Introduction
These days, you don’t have to work in an office to be successful. In fact, in some cases it can make sense to work from home as often or even more than you’re actually in the office. But that doesn’t mean that remote workers are inherently more productive than their co-working counterparts—at least not without a little help from technology and some key planning principles.
Don’t start with a full day of meetings.
Meetings are a necessary evil in business. They are an important part of communication and collaboration, but if you start your day with a full slate of meetings, it can be difficult to find time for other important tasks.
Instead, start the day with one or two short meetings–less than 30 minutes each–and then spend the rest of your time focused on focused work. If you’re managing a team (or even just yourself), set an example by not starting every day with three hours’ worth of back-to-back meetings.
Plan ahead, but be flexible.
There is a fine line between planning ahead and over-planning. If you are an employee, it’s important to know the details of your work schedule and what needs to be done on a daily basis. However, if things don’t go according to plan or if there is an emergency situation that requires extra time out of the office, then being flexible with your schedule will help keep stress levels down.
For example: You may have arranged for lunch with friends after work today at 5pm (and yes–you did remember). Suddenly at 4:30pm one of them calls with an emergency question about their child’s upcoming school play next week (which happens tonight). Your friend could easily handle this issue during regular business hours tomorrow morning but would really appreciate some advice now before they head home tonight! This means either cancelling plans altogether or rescheduling them later in order for both parties involved get back into sync again. But instead…
Embrace technology.
- Embrace technology.
- Use technology to your advantage, not just for entertainment or distraction.
- Technology should be a tool for productivity and efficiency, not just another thing on your plate.
Use group chats to communicate.
Group chats can be a powerful tool, whether you’re communicating with coworkers or clients. They’re an excellent way to keep everyone on the same page and in the loop about what’s happening in the office, but they can also be used for more personal matters:
Group chats are an invaluable resource for remote workers who want their businesses to succeed. You’ll want to use them not only between yourself and your team members but also with clients, vendors, friends and family members–in fact anyone that has anything remotely related to your business at hand!
Look at the big picture, but focus on the next task at hand.
You will have to concentrate on the present task and not worry about the future. You should not think or worry about what other people are doing or how they are doing it, because this will distract you from your current goal.
If you want to succeed in business, then focus on what is in front of you right now and do not let anything else distract you from achieving that goal!
Find a partner and share the load.
As you may have noticed, there are a lot of tasks to be done in your business. You need to be able to delegate some of them and find people who can help you with the rest.
How do you find a partner? A good place to start is with someone who has similar goals as yours or shares an interest in what you do. It’s also helpful if they have experience working remotely, which will make it easier for them to adapt their work habits when working together on projects–and vice versa!
Once you’ve found someone who could potentially become your partner, share the load with him or her by dividing up all tasks equally between both parties (or however else feels comfortable). This way neither one person ends up doing more work than another person does; instead, everyone contributes equally toward completing each task at hand–and no one has any reason why they should feel overwhelmed by their workloads!
Delegate tasks to others that they can handle more effectively than you can.
- Delegate tasks to others that they can handle more effectively than you can.
- Focus on your strengths, and use your time wisely
- Find a partner to share the load with you – you can’t do everything yourself!
- Trust others to do their jobs well – give people credit for what they do well
Make an effort to get out of the office and actually work from home occasionally (or as often as possible).
Sometimes, it’s good to get out of the office. And there are many benefits to working from home.
- You’ll save money on gas.
- You can eat whatever you want (or not).
- Your commute will be shorter and less stressful–no more sitting in traffic for hours each day!
But there are also some challenges associated with remote work: staying focused, keeping connected with your team and knowing when it’s time for lunch or a break. Here are some tips for turning these challenges into opportunities:
Being more productive means being more comfortable with technology and working remotely, not less so
When you work remotely, you can set your own hours and avoid traffic jams. You don’t have to deal with office politics or the pressure to look your best every day. You won’t be stuck in an office where there are no windows and the air conditioning is either too hot or too cold–and yet people still dress up for work! In fact, many remote workers report being more productive than their on-site counterparts because they don’t have all these distractions keeping them from getting things done.
Conclusion
For many people, working remotely is a new experience. It takes time to get used to and comfortable with. But as we’ve seen in this article, it’s well worth the effort! By embracing technology and making an effort to get out of the office occasionally, you can boost productivity and improve your work-life balance at the same time.
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