Working remotely? How to make it effective

Here are four tips to help you complete remote work more effectively

Different people have different attitudes to working from home. Some people love the idea of being able to work from the sofa in their PJs, while others recoil in horror at the thought of all the procrastinating they would do.

If you are in the second category, don’t worry. Working from home may come with a few challenges, but it is very easy to work around these challenges so that you are productive and happy.

Here are four tips to help you complete remote work more effectively.

Make sure you are organised

One of the biggest issues for people who work from home is the barriers they encounter throughout the day, from a messy workspace to a poorly-organised desktop. Thankfully you can easily remove these barriers by setting aside ten minutes to clean up your workspace before you start your day. This will make it easier for you to stay focused on your task, as it reduces distractions.

Find the perfect system for you

Everyone works differently, so it is important to listen to your body when you are setting a schedule. Some people are most productive in the mornings, so they choose to get up at 6am and complete the majority of work before noon, while others prefer to work in the evenings.

A good way to set a schedule is to think about your energy levels rather than what time it is. If you feel particularly productive after a good lunch, you may want to do the hardest tasks between 1pm and 3pm; if you find your attention waning by this point, you should try to get the challenging work out of the way in the morning.

Speak to your co-workers

There are both advantages and disadvantages to working from home. One of the biggest disadvantages is that it can be quite isolating, especially if you have gone from working in a busy office to working from home.

One way to counteract this is to make a concentrated effort to speak to your co-workers via email, Skype and the phone. This will help you to feel more connected to your co-workers and reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation. It will also help you to stay in the loop with work-related discussions.

Make sure you love your job

One of the key issues with working from home is that you need to be productive and motivated. This is easy enough if you are doing a job you love, but you will probably struggle to stay focused if you are not passionate about your work.

This means you will get less work done and will find that you are constantly looking for ways to procrastinate; for this reason, it is very important to make sure that you love your work from home job!

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The British Institute of Recruiters is the Professional Body operating The Recruitment Certification Scheme

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