How to get the most out of working from home

There are a lot of roles that can be done from the comfort of your home if you have the right kit and the right mindset. Freshminds supports clients on projects where a freelancer working from home full-time or
part-time can often be the preferred option already. For tasks like desk research, phone research, data entry and report writing or presentation development, this can work well.

Permanent employees are also increasingly given access to the perk of taking days each week or month to get strategic projects done from home. Working from home is something we will all have to get comfortable with.

Here are some things to think about to help you be as productive as possible.

• Self-preparation: act as if you’re going into the office

When you start the day in your home office, be sure to stick to your routine as closely as possible, so you are in the right frame of mind. Get ready as usual, eat your breakfast and drink your coffee. Work attire is of course not necessary but change out of your nightwear! Be sure to take your tea breaks and perhaps take a short walk to re-energise over your lunch break.

• Environment: set up your space to mirror your office environment

You will need an excellent space to work in that feels as close to your usual office environment as possible. Utilise a desk, table or flat surface for your laptop and files and clear the area from any distractions. Try to avoid using your bed or the sofa and choose a dining table chair instead!

If you have an area which offers natural light or a window for fresh air, then try to work close by. It may become distracting with other flatmates working from home, so set some ground rules for when you can take breaks and even allocate space in the house to be your common area.

• Logistics: make sure you have the tools to do the job

Your employer will need to help ensure that you have access to all the files or platforms you need to do your job. Simple things like checking that you can log-in to your laptop or desktop remotely or that your internet speed is fast enough is the first step. If you need a phone to do your work, then think about whether you have the minutes available on your phone or if you will need to get sign off for expenses.

• Communication: stay in touch with your team

This is probably the essential aspect of ensuring you stay productive for yourself and your team. Start by setting targets for each day and work closely with your manager to align on a plan. Some of your regular day-to-day activities might not be possible from home, so readjust the strategy and take time to have regular check-ins on your progress. E-mail, phone and other platforms like Slack and Google Hangouts will become vital to ensuring you get that facetime and can keep disruption to daily meetings to a minimum.

These are only a few of the best practices that you can adopt when working from home. Freshminds is well-equipped to support a variety of virtual solutions. So if you want to explore remote working options with Freshminds as a contractor or need advice on how to do so, get in touch at info@freshminds.co.uk to see how we can support with remote working productivity.