With the recent health situation many of us are having to work from home due to social distancing. Also, many of our great small business clients are having to lean on technology to continue their day to day operations. This adjustment can be overwhelming at times but good news, we are here to help. Here are a few tips and recommendations for your "virtual office".
1.) Designate a work space in your home.
This work space should preferably be a room with a door that you can close to keep out unnecessary noise. It will also ensure that the typical house distractions don't infringe on your work time.
2.) Use a good video conference software.
There are lots of good free video conferencing software out there. My favorite is Skype and Google Meet. We use Skype for communicating with collegues within our organization and it works great. You can have multiple people on one call, share documents, share computer screens, etc. The only down fall is that you have to have a Skype account in order to use the free version.
For video conferencing with our clients we use Google Meet. The benefit of this platform is that it is also free and the client doesnt have to have an account to use it. It also works well with your Google calendar if you are using both personal or corporate gmail solutions.
3.) Use a task manager application
As you go about your day, there will be distractions. This is why having a task manager application is so important. It helps you to keep track of the impromto phone calls or meetings that demand your attention. I recommend Asana. Though Asana can be used to manage larger projects, it also works for great for simple reminders about those action items.
If you are using a Google or Apple device, you can also use the native remiinders or tasks apps to acomplish the same thing.
4.) Schedule Frequent 5 to 10 minute breaks
Sometimes when you are working you will get into a rythem and before you know it, 3 hours has past and you haven't moved from your desk. This is not great for your neck, back, and creativity. I recommend setting a reminder to stand and breath every hour. If you have an Apple watch, the breath reminder works great.
5.) Use a time tracking application
Keeping track of your time is very important when working form home. I recommend using toggl. It will assist you in tracking those billable hours as well as your personal work time if you are an houly employee.
6.) Make sure your website and business social media accounts are up to date.
As more businesses are having to close their offices it is extreemly important that your online pressence remains up to date. Having a mobile friendly website with relevant information regarding your business is important. You want to make sure that those clients that would typicaly visit your store or office can easily contact you.
Your social media pages can also serve as a tool that will continually keep your brand in front of the public. Staying social by conversating with your existing or potential clients is what will set you a part from other businesses. As a small business, much of our business comes from word of mouth. Social media can be that when working remotely.
Working from home can be a great experience if we approach it with an open mind and the proper tools. For more information about how we can help, please visit JerichoStudios.com.