It goes beyond saying that the situation in which the world is at the moment can seem quite terrifying. Not only are we facing global pandemic and the inevitability of the world that it will leave in its wake but a lot of people have been forced to leave their comfort zone and work from home. Now for the myriad of pre-COVID telecommuters, the change is not so drastic. However, for those who have to undergo this shift, here are several tips and tricks that might be of use.
1. Improve your hardware setup
Let’s face it, in 2020, the majority of people are going to spend months working from home and real estate agents are no exception to this rule. The first step in making this more enjoyable lies in improving your hardware setup. The first thing you want to do is look at the devices that you’re using for work. While a laptop is a great idea, in quarantine, it goes without saying that a desktop setup provides far greater comfort. Adding another monitor is also a fine idea, seeing as how it can increase your productivity by a staggering 30 percent with a relatively small investment.
2. Improve your digital arsenal
Once you’ve handled the situation with your hardware, what’s left for you is to figure out an ideal digital arsenal. The first thing you need Is a proper communication tool. Sure, your personal Skype, Viber or any other instant messaging service can be quite useful but just pause for a moment to think how smart this really is. Everyone that you know, all your personal contacts, are currently at home bored to death. So, once they see you’re online, they might start spamming, spamming and spamming away. In order to avoid this, a lot of companies are focusing on specialized digital virtual event platforms like the one developed by Redback Connect.
3. Making a routine
The idea of working from home sounds far more appealing in practice than it actually is. The problem is that it’s much harder to fight procrastination while sitting on a sofa with a laptop on your lap, while your TV is in front of you. The idea that you can move deadlines at your own behest and have ultimately flexible work hours doesn’t help either. A lot of people find roleplaying to be particularly helpful. So, what they do is get up early for work and even dress up as if they were to go to the office right away. This kind of immersion can really help with your productivity.
4. Time management tips and tricks
Another thing you need to figure out is the importance of time management. You would be surprised at just how quickly the day passes while you’re in quarantine, which is why you need to make sure that you use every single minute. One of the ways to handle this situation efficiently is to download a time management app. Not only will this help you figure out your day but it might also provide you with a greater insight into how you were wasting your time so far. You can also consider the idea of interval working.
5. Work-to-free time balance
In the traditional workplace, it would be quite easy to figure out when you should relax and when you should work. After all, once you come home from work (unless you have an additional task or two to complete) your free time can commence. This is why making a routine in which you have the traditional-like office hours is always a good idea. For instance, you can decide to work until 4 PM or 5 PM and leave everything else for tomorrow. This way, you won’t feel as guilty under the pressure of all the unfinished work.
6. Self-improve
Due to the fact that you’re working from home, you’re actually saving a huge amount of time and energy by not having to commit to a daily commute, as well as other preparations for office work (makeup, shaving, etc.). One of the things that you could do with this extra time is to use it to self-improve. Some of the world’s most prestigious educational institutions are currently offering free courses, which is a once-upon-a-lifetime opportunity for any aspiring professional. Use this opportunity wisely.
7. Dedicate yourself to blogging
In a scenario where you want to improve the odds of your business or even establish yourself as an authority within the industry, you can do this by blogging. Now, a lot of people are intimidated by the idea of spending 6+ hours producing massive slobs of text. However, you can also explore the idea of microblogging. Every bit helps and developing a habit of using social media platforms to spread the word and establish your online presence can be quite handy.
In conclusion
Lastly, while a lot of people are expecting to return to their usual work routine, there’s a serious question of whether the business world may be forever changed. For a lot of employers, even those who employed telecommuters before, remote work on this scale is unlike anything they’ve ever experienced. Who knows, if they actually manage to match the pre-COVID-19 productivity, with a reduced overhead that comes from remote working, they might refuse to return to the old ways even when the circumstances finally allow it. Until then, these several tips might come in as quite useful.