Teleworking has been an important trend during the recent years. Due to its benefits in time, money, transportation and infrastructure to many types of businesses (since it is not the best option for all industries), it has become one of the most professional alternatives considered by today’s companies.

It means the same contracting possibilities that any other job requires, both for the employee as for the employer; and it can be developed in a dependency relationship or autonomously. Employees adapt their spaces to perform their tasks comfortably, in order to achieve the same productivity. One of the elements contributes the most to the working routine is the absence of interruptions. However, this can be counterproductive for both the company and the employee if the work is not done properly. In this post, you will learn some tips to improve your telecommuting performance, and I hope it will be useful for you.

Related: 4 Human Resources tips you can implement in your telework company, by Jason Hanold

1 . Establish a work schedule

Don’t fool yourself. You don’t have all day to do everything you want, whenever you want. In fact, this thought makes time less yielding. If you assign yourself a schedule, make sure to work during that time and meet what needs to be done. If you don’t set it, sometimes you will work less than you should and other days you will spend more time in front of the computer… even if there is less workload. If you work for a company, it’s better if you work on office hours, since you always have to be available for the company, your customers and other companies and individuals will be available for you.

Remember that setting a schedule not only includes starting work at a certain time but setting a time limit. You must stop working at some point. Remember that there are always things to do, but you have other priorities: your family, your social life, your pet, your health (physical and mental), etc.

2 . Learn to deal with procrastination

Perhaps, this is the worst enemy of telecommuters. Because your boss is not watching you from his cubicle, a YouTube link on relaxing music may lead you to three hours straight to the best street pranks collections and you’ll end up on eBay, comparing the prices of the new winter collection shoes. In this link, you will find information about why we procrastinate and some tips to work more productively.

3 . Active pauses

Your main tool is not the computer or your smartphone: it’s your body. The best way to keep it functional is if you care about your occupational health. Remember to take active pauses from time to time: stretching, breathing, massaging, doing some eye movements, etc. Whether you’re working productively or not, do your best to take breaks (for example, every five minutes, between twenty-five-minute intervals.) This will not only help you to improve your productivity, but also to efficiently manage your energy so that you don’t accumulate exhaustion.

Because you will spend a lot of time sitting, I recommend you to do exercise every day. Remember that sedentarism is related to heart disease, some types of diabetes and kidney issues. Sleep well. Eat well. Relax. Work to live and not vice versa.

4 . Learn how to manage your time

The worst thing you can do is start working without planning your day. Remember that time is a limited resource (the greatest luxury today, as a matter of fact) and you need to learn how to handle it. Use a calendar, reminders on your cell phone, a board next to you… whatever you need. Make a to-do list before you start working, organize it on a priority scale, calculate how long you should delay on each task (be reasonable), then make yourself a coffee and sit down to work on one task at a time.

If you have concentration problems, I recommend you make a list of what you should not do. Stop being a victim of your usual time vampires. The faster you finish your job, the faster you can do whatever you like.

Image courtesy of freestocks.org at Pexels.com

Image courtesy of
freestocks.org
at Pexels.com

 

5 . Take it seriously

Have a real place to work. Turn that place into your office. If it’s your bedroom, turn it into an office while you work: you’re not chilling out, you’re doing business. No alcohol, no drugs. No loud music. No TV, no games. Dress comfortably, yes, but I recommend that you wear the kind of clothes you would wear when you go to a regular office (this actually sends a message to your brain.) Tell your family and friends that you are working and not wasting time at home, and learn the magic words: “sorry, I’m working.” Keep using your professional tone when answering the phone or writing emails. Check the status of your computers, your Internet connection, the chair you sit in, the desk you work on. WhatsApp messages can wait. Facebook notifications have their own time.

I hope it works.

Recommended: 5 things not to do when telecommuting