The last year was a major catalyst in many people resolving to work from home. Its benefits have impacted many things globally, and for sure, working from home is slowly becoming the best path forward.
With flexible working schedules that come with working from home, you can easily have a better work-life balance, and it saves you from commuting stress. However, as much as working from home improves your productivity, and it also presents challenges. Fortunately, there are solutions.
1. Lack of Motivation
Your home is a place to relax, play, sleep, and spend time with family. If you don’t have the right working environment, your brain will struggle to concentrate on work. You’re also likely to struggle to get back to work whenever your time is interrupted.
Whether you’re a disciplined and organized team member, you cannot evade distraction at home. A pile of dirty dishes, a crying baby, or a dusty bookshelf will likely catch your attention. Your 20-minute break might end up being an hour, while pajamas and a comfortable sofa do not provide the kind of motivation you get from your office chair.
You can stay motivated by limiting interruptions and distractions. It may mean muting your phone notifications and resolving to check your email once an hour. Keep children occupied to reduce their interruptions and reward them by doing something fun with them after work. You can also join a coworking space to get out of the house and find motivation.
2. Technology Problems
Technology has facilitated working from home. For example, digital communication tools, collaboration software, and other remote working tools have made it possible for you to stay connected with other team members and improve productivity.
However, you are likely to experience technological problems as you work from home. For example, slow internet connectivity, software problems, lack of cybersecurity protections, and lack of access to the right tool can slow down your productivity.
Your company may supply you with solutions to protect your data, such as two-factor authentication, to solve technological problems. To solve the slow internet connectivity, you can turn to your mobile devices as cellular networks can cope with significant traffic rates.
If your computer develops a problem, in the current work condition, it may cause some problem. Earlier, in such cases, you will get a replacement PC instantly. However, in the WFH condition, it becomes the duty of each employee to get it fixed. As a result, we can see a spike in some common searches like “PC repair near me“, “computer repair in my area”, “PC service centers”, etc.
In big organizations, the software updates are done by the IT department, however, with WFH, it is also transferred to the employee. It is important to keep updated and in such cases, so the software updates as soon as they pop up as they play a role in your digital safety and cyber security. Updates can add new useful features to your devices and protect you against software vulnerability.
3. Work-Life Balance
Working from home with family around can disrupt your everyday routine. The need to balance the time you spend working with the time you spend enjoying everything in life is now more important than ever. Some of your co-workers are online in the morning, while some are in the evening. It may make you feel like you need to be online all time to accommodate them.
Make sure you take time to step back and know how you can keep everything in equilibrium. Then, prioritize what is important to you and dedicate energy and time. Getting the balance right can help you reduce stress, boost productivity, feel motivated, and boost creativity.
4. Accessibility
Working from home can make it harder for you to get hold of your fellow team members. Face-to-face communication is already hard enough and working from home makes it even harder. Working from home can also make coordination hard as you are likely to work with people across multiple time zones.
Encourage your team members to set regular working hours and communicate it to the rest of the team. Leverage instant messaging and other file-sharing platforms to enable collaboration with international teams.
5. No Routine
Establishing a routine can give you a sense of control and increase productivity. Routine is more than just your day-to-day responsibilities and your work as it also involves making time for self-care. Lack of routine can cause stress, lack of concentration, and lack of focus.
To help you start your day right, make sure you wake up at the same time every day, avoid going online first thing, and make sure you work out daily. In addition, make sure that you set goals for the day and incorporate something you like, like listening to music or a podcast.
Make Working From Home a Success
For working from home to be successful, your employer has to provide the right equipment and any other support you need to get things done. In addition, you have to get things done without supervision. To navigate the challenges of remote working, make sure you liaise with the leadership for proper tools, create time for social interaction, and ensure your family is occupied during your busy hours.
