5 Best Practices for Working from Home

It’s the middle of March 2020, and life seems gloomy. Unless you’re living under a rock, you know that the entire world is experiencing a pandemic called Covid-19, or coronavirus. But I don’t want to speak about the alt-reality and despair. Instead, I want to offer some advice to make us feel good, comfortable, and productive. After all, what better way to feel safe than to have “work as usual” on our schedule?

You’re in good company

Whether you’re in mandatory isolation/quarantine, or simply asked by your employer to work at home due to government and health officials’ requests, know that you’re in good company. Over the last few years, many industries have experienced a vast increase in remote workers, and it looks like this trend is only going to grow. In fact, experts predict that by 2020, 50% of the global adult workforce will be remote.

Whether you’re in mandatory isolation/quarantine, or simply asked by your employer to work at home due to government and health officials’ requests, take a look at the tips in this blog. #COVID19 Click To Tweet

So how should you prepare to move things forward and achieve outstanding results?

5 best practices for working from home

1. Use face-to-face video for all virtual meetings.

Audio is not going to be enough for your online conference calls. In order to make an impact and be productive, it’s crucial for you to show your face and act like people having real conversations. Because it is real. I don’t mean for this to sound overly tough – it’s just a fact that we can communicate better when we’re looking at each other, even if it’s through a camera lens.

In order to make an impact and be productive, it’s crucial for you to show your face and act like people having real conversations, says @denawf. #business Click To Tweet

Which brings me to #2.

2. No PJs, look the part.

Not even if you’re Taylor Swift, should you be arriving to a work meeting, even a virtual one, in your pajamas.

It doesn’t need to be anything formal, but seriously, when you’re dressed and done up (I guess that means a bit of makeup for the ladies, if you want), you actually act the part. The point is to be productive….so please no PJs.

3. Benefit from multi-tasking opportunities (and save time!)

Take advantage of the fact that you’re at home and can do so much more in a day than you could if you had to travel to work. The time saved on travel alone is astounding.

So put a laundry in during those 5 minutes you have to spare before your colleagues join a call. Or maybe it’s finally time to organize your Dropbox/Google Drive folders. I’ve seen a lot of people post that they plan to scan old photos during this extended time at home.

You can get so much more done for your job and personal life in less time. You’ll end your day feeling less tired and more accomplished – promise!

4. TikTok through your tasks.

Have you heard of TikTok, a video-sharing social networking service? It’s a framework that makes it easy to create, to show your talents and creativity in quick bursts.

Working from home, without the usual office interruptions, offers you the chance to showcase your value to your business quickly. Say you need to write up a report, or finish a project that’s been lagging. Or maybe you had some cool idea for a new project but never had time to follow through on a real plan. Working from home is incredibly effective for these types of things, and provides the best environment to get sh*t done (pardon my French).

5. Put yourself and your team to the test.

When working from home, it’s important to build in accountability and be sure to review deliverables in a timely manner to keep you and the team on track, in pace. Have daily checks. Use shared documents to show visibility and responsibility.

When working from home, it’s important to build in accountability and be sure to review deliverables in a timely manner to keep you and the team on track, says @Denawf #business Click To Tweet

Above all, make sure your customers know that you’re every bit as accessible/reachable as before when you were working from the office, and they should feel no “hiccup” at all.

As flight director Gene Kranz said in Apollo 13, “I believe this is going to be our finest hour.”

What’s with the corona memes?

Coronavirus memes are spreading as the disease travels across the world. They lighten the mood, but that’s all. Let’s make sure our businesses continue to flourish during these tough times.

Here at SysAid, we’re working from home (not the norm for most of us), keeping up our meeting cadence and our customer commitments, meeting our shared goals. In the words of our CEO, Sarah Lahav, “We’re tightly aligned and committed to getting through this crisis and coming out stronger on the other end.” With professionalism and creativity, we’ll all accomplish great things – even from home.

Do you have any other tips or best practices for working from home? Please share in the comments below!