Many people consider work from home a perfect opportunity to get more sleep, work in pyjamas, and have a flexible schedule. At first glance, it does sound like living the dream, but once you take a closer look, you will notice a lot of disadvantages of working from home.

Answering your emails while watching TV or having a Zoom meeting while sitting with kids can bring poor outcomes.

Even though you don’t have the boss breathing down your neck, it does not mean you should be less professional. It’s essential to stay on the right track, even when working from home. Below, we pointed out some tips that can help you with that.

Plan Your Day

When it comes to working from home, the most important thing is planning all the things ahead and sticking to your schedule. From now, you’re mostly responsible for your functioning routine, and going according to the timetable will help you stay focused and motivated. If there is something you have to do, which is not connected to your job (courier delivery, kid’s doctor appointment), add it to your plan so that nothing will surprise you later. A good organization can help you improve your work performance while working remotely.

Use Helpful Software

There are many applications that can help you stay productive, improve your communication with the team, save precious time, and generally become more organized while working remotely. Depending on the job specification, you can choose from various software available on the market.

  • Not everything can be done online, when you need the paper transactions or legal signatures to be done you might have reach out to the good old fax machine. However, there are ways around, if you need to send faxes quickly, https://www.faxburner.com/can help you with that. Instead of a long-lasting process, you can simply request a fax number, and then you can operate it via email – compose, sign, send, receive.
  • If you want to manage various projects, track the progress, communicate with colleagues, and discuss important issues, you should, for example, get familiar with Asana. This software was created to support work organization, prioritize tasks, and keep control over deadlines.
  • When working remotely, you need an excellent communication tool to stay in touch with your team;a tool for video conferences may be very useful in this case: https://zoom.us/application, for instance, might meet your expectations. It gives you the possibility to run video meetings, webinars, and conferences, which will undoubtedly improve the quality and speed of communication in the company.

Track Your Time

To stay professional, no matter where you are, you need to be able to track your time accurately. Giving your boss clear information about starting and finishing your working hours is essential. You also should be able to follow particular tasks and see how time-consuming they are.

It’s necessary to have the real-time information about the project tempo in order to estimate the end of the project. Find the right tool to show your boss how much time you spend on particular things. Maybe you will be able to automate or delegate some tasks after creating your first time report. Often it is just right to do something that is required than being bogged down by tools. Send an email to your boss every Friday morning reporting on all tasks you worked on during the week and what you plan to next week. Diligence is always regarded.

Create a Proper Office Space

When working from home, the atmosphere highly contributes to the work results.

Holly Reisem Hanna, the founder of The Work at Home Woman, says: “Individuals need to learn the best work at home practices, like setting office hours, having a dedicated office space, avoiding home-bound distractions, and actually dressing as if you were going to an office…This will help keep your mindset sharp and focused.”

Instead of working from your bed, prepare a desk and comfy chair with a proper amount of light. Wake up early enough to get dressed and drink your morning coffee, turn off all the appliances that may disturb you, and focus on your daily tasks, exactly like you would do in the real office.

Take Breaks

It’s a common issue to extend the time for lunchtime or breaks for longer than needed. Keep in mind that working from home doesn’t mean you have a vacation. If you decide to watch a couple of series while eating lunch or go to the shop in the middle of the day, it will not help your productivity. It will only make you work in the evening, which means no work-life balance.

That’s why it’s essential to stick to the schedule and plan your breaks in advance. When planning your daily schedule, include one or two mini-breaks at a particular hour. Remember, the more time you waste for breaks, the more time you will have to spend catching up. Instead of taking one more break, go back to your computer, do what has to be done, and enjoy your free evening.

The Bottom Line

Working from home has its pros and cons. Even though it’s more convenient not to move to the headquarters, you also need to consider all the possible distractions and avoid them successfully so that you can provide the highest standards of your work. Hopefully, the tips we listed above will help you maintain a healthy work-life balance.