Many of us have been working from home for a long time by now, but some may never have considered how to make the most out of the situation. With many employees looking to continue their work-from-home lives even after the pandemic, it’s important to make sure that they are optimizing their setup, both for their health and their productivity.
MAKE SURE YOUR WORKSTATION IS ERGONOMIC
When you are working from home, using your laptop from the couch starts to look like a very appealing way to get things done. However, you may soon find your body riddled with pain and in need of physiotherapy from working with such poor posture. Instead, it’s best to:
Sit at a desk, with a proper chair.
Have your monitor at eye level.
A keyboard and mouse at the appropriate height.
It’s best to keep your workstation comfortable, but also clean and organized, just like you would at work. Otherwise, you may find it difficult to get into the work mind-frame.
KEEP A WORK ROUTINE
Working from home may seem like it gives you ultimate freedom, but it can also be hard to separate work time from personal time. It may help to keep a regular work routine, starting your day at the same time and even getting dressed in your work clothes. This can help to put you in the right mindset to get things done. When you’re finished, you can change again, to give you that same relaxed feeling you would otherwise get when you come home.
KEEP LONELINESS AT BAY
As humans, we are social creatures, and some of us may find it difficult to be isolated at home. If you miss the connection from colleagues, feel free to video call them. They may be feeling the exact same way as you and really need the human interaction.
If no one is using their cameras during meetings, don’t feel afraid to turn yours on. Sometimes it can be good to see other people.
MAKE SURE YOUR INTERNET IS RELIABLE
No one wants to drop out in the middle of calls all of the time, so you need to make sure your connection is reliable. If you are struggling with it, you can try using an ethernet cable instead of Wi-Fi, or limiting the number of other devices that are connecting at the same time. If neither of these options work, you may want to consider upgrading your connection.
HAVE THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT FOR MEETINGS
Online meetings and video-conferencing are certainly an adjustment from doing them in person. If others can’t see you well, or you are struggling to hear each other, it can complicate whatever you are trying to achieve.
Having the right gear can make it much easier to focus in meetings and make them more productive. A good microphone, headphones and camera can go a long way toward improving the situation.
TEST YOUR GEAR BEFORE MEETINGS
An unfortunate fact of life is that things break. You don’t want to be the one person running around to find working headphones in the middle of an important meeting. That’s why you should run a test call beforehand, to make sure that everything is working. Most applications will have a test call option that lets you check your camera, microphone and headphones are functioning.
LEARN YOUR MEETING APPLICATIONS AND THEIR SETTINGS
Problems are sure to arise in the middle of calls, and you don’t want to waste too much time trying to fix them. You may accidentally mute yourself or disconnect from a conversation, and if you don’t know what you are doing, you may hold everyone up while you try to get back in.
By taking the time to learn how the applications work and their settings, you can not only minimize any of these disruptions, but you can also make the most out of their additional functionality.
Working from home is a big shift for both companies and their employees. Even after a year, many still aren’t functioning as optimally as they should. If you want to make the most out of the situation, contact VTS to see how we can help. From advice on the best software to implementation, we can help your organization thrive.
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