Maximize Your Efforts When Working Remotely
With the popularity of telecommuting, many employees who are eager to take advantage of a company’s flexible work-life policy still need to find results for the increased amount of freedom. Census data indicated that about 17 percent of the US workforce telecommutes an average of one day a week. Studies have shown that remote workers can increase productivity and improve satisfaction with their lives, jobs, and work performance. Here are a few ways to improve your telecommuting experience.
Follow the 20-20-20 rule, whether working from the comfort of your home or the confines of your professional office space. The premise of the practice is to take a break from your work every twenty minutes and spend at least twenty seconds looking at something that is about twenty feet away. The practice not only reduces eye strain but also helps diminish stress held in your neck and shoulders. This practice can be combined with the next suggestion for telecommuting and working from a remote location.
Enjoy nature. It has been proposed that looking at nature while working improves work performance and restocks mental energy, and the sight of the green color palette found in nature has been linked to marked improvements in creativity and energy. If you’re looking at nature by your desk, chances are you have a decent view that is getting adequate natural sunlight. Natural light has long been theorized to improve workplace performance, alertness, and enjoyment of work-related tasks.
Define your workspace. Humans are creatures of comfort with an innate desire to have their own space. With that in mind, create a threshold for your working zone, not just for others but for yourself, too. If you’re working from home, establish a clear boundary so you and other family members can distinguish between the home and your work space. This is important for building that "office-away-from-the-office" mentality. Furthermore, by creating this distinction, you prepare your mind. Once you cross that threshold, your mind switches from living to working mode, and your ability to produce is maximized.
Whether you work remotely or in the office, one way to maximize your efforts and results remains universal. Find your comfort zone—outside of being overly comfortable. Test the boundaries and challenge the way things are done. That is the best way to grow and get results that are truly profound. Business innovations like remote working wouldn’t have become an option if employees hadn’t challenged the concept that someone has to be at work to work.
Don’t get too comfortable in that big cushioned chair with the ultrasoft pillow. Just because you have been allowed out of the office doesn’t mean you have to let a nap lure you away from productivity.
Does your company allow telecommuting? In what ways do you maximize your ability to get results when working remotely? Tell us in the comments.
