10 Quick Tips for Successfully Working From Home

on 23 January 2020

Here at FinTech Management Services our staff mainly work from home as much of our business is online-based.

And it works well as there are many advantages:

No time lost traveling to and from work
No loud distracting phone conversations
No cubicles
No irritating small talk whilst waiting in line for the photocopier or at the coffee machine
You can even take your dog for a walk at lunchtime – when you work from home, it’s always bring-your-pet-to-work day!
Best of all, you can wear whatever you feel comfortable in – but remember your appearance if you are on video cam!

But, whilst all of this sounds great, don’t forget the “work” part.

This is how our FinTech Management Services team takes advantage of working mainly from home effectively: 10 quick tips.:

Find a quiet place to work with a clear desk or table to work on, preferably with good natural light. Even better if you can commandeer the spare bedroom or your store room.
Ensure you have reliable fast Wi-Fi. Worth paying a bit more for an upgrade. Ask your ISP to check your line speed to ensure you are getting what you are paying for. Use fast.com or speedtest.net to ensure you have the minimum requirements for video conferencing. Position your internet router as far as possible from other devices that may interfere with the signal, such as on a table or shelf rather than the floor. (Devices that can interfere with router signals include: cordless phones, baby monitors, microwave ovens, halogen lamps, dimmer switches, stereos and computer speakers, TVs and monitors). Keep your router switched on.
Test your audio equipment regularly, ensure that your Bluetooth is ‘paired’ correctly. Update drivers if necessary. It is considered common courtesy to switch off your microphone when not speaking to reduce distracting background sounds for other speakers. Also, unless it’s video conference, disable your webcam as this slows the audio conference.
Stay in touch with your other team members by telephone, messaging, LINE or Whatsapp or Facetime. Make an effort to let them know what you’re working on.
Hold effective remote meetings. Plan what you are going to discuss and don’t deviate from that agenda. Switch off or set ‘do not disturb’ for other communications, e.g. phones, email, messaging, etc. so that you can give your full attention for the period of the meeting.
Don’t overwork! Working too much, not too little, can be a downside of working from home. Work and be available during your normal work hours, but shut down when you are done.
Keep an accurate record of the hours you are working and on what projects.
Keep people, including your family and friends, posted on what your normal workday is and when you are likely to be open for a casual chat and when you are simply going to be unavailable.
When you ask a question in a message or an email, do not expect that person to get back to you right away. They may not be available right then for whatever reason. Instead, suggest an expected response (“Could you get back to me in an hour?” “Could you give me a thumbs up if this sounds good?”)
Finally, remember to use carefully chosen emoji’s in your non-verbal communications to help your tone be interpreted correctly, and be mindful of how your sentence could be read in different situations.