How to Work from Home: Making Sure You Have All You Need to Work Remotely
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies worldwide have begun
work-from-home initiatives to curb the spread of the coronavirus. If you are
one of the millions of people who became a remote worker in 2020, you have
likely realised that your work-from-home setup is more important than you once
thought. Prior to the pandemic, working from home was likely a luxury, meant
for laying in bed or slumping on the couch with a cup of coffee. However, if
you are planning to work from home for an extended period – or permanently –
then finding ways to stay productive without travelling to an office will be
important.
Organisations today are developing an increasingly mobile and connected
workforce. With current social distancing measures across the globe, being digitally
available has become an inevitability for many, and learning to adapt to this
new change while still maintaining productivity can become more challenging
over time. Although what works best for working remotely will vary from person
to person, today’s digitally connected workforce and easy access to smartphones
and the Internet have also provided many with the opportunity to maximise their
capabilities through the use of these high tech devices.
How to Flex Your Creative Muscles and Stay Engaged in Isolation
Working from home can become monotonous. The work-life separation can
make staying focused a chore, and inspiration difficult to find. With all the
potential distractions running rampant at home, you should always keep your
vision front-and-centre – especially for complicated projects – in order to
consistently move closer to the goal, and ensure work is completed effectively.
An inspiration board (or a mood board) is an ideal solution for when creativity
is required, and focus is lacking while working remotely.
Whether you are looking for a source of inspiration to get your creative
juices flowing, kick your skills into higher gear, or maintain momentum with
current work, a digital mood board can work wonders. More than a collection of
images, illustrations, colours, ideas, words, and textures, mood boards can
help generate ideas, curate creative inspirations, and can define the direction
of your project. Ultimately, mood boards help you “get inside” your head,
revealing your intended vision better than brainstorming or a simple to-do
list. Our smartphones are more than a communicative and entertainment tool;
they can also help us organise our thoughts on-the-go.
Furthermore, it may also help to extend your creativity outside of your
notebook, or have it purely limited to the medium you are expressing your
creative freedom in. Using the right medium – like the AR Doodle feature on
Samsung's Galaxy Note20 – you only need to turn on your camera with Samsung’s S Pen in hand to fully unleash your imagination. Explore
the space around you through the lens of your camera and sketch your ideas
across the room, before converting them into your digital moodboard. Connected
to apps like the Samsung AR Doodle and Samsung Gallery, having the freedom to
express creativity in your own space can be liberating, allowing you to be
fully immersed in your thoughts anytime, anywhere.
How to Connect with Colleagues and Work “Together” Effectively
Working remotely can be extremely isolating at times. Fortunately, with
the smart devices available to us today, staying connected is as simple as the
push of a button. As part of your routine, try and interact with your
colleagues regularly, fully utilising our digital connectivity to communicate
and work virtually with one another. Chatting over messaging apps like Slack or
holding meetings over face-to-face meetings with Zoom are examples of two quick
and easy ways to stay in the loop. The advent and accessibility of smartphones
have enabled us to constantly be online where needed.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made face-to-face meetings difficult, but it
has also allowed the workforce to experience a meeting culture without
unnecessary travelling and time spent commuting between appointments. Through
text messaging on chat apps and optimising video calls, productivity can still
be boosted, minimising miscommunication, and ensuring that teamwork continues
to be fostered between colleagues. In whatever ways you decide to connect, do
not let email be the only way you interact with colleagues.
How to Maximise Notetaking through Digital Tools
Notetaking is the unsung habit, whether in school, at the workplace, or
even while working remotely. While notetaking is often overlooked, the ongoing
effect of poor notes or skipping them entirely can hurt the work process,
especially now as we work in the silos of our own homes. On the flip side,
taking notes can help with doing your job better as well, helping you refer to
important information when you need it, and ultimately allowing you to be more
efficient and effective.
Then, can our smartphones be viable notetaking mediums? In general,
research shows that taking notes by hand allows you to remember the material
better than typing the same notes down on a device, but paper and pen may not
always be within arm’s reach. As we move towards using our personal devices
more – whether for calls, meetings, or brainstorming sessions – it only makes
sense to rely on our smartphones for our notes.
https://effectiviology.com/handwriting-vs-typing-how-to-take-notes
By complementing technology with notetaking, we can create efficient
notes that is easily shareable and can be synchronised across our devices.
While some have adopted the portable Bluetooth-enabled keyboard to type quick
notes, savvy users have been adopting tactile notetaking on their smartphones
with smart styluses.
Learning to maximize the features of your notetaking toolkit can be a
gamechanger. For example, the S Pen allows you to use your Samsung Galaxy Note
smartphone like a smart notepad with its screen-off memo. If you are in a rush
to begin taking notes, simply use the S Pen to write on your phone even while
it is asleep, and you can still get your notes in quickly without needing to
unlock your device. It’s a nifty tool that allows you to convert your
hand-written into text that you can copy and paste, and easily sync notes across
your devices for your easy reference needs. Also, to simplify yet still keeping
your notetaking fully effective, Audio Bookmarks can strengthen recall and
bring you to timestamps in which your notes were taken, allowing you to play
your recording back where needed and better keep track of all your meetings,
even while you are separated from your team.
Convenience at the Tip of Your Fingers
Over the duration of your work-from-home experience, you will find that
there are already many tools and resources that can help boost productivity.
While the general setup only includes a decent Internet connection, a computer
that meets your needs and a reliable smartphone, it still pays to know the
mileage you can gain from each avenue, and how to best drive your personal work
output and visualise creativity, whether it is for your professional or home
life.
