Working from home can be challenging. Especially if you are not used to it, it can be difficult to channel the same level of attention that you are used to working in an office. Being away from the rest of your team could cause a lack of collaboration and connection, making it difficult to move forward and prioritize tasks.
Technology is the key to telecommuting. But beyond phone calls and emails, there are many ways to optimize and improve productivity and teamwork anywhere. Find out which collaboration tools work for you and tailor your teleworking style to get the most out of working from home and maintaining collaboration and connection with your team.
We’ve rounded up five tips on how to stay productive while enjoying the freedom of the remote workplace.
# 1 Use audio-video conferencing
Seeing your colleagues and their reactions facilitate making effective decisions that can optimize your business. A quality audio-video solution with a high frame rate and automatic lighting correction will allow you to take advantage of video conferencing platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Amazon Connect, among others.
# 2 Increase collaboration and make meetings count
Working from home can feel lonely, and not having colleagues or colleagues to talk to can be emotionally draining. Collaboration tools like Zoom, Microsoft, Amazon Connect are a great tool to boost collaboration with your team and other teams.
For example, Microsoft Teams, part of Office 365, is a collaboration application that helps your staff stay organized and have conversations, from any device. You can use Microsoft Teams to have instant conversations with members of your staff or guests outside of your organization. You can also make phone calls, host meetings, create group chats, share files, and much more. In Microsoft Teams, you can also record team meetings and group calls to capture audio and video. There is also the option of having the recordings automatically transcribed, so you can playback the recordings of the meetings with subtitles and look for important discussion elements in the transcript. The recording is done in the cloud and saved in Microsoft Stream,
# 3 Choose the right audio devices
When attending an online conference call, the quality of the headset is just as important as the speed of the Internet connection. If you have bad audio quality, it can negatively affect your call productivity and your team’s communication. So whether it’s at home, in a coffee shop, or on the go, active noise canceling wireless headsets can improve the quality of your business calls by reducing ambient noise in your surroundings. The high-quality microphones in the headphones will also enhance the intelligibility of your listener’s voice.
# 4 Establish a work zone
Location, location, location. Having a place dedicated to work is crucial when working from home. It is necessary to have some kind of physical limit when working from home, ideally away from the bed, the kitchen and the television, and near a window. Having a dedicated desk/workspace will help you focus on work, not get distracted by dirty laundry or other household chores.
# 5 Healthy Habits
Office workdays are structured, and employers care about the well-being of their workforce. As a remote worker, it is your job to do this yourself. Five-minute breaks after every 45 minutes of work allow your brain to reset. At least half an hour for lunch will prepare you for the next afternoon’s work session.
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