While it’s a luxury to be able to roll out of bed and be “at work,” remote work can have some notable pitfalls. Staying productive in a home environment is a real challenge for most people. With distractions ranging from pets and kids to household chores and significant others, you need to have a solid plan when it comes to working remotely long-term.
Make sure you’re considering things like where you’ll be doing the bulk of your work and how you can try to effectively manage your time despite all the distractions. It may seem easier said than done, but there really are many different ways to remain efficient—even in a time of mass disruption.
Keep reading to learn all about our top productivity tips for remote work and how smart file sharing solutions can make all the difference in staying on top of your work.
Get Your Files Organized
Let SmartFile be your organization’s digital file cabinet. We understand that for your at-home workday to run as smoothly as possible, your computer files need to stay organized. Every time you have to endlessly search for a document or send a million emails to share a file with your team, you’re simply not being as productive as you could be.
The time you’re spending digging for files and drafting emails that could be spent doing something that’s of more value to you and your team members. The fact is, if you don’t do anything to improve your file organization methods, you’ll just keep wasting your time. You should be able to find a file within five seconds of searching—not five minutes! Think about it: if you have to spend five minutes searching for every file you’re working on throughout the workweek, you’re going to cut into hours upon hours of your valuable time.
And since it’s likely that your list of files and documents will only continue to grow, now is the perfect time to do something about it. Our sophisticated file management system is the perfect solution for you and your business as you navigate remote work. With file sharing, you can streamline your collaboration efforts and increase productivity with ease.
Our solutions allow businesses of all shapes and sizes to easily manage and share large file structures inside and outside of their businesses without hassle. We offer the perfect blend of simplicity for users and control for IT, so you can have to worry. As a quick and efficient file organizer and manager, we’re certain we can help improve productivity at your business.
The three aspects that make our secure file sharing solutions ideal when it comes to enhancing overall efficiency include:
- Easy Filing: Your filing system shouldn’t be a maze. We make it easy to save files so you can ensure your important documents are backed up.
- Quick to Find: It’s a breeze to find the folder or file you’re searching for—and you won’t even have to rely on the search tool.
- Reusable: When it comes to duplicating documents creating reusable templates, we’ll save you time and energy.
Overcommunicate
We all know the importance of healthy communication, but when it comes to working remotely, it’s crucial to communicate more than necessary. Certain aspects of remote work can make us all feel like we have less of a voice at our workplace, so we encourage everyone to speak up—about literally anything. There’s no such thing as “too much” communication when relating to remote work. The more, the merrier!
While it may seem a bit unnatural at first, we urge you to get out of your comfort zone and hone those communication skills. Since remote work likely isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, it’s great to get this skill down early.
Without proper overcommunication, you can easily get lost in the day-to-day workflow. Let your manager know about the project you’re working on, remind co-workers that you have a certain area of a project covered, let people in on your typical work process, or ask for direct feedback.
Going that extra mile to ensure you give and get that extra layer of communication will ensure nothing gets lost in translation. When everything’s virtual, it can be easy to give in to that “lone wolf” mentality. While going heads down and grinding it out is never a bad thing, we all must remember how crucial communication is to sustainable productivity.
Our go-to tips for overcommunicating include the following:
- Check-in Frequently—but Quickly: Like it or not, checking in regularly with your team is incredibly helpful when it comes to aligning goals and enhancing productivity. With the right collaboration techniques and technology, check-ins can be quick and painless.
- Keep It Simple: Make sure your messages present details in a simple and straightforward way, so your words are clear and impactful. Use language that is easily digestible and to the point.
- Overcommunicate vs. Overload: If overcommunicate is to inform, overload is to overwhelm. Try not to dump a long-winded explanation on teammates—and understand that overcommunicating is more about caring that your team gets the information they need to succeed.
Ask For What You Need
Why does it often feel so hard to ask for what we need? It’s likely because asking these types of questions exposes our vulnerability and demands honest communication, which, as we all know, can be hard to assert.
Though it may take some time—as these things don’t always come naturally—speaking up and advocating for yourself is a critical skill that will enhance both your professional and personal life. Though you may not immediately think being your own cheerleader can help with productivity, think again! The ability to state what we need in the workplace can save you a lot of time and energy in the long run.
Say your manager has asked you and another team member to take on a large project with a quick turnaround time. You were told the work would be divided equally, but once you begin working, you realize that you’ve taken on a much heavier workload than your teammate.
Rather than being resentful to your manager and coworker, you can choose to advocate for yourself by talking with your manager about the issue you’re facing. You can explain that you’re overwhelmed with the amount of work and need help figuring out a solution. Chances are, your manager and coworker have no idea that you’re stressing about an unfairly large workload. They need the problem brought to their attention so they can rectify the situation and help you be more productive.
Create a Designated Office Space
Having a designated office space at home has a ton of benefits. While it may sound appealing to wake up, grab your laptop off your nightstand, and start working, this can actually be harmful to your overall productivity and sleep patterns.
As humans, we create mental associations between what we are doing, what we should be doing, and our location. This means that when you’re working from bed or the couch, it can be super difficult to switch work mode off and get some rest at night because your brain has begun to associate “bed” with “work.”
Furthermore, having a space where you can separate yourself from family, chores, pets, and other distractions can help eliminate interruptions in your workday and enhance overall efficiency.
And regardless of your work from home situation, you can still find ways to optimize areas of your living space to masquerade as a dedicated office. Do you have a walk-in closet? Clean some space and stick a desk in there. Or maybe you have a spare bedroom you never use—make it an inviting space dedicated to getting work done.
A designated office space allows you to focus, get into work mode, minimize distractions, and create a work/life balance. If you need more help surrounding working from home and enhancing productivity at your business, SmartFile is here to help. Reach out today for more information.
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