6 TOP TIPS FOR WORKING FROM HOME.

No matter if you work in a traditional office or from your home office, you want to be the best employee possible. But if you thought that you could apply your office work practices to your remote job, think again. Being a better remote worker sometimes requires a different approach.

1. Forget about your former (office) life.

Admit it. When you worked in an office, there were days when you tried to look like you were working, but you were really just sleeping with your eyes open. When you work remotely, you don’t have to worry about impressing your boss with your presence. (You do need to impress him with your work, though.)

So if you want to start your workday at 7:00 a.m. so that you can get to your doctor’s appointment at 9:30 a.m., you can. You can also eat lunch at 11:00 a.m. or 4:00 in the afternoon if you want. Point is, you don’t have to follow a traditional office workday in order to be a better remote worker. You simply have to get your work done and take care of yourself and your family’s needs, too. After all, that’s the point of having a remote job.

2.Define the value of your work

Your spouse, partner, parent or friendly neighbour may not even realise that they are interrupting your workflow. If they see you at home, on your phone or even sitting down it may appear to them as an invitation for chit chat. Meanwhile, it breaks your concentration, infringes on your time and devalues the effort you are putting into your work.

Start by having a conversation with those closest to you about what exactly your work entails. Why are you on your phone? How is Social Media important for your business success? What exactly do you do for your clients and why it is important?

A simple but clear explanation of how you work will help them know that you are not as available as they first thought.

Involving your loved ones in setting your goals and celebrating work-related achievements will add substance and value to what may be a far stretched concept for them.

3. Bust a move.

When you work remotely, it’s super easy to let the hours slip by. That might be fab for your productivity, but for your health? Not so much. So make it a point to work some physical exercise in during your workday. While you could opt to schedule in a 45-minute workout, it’s actually better for your health to get short bursts of activity sprinkled throughout your day. For starters, make sure that you get up at least every half hour or so to stretch your legs or take a walk around the block. Your body will thank you for it.

4.llustrate your Financial Gain

Often the worth of a project is defined by what you are gaining from it. If your family feel like they are losing out on time with you but are not yet gaining any financial benefit from your work, it can be difficult to get them on board.

Make a graphic illustration of your work earnings and pin it on the wall so that they can see what everyone is gaining. Is your income paying for football club, dance classes, that extra holiday week your spouse is taking off? Colour code it to make it clear for them.

5.Job Sheets and Client Tasks

Make a list of clients and the weekly tasks that must be completed for each of them. If confidentiality is an issue then you can give them colours, silly pictures or simply client numbers.

Pin it to the wall alongside your “Daily Tasks” board so that everyone, including you, knows exactly what needs to be done on any given day, in order to get paid.

6.Stick to your schedule.

Studies have shown that remote workers tend to work more than their in-office peers. Thing is, the point of remote work is to breathe more time and space into your schedule—not less. So even though you can work longer hours since you’re not stuck telecommuting, that doesn’t mean that you should. Try to maintain the same schedule each day (but allow room for flexibility as you need it), so that you don’t find yourself working all the time.

Do you know any freelancing ninjas struggling to kick out the visitors and get their work done? Share this post with them and give them some stepping stones to success!