Professional Tips for Working from Home

The digital era has brought the workplace to your home, providing a better work-life balance. Not leaving the comfort of home may sound great; however, managing household and work at the same time would be a bit tricky.

How can you create a balance between work schedules and family responsibilities?

The solution is quite simple. The following are the tips to maintain the perfect balance:

1. You need to schedule your work hours and make arrangements at home so that you don't get interrupted during work hours for household work.
2. The family members at home may expect your attention during your work hours. You can make all possible alternative arrangements, such as appointing part-time caretakers and assistants, to help with household works.
3. Talk to your family members and make them understand why you need to be dedicated during your work hours.

Once you have allocated proper timing depending upon your work nature, you can start creating an ambiance for work.

Professional Tips for Working From Home

Creating an Ambiance

Yes, I mean an ambiance, not just a desk and other supporting gadgets.

As a working professional, you know what you need to work from home. Following is a general list of requirements to build your workplace at home:

1. a laptop/desktop/mac as per your job requirement,
2. a fast and reliable internet connection,
3. an uninterrupted power supply and necessary power back-up system,
4. an external hard disk drive as required,
5. your mobile phone, landline connection, headphone and camera for making voice and video calls,
6. the other gadgets that are necessary for your job,
7. a comfortable desk and chair, and
8. a peaceful place or a room as per the availability and requirement.

Working Remotely

Remote work or work from home requires a lot more attention and communication. 

You need to pay more attention to understand the requirements precisely, follow the procedure, process the files, double-check your work, and deliver the output.

Below are the tips that will help you to maintain outstanding performance:

1. make sure to receive updated KRA (key responsibility area) from your office,
2. be clear about your tasks; and ensure that you and your colleagues are on the same page,
3. document all the procedures and processes for future reference,
4. keep track of your work, and maintain a worksheet,
5. update the status reports every day,
6. maintain an on-time and right communication at the right time, and
7. analyze every feedback and send an appropriate response.

A well-organized system of work helps you to be successful as a work from home employee.

Planning Ahead

Being prepared for surprises and shocks is essential when you opt to work from home. 

1. Your psychology may surprise you in the first place. Managing your work in complete isolation would be challenging during the initial phase. The following are a few tips to handle the stress: planning your work at the beginning of the day, not skipping the breaks, not messing personal and professional work, maintaining regular working hours, and leading a well-balanced life.
2. Your family may surprise you by demanding your attention. As already explained in this blog, talk to your family and convince them. Always check if the caretaker is punctual and really caring.
3. Your colleagues would surprise you, at times, when the communication is not clear. So, document all your communications and maintain them appropriately for your quick reference, keep track of all your work and deliveries, and plan your holidays and other leaves well ahead (sick leaves are exceptional).
4. Your electronic devices may give you a shock at an unexpected time. To avoid such unpleasant surprises, get your electronic devices serviced regularly, have the service centers' contact numbers on your desk, learn to fix mirror issues by yourself, purchase a reliable anti-virus package, and make alternate plans to handle an emergency.

Working From Home as a Freelancer

Freelancers bid on projects basis the schedule, cost, and their skillset. The complete details of freelance work associated with Google are explained in the article 'Google online work-from-home jobs'.

Remote proofreading is a well-known freelance work. You can find the complete guidelines for proofreading jobs in the article 'A quick guide for remote proofreading jobs'.

Conclusion

Working from home is not a big deal when you have your plans ready, and you are following the strategy without fail. 

Be it work from home or work at the office, maintaining good physical health, understanding human psychology, being prompt in communication and addressing issues, and paying attention to small details will help you to be successful.

In case I have missed any point, please mentioned that in the comments section so that everyone reading this blog will be helped.