This blog describes in detail some best practices and tools for working from home effectively and productively.

Working from home can be a struggle for most, however, this situation we are facing as a civilization may require us and push us to do it more and more moving forwards. At Man and Machine, we have personnel who are already external to our main office, working from home or on-site and we have been delivering remote services now for many years. Services such as meetings, installation/upgrades, webinars and demonstrations.

So, what are the key aspect of working from home?

• Self-motivation
• Structured timetable
• Adequate internet connection
• Tools, such as software and hardware

Let’s discuss each of the points above in more detail.

Self-Motivation

• Set Targets/Goals: There are many techniques you can use to ensure that you stay motivated throughout the day. One of the main things to do is to set yourself realistic yet slightly stretched targets for the day, as well as small goals throughout the day to help your reach that main target. It’s a good idea to leave yourself a little bit of time at the end of each day to plans your targets for the next day.
• Create a schedule: Create a schedule for your tasks, divide the day up into segments, include breaks in that schedule, it’s a good idea to schedule a walk to get some fresh air at some point, weather permitting.
• Remove distractions: If you can, create a workspace away from the hustle and bustle of normal life, this is especially important if you have kids, there is nothing more distracting and zone destroying than a child either being cute or playing up to try to get your attention… usually the latter.
• Appreciation: When a lack of motivation starts to creep in I find that is a good time to take a tea/coffee break, during that break I allow myself a mini wind down and when I am ready I like to remind my self why I am doing what I am doing and why I love doing it. Once refreshed I am ready to go with renewed vigour.
• Reward Yourself: Let’s face it most of us are driven by incentives, so why not incentivize yourself for completing certain tasks? For small tasks maybe treat yourself to a coffee or snack (not too many), or for larger tasks, maybe treat yourself to that item you have stored on your wishlist. Other rewards could be along the lines of a nice hot bath or a meditation session.
• Positivity: Approach tasks with positivity, it is true that negativity is energy and motivation sapping, also it is a vicious circle, positivity breeds positivity and vice versa, if your feeling negative about some work or in general, maybe that is a good time to take the appreciation tea break or get some fresh air, it’s always a good idea to voice concerns you may have to anyone you feel will listen with empathy and constructively.
• Get a radio: Sometimes working from home can be a lonely experience and that can make you feel drained and demoralized, a radio can help keep you company, find a station that makes you laugh and spikes your interest, it does wonders for your overall output and moral.

Structured Timetable

As discussed already it is imperative to have a timetable to your day that you can stick to. It’s very easy to let things slip or get overwhelmed when working from home, keeping to a timetable will ensure that you are doing enough work throughout the day and prevent you from taking on too much or feeling pressured if you didn’t reach your intended goal of the day.

A timetable should include getting ready for work, lunch and tea breaks as well as some time to get fresh air and exercise. If you have kids then you may want to schedule time with them during the day, making the time up for work in the morning or evening. If you are into software apps for this there are many time tracking applications out there which can help you look forwards and backwards ensuring that you are making the most of your time and providing you with reports.

Adequate Internet Connection

I think it is fair to say that without a good internet connection it is very difficult to work from home, although not impossible. If your internet is not the best I would recommend firstly speaking to your provider to see what they can do to help. If it requires upgrading for a little extra cost then do it, remember your work pays the bills so having a better connection is a no brainer.

If you are already maximizing your connection and still struggling there are some techniques you can use to improve the performance from within your home.

• Get closer to your router: the closer you are to your router the better your connection will be, if possible, maybe a wired connection would help. If you can’t get any closer get a Wi-Fi extender or even a powerline adapter to convert your ring main socket circuit into a network circuit.
• Put your router in an open space: your router signal can be blocked by walls, metal structures and other electrical equipment, so moving your router into an open space should improve your overall signal throughout the house.
• Remove old wireless devices: some older wireless devices hold your network connection longer than new ones, which causes a slower performance of newer devices. If you can switch off any devices you do not need to use during the working day then do so.
• Disable bandwidth-consuming applications: do not use any applications that draw bandwidth away from those that need it for your work; music streaming, file downloading, video playing applications will eat away at your bandwidth, ensure that all family members are aware that they cannot use these applications when you are required to connect to the internet for work, such as during a video meeting.

Tools, such as Software and Hardware

At Man and Machine, we have been using Microsoft Teams, TeamViewer, GoToMeeting, BIM 360 Docs and Autodesk 360 for many years to collaborate and work together effectively from any location, we work on the train, in airports, hotels, clients sites and at home. There are always challenges to overcomes, such as weak or no internet connection, which can usually be solved with a hotspot from your mobile phone. 

When working from home there are a few things you can do to make your experience more pleasant and improve your productivity.

Hardware:

1. These days most people have a second monitor at their work office, we all know how useful they are, if you can get hold of one for home then no question this is something you should do.
2. Water… stay hydrated folks, hydration is key to good concentration levels.
3. Stress relief… very useful for venting a little steam.
4. Handsfree headset for mobile phone keeps your hands free so you can work without restrictions whilst taking a call.
5. Laptop headset, for video meetings and creating instructional videos.
6. Tablet, tablets are really useful when using reading material or doing research for your work.
7. Landline headset, keeping your hands free and enabling you to stand and stretch your legs during long telephone conversations.
8. Internet router.
9. Landline.
10. Lamp for extra light when required.
11. Webcam for video meetings.

Software:

1. Meeting software, such as Microsoft Teams, Skype and GoToMeeting for company meetings and communication.
2. Screen sharing software, such as Microsoft Teams and TeamViewer for sharing your screen with colleagues and clients.
3. VPN, for accessing internal data allowing your computer to behave as if it were connected to your company’s network.
4. Filesharing software, there are many platforms which you can use for file sharing and file management, we at Man and Machine are a platinum reseller of Autodesk products so we use Autodesk 360 and BIM 360 Docs which can be used for Revit and Plant 3D project collaboration.
5. Fusion Lifecycle for storing and managing the creation and life cycle of digital models, drawings and their related files.

To Conclude

Working from home may be the future for many industries and businesses, get ahead of the game and make sure you are fully tooled up to perform at your best. Man and Machine have been working remotely for many years and we are here to help and support you to get up and running and answer any questions you may have.

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