We know it can be difficult to stay motivated when you’re tasked with remote working and faced with home comforts and distractions at every turn.
With our team based in Leeds, London, Prague and Melbourne – we rely on technology to communicate and to get the best efficiency from the working day.
Our Lead Data Scientist James works remotely from Melbourne and within a different time zone to the rest of the team.
He advises that days should be planned accordingly, and to prioritise your workload: “I tend to segment the day based on the task. For example, the projects that require total focus and those where distractions are acceptable.
This means that I will be working on at least two or three projects at once that require different energy levels and thoughts.”
Our Chief Technology Officer Zdeněk works with the team from Prague and gave us an important piece of advice: “Time spend in front of your computer is not important, the results you produce in this time are!”
We’ve composed this guide to help you get the best out of working from home.
Table of Contents
1. Set yourself a schedule
To make your day as normal as possible, try to stick to your contracted working hours. This would ideally be the same as your colleagues; however, it’s more important to create a routine that works for you.
When you’re working from home, it’s easy to roll out of bed a couple of minutes before your call and make the sofa your office. Wake up at your usual time and get ready as you would if you were heading into the office – this will give you the right mindset for the day ahead.
2. Create a working environment
Find a space that you can use as your office environment. Ideally, a separate room with your own desk for your equipment, which is away from distractions. This will also help when you’re making calls and won’t be interrupted.
3. Make sure you’re well equipped
Ensure you’ve got all the right equipment and tools for you to do your job to the best of your ability. We recommend using a headset and microphone for video calls, this guarantees better voice quality for everybody on the call.
When you’re on a video call, to allow your colleague to focus and to prevent any interruptions on your side, we think that it’s best practice to put your microphone on mute when you’re not talking.
4. Take regular breaks
In order to get the most out of the day, take a break as you would in the office. Make sure you have a good, fulfilling lunch that you take away from the screen – perhaps in a café or in your garden if the weather permits.
We also recommend letting some fresh air into the room, which maintains productivity and stops you from feeling sluggish. ‘The better the air quality in your office, the better the cognitive performance of your employees.’
Fresh air has been linked with employee wellbeing and numerous health benefits, including a reduced amount of sick days and overall team morale.
Some people like to work in a quieter environment but If you prefer, have some music playing in the background to keep you motivated throughout the day.
5. Keep on moving
Don’t worry if you’re not looking at the screen for 8 hours; if you find your productivity levels dropping, take a short break and go for a walk outside.
Try to avoid sitting at your desk for the entire day, walk around when you’re on a phone call or go and make a cup of tea to stretch your legs.
6. Communication is key
Communication is important when you’re working remotely, even if you just need a couple of minutes to chat about something other than work.
Don’t be worried about asking for help, if you need to speak to a colleague for something urgently or that’s difficult to explain in writing, try giving them a call rather than waiting for a response on email.
Ultimately, maintain communication with your line manager; make sure your day is aligned with what the business requires and that your workload is sufficient for the day ahead.
If you need marketing support at this time, our team can provide digital marketing services in the short to medium term, as well as supplementing the resource of your current team. If you would like more information on supported inhousing and how we can help, send us an email to team@modo25.com
