Here at IseeQ we really admire the insights of other professionals, so guest posts are always appreciated. In this week’s special post, Dana Brown, an architect reflects on her remote working habits while sharing useful tips with everyone else who considers staying in home office for a long term and looks to increase their productivity:

The popularity of remote work has grown in the last couple of years. Several people, especially those belonging to the younger generation prefer to work remotely from home. There are several benefits associated with working remotely but, there are some challenges as well. Remote work can be demanding especially during the start. However, many advantages are associated with being able to work from anywhere. But the obstacles faced by the remote workers might result in several issues such as lack of work-life balance.

1. Bad time management            

It appears as if working remotely is not an issue when you take into consideration time management. All the time spent at commute, being stuck in traffic jams, can be precious and you save a lot of this trouble by working from home. This additional couple of hours saved can be critical for delivering a project on time. This will lead to a belief that as you are working from home there is no need to look at the time and you have a lot of it on hand. Yet, this is a big problem. If you are working from home you have to consider the other duties you might be required to perform such as cooking dinner, cleaning, and organizing your workstation, etc. But you can overcome this problem by using time tracking software, preparing a to-do list, using time-mapping techniques, and organizing your work better.

2. Technology problems

Many of the remote workers love and use technology quite a bit. If you are looking to work remotely you will need to embrace technology completely. This applies not only to the equipment needed such as laptops, smartphones, etc. but to other kinds of tools such as apps and software. It is pretty simple to get lost in the tech jungle. You need to select wisely and only use the tools that are needed for your work. Perform research for the apps, tools, and software you are going to need. Many times you end up buying equipment that is not mandatory for work. Some tools will need a lot of attention but they will not be productive and bring you close to optimization.

3. Communication within the teams

Another important challenge for the remote workers is team communication either with the manager, boss, or other members of the team. This is so mainly because while working from home there isn’t an opportunity to talk to people at the time of coffee breaks or carrying out discussions about a task or project. You are alone at home doing the job. For effective communication, you can use specific tools such as Slack, Skype, or GoToMeeting. While managing a team set a weekly day aside for discussing the progress of the project, targets, and other issues related to work. Ask questions. Do not be afraid of talking about the problems. It will allow you to keep sharp at work.

4. File sharing

When you are working remotely the chances are that you are using a single computer for work and play both. As it is there is a constant struggle for the remote workers to maintain work to life balance. But file-sharing can be used to an advantage. You need to build a strong file sharing structure. Maintain a separate folder for your files. You can zip the office documents while sending them across to the teammates or clients who can unzip files for use. It is also possible to use a file-sharing solution for sharing documents or for the whole project. You can set permissions for the people that are using a platform.

5. Working too hard

Although while working remotely you can have flexibility in working hours on different days of a week, many people end up spending a lot more time on a task during the day than required. This leads to a feeling of exhaustion, sleep deprivation, and lack of personal time, etc. These are only some of the negative side effects of remote work. Overload of work means you will not be able to concentrate on the significant aspects of the tasks and it will lead to a reduction in productivity. Distractions at home are a nightmare for the remote workers and one of the common ones is procrastination and it is not the only one. Making the remote lifestyle sustainable is hard, but not impossible since nowadays several useful online guides can get you through hardships.

If you are interested in writing a guest post for our blog check our previous posts for topic ideas and contact us via e-mail at hello@iseeq.co.