One of the best things about working for yourself is that you get to choose your office. In fact, most people choose to start their own business because they don’t want to be tied to a desk for 40 hours each week. Even some employers are seeing the benefits of letting their employees telecommute a few days a week; people who telecommute are generally less stressed, and more motivated because they’re in a space that makes them feel productive. It doesn’t take much to become a remote worker. Here is everything you need to get started.
Productive space
If you’ve ever had to work in an office that’s dull and badly lit, you’ll recall that your overall productivity suffered in said workplace. When you work at home, get your home office off to a good start by adding some creative, yet productive touches. Find a quiet room in the house and make it entirely your own by painting it a color you love. Make sure your office has enough natural light coming through, as well as a well-lit lamp. For some people, subtle scents can soothe the stress of thought blockages and procrastination, resulting in increased focus. These small touches can really help your home office come to life. Alternatively, you could find a coffee shop, or a quiet space in your local library to get all your work done.
Always connected
One of the biggest reasons people still think they need to work from one specific place is their dependency on full battery power and wifi; after all, you can’t send emails on the go if all your devices are dead, or they’re no decent wifi connection to get them sent. Fortunately, you can now buy portable charger so you don’t ever lose power on your phone, and a portable wifi router to keep you connected wherever you are. You could work in a coffee shop, or even in a field in the middle of nowhere if that takes your fancy.
Technology
Businesses with growing bandwidth demands can benefit from the cloud’s flexible capacities. Smaller businesses in particular can benefit from cloud-based backup and recovery solutions that save time, avoid large up-front investment and roll up third-party expertise as part of the deal. Remote workers, however, can use the cloud to log into the office database while they’re at home, and use apps to help them manage their business. If you’re trying to convince your employer to let you remotely just a few days a week, point out that you don’t need to physically come into the office to still come to work.
Something to keep you focused
Everyone has different ways of becoming productive; some work best with loud music, others in silence, some with their friends, and others feel they do their best work when they’re wearing comfortable clothing instead of restrictive suits. Working from home gives everyone the opportunity to be creative in their ideal work environment, so they are more productive and less stressed about meeting deadlines.
