With tech giants such as Apple, Google, and Amazon leading the way in directing staff to work from home, it feels inevitable that small and medium businesses will follow suit. And amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, more employees are taking the home-from-work approach to increase their level of protection and practise social distancing.
Are you having a hard time trying to stay focused and productive while working from home? Here are a few tips to help you keep your productivity up and remain efficient in your tasks.
Prepare a Make-shift Office
One of the most challenging bits about working from home is that it’s not your regular work environment. It’s at home, right next to your bedroom (or inside), and you are within reach of your favourite leisure distractions.
It can be hard to think of yourself working in such an environment. As such, you might find it hard to get any work done when you are reclining on your couch or while you are still in bed in the early mornings.
To tackle this issue, you can set up a make-shift workplace and use it regularly as your working spot. Your mind will soon follow and associate the new location with work, and you’ll be able to get some work done.
Consider it a Real Day at Work
For your mind to transfer to the make-shift office, you must give it some help. Consider the next day as a real working day. That is, avoid sleeping in, or going to work in your pyjamas.
Wake up as if you would be going to the office, take a shower and put on a fresh set of clothes. Don’t linger on at breakfast thinking that you’ll just be around, and don’t schedule other activities during your working hours. Consider it as a real day at work in the office.
Communicate with the Vital Teams
Reach out to vital teams that you work with to ensure business remains operational. This also helps you be clear about the day’s expectations, and keep you and your teams accountable for the time they’ve spent at their home office. Another crucial element is your outsourced services. When you hire outsourced companies like accounting firms in Singapore, it allows you to benefit from the services and get the job done without having to meet up in person. At Ackenting Group, we provide SME accounting services and are able to give you the updates needed through seamless communication to ensure you are always aware of how your business is doing financially.
Shut Out Distractions and Set Up Strict Physical Boundaries
It’s your working time. Don’t allow your friends to stop by for a chat. It is best to let them know that you are busy. Putting the TV on as background noise won’t help either. Also, avoid procrastinating on your work by doing other home chores like doing the laundry, or fixing your broken washer.
It can be hard to keep distraction at bay. To combat this, you can set strict physical boundaries to help you maintain the discipline. For instance, if you are working from your bedroom, lock the door from the inside and restrict interruptions.
Maximize on Virtual Working Tools
Take advantage of virtual working tools that are available to help manage the team and collaborate on a project effectively despite the distance. It can also enable you to plan easily, delegate work accordingly, keep better schedules and track progress accurately. With the help of these tools, there are useful features and functionalities to ensure a clear line of communication between employees and team members.
Work through the Day and Stop at the Right Time
When you work from home, there’s a real danger of overworking and setting unrealistic daily targets. Since you are at home, you may think that you can have the entire 24 hours dedicated to work. This is unrealistic and unproductive.
You should plan to work throughout the day and stop at the right time. This will help you to set realistic targets, reflect on your daily task completion and get recharged for tomorrow.
If you require any assistance on accounting services, feel free to drop us an email at johnwoo@ag-singapore.com or contact us at +65-66358767. At Ackenting Group, we offer a complimentary 30 minutes online consultation for us to better understand your business requirements.
