’s always better to shower first, dress up, and have a proper breakfast. You know, business as usual. Even though some people will find it wasting time for remote working, others will find them beneficial because, again, it helps your mind and body prepare for the working hours and later stay focused, as if you’re in your actual office.
Choose a working station
You still need an “office” to work. Be it a special working station in one peaceful spot in your house, or a comfortable working space (or a coffee shop) outside; it has to be able to support your remote work throughout the day. You can adjust the “office” to your liking; it can be very quiet so you can focus, or you can play your favourite music without affecting other people. The point is, you still need a working spot.
Schedule your (remote working) day
Just like your usual early working hours, plan out what you’ll be working on. Structure it, like you would in the office. What are you going to do in the morning? Meetings? Deep thinking? Coffee breaks? Use Google Calendar to track your schedule. You are your own manager, planning your working activities like these may also prevent you from getting burnouts.
Know thyself
It’s better if you know when is your most productive time during the day, you need to save your heavy-duty tasks for when you are at your highest time of focus. Then keep the easier tasks for when you know you are going to be slowing down. You know yourself better than anybody else, and it’s best because at this stage you’re also in charge your own schedule.
Social media curfew
Try not to be too much active on your social media during your remote working hours. You can remove them from your web browser and log out completely. You can also try to work using private/incognito web browsers, ensuring a fresh start every time you open a new tab— so you won’t be tempted to login and check your social media accounts. At least, by eliminating the access to social media, it will reduce your time screen, and definitely will keep your remote work productivity on track.
Pomodoro timer
Since you will have the independence of scheduling your remote working day, why don’t you go apply the Pomodoro method to maintain productivity and your focus throughout the day? Set intervals, take a 5-10 minutes break after every 25 minutes of working; and take a 20-minutes break after several 25 minutes of working. You can get a cheap kitchen timer to do this, or better, use your phone built-in alarm apps.
Those are several tips that HubbedIn Singapore has, to maintain your productivity when you’re remote working. Try out some of them and you might realize that you can be as productive working remotely as you are in the office. Good luck!
Remote working is going to be around and probably staying permanently for many businesses. If you’re interested to be working in such conditions, many job portals are also creating a whole new category for remote jobs, so you will find it easier to filter out which opportunities supporting remote work.
Go here to check what kind of remote works available for you.
