Should Remote Work Become A Thing?
What is remote work?
Yes, most of us have a rough idea what the term entails. But for the benefit of all, here’s the official definition. Remote work or WFH refers to when an “employee is working from their house, apartment, or place of residence, rather than working from the office”. Many companies have a WFH policy, or remote work policy, that allows their employees to work from home either full-time or when it’s most convenient for them to do so.
Save time on commute!
One of the biggest advantages of switching to a remote work set up is the time and money one can save in relation to his or her travel arrangements. When a home office is set up, one no longer needs to put himself or herself through the daily ordeal of actually travelling to get to work.
There’s no further need to rise early to squeeze onto the public transportation vehicles or think ahead of who gets to take the family car for the day. And its savings in terms of both travelling to and from the workplace needs to be considered too!
If you spend an hour each way, you get to save two hours daily. On a weekly basis, you’ll save a minimum of 10 hours, and on a monthly basis, that could add up to 40 hours of precious time! 40 hours that you could pump into personal projects, hobbies or self-care activities.
Take the time to try out some yoga to calm your nerves before starting your work. Alternatively, spend some extra time with your family and have a fulfilling, healthy and proper breakfast with your loved ones! So many ways to make better use of your time 🙂
Losing track of time?
We’ll be fair and look at one of the cons of remote work too. One can easily lose track of the time he/she consciously pumps into work. With distractions and chores rife at home, it’s easy for one to lose his or her focus when working remotely. This can result in one to pump in extra working hours to complete their projects or tasks for the day.
In some cases, however, online meetings tend to over-run for longer than usual too. This may be due to the fact that employers or leaders of various projects feel the need to check in constantly and outline responsibilities in fear of delaying deadlines.
And that’s one of the complaints individuals who work from home tend to have – that they end up spending more time for work now than they previously did when they were at the office. Is there a solution around this problem? Yes – of course!
One way to overcome such scenarios is by setting aside clear time slots and abiding by these time blocks when working remotely. Speak up to your team members when it’s time for the meeting to end so that you can get on with your work responsibilities, they’ll understand. Nobody wants to be stuck with one task and end up having other work pile up!
Similarly, keep distractions and work chores aside to other times of the day so that they don’t interfere with your work routine. Plan ahead and try your best to stick to the plan!
Recharging is essential
Taking breaks while on remote work basis is important to ensure that you are able to get through your responsibilities with good mental health. Every individual at work has his or her own fair share of work to look after. With that being said, if you want to produce work of great quality consistently, take your breaks to ensure your mind is clear!
Take a walk to stretch your legs every now and then. A change of scenery can also stimulate your brain and perhaps even provide you with new ideas to work on. Ensure you eat on time and eat well too.
A sedentary lifestyle can cause health problems in the future. As such, ensure you get in enough movement and find time to exercise as well. This way, you’ll have both a healthy mind and a healthy body! Health is wealth, after all.
When you’re able to stay on top of things assigned to you at work, after taking those breaks, clarity tends to find one naturally. Keep to these simple tricks and you’d be more productive when working remotely.
While work is important, recharging is just as essential, if not more 😉