Working from home long-term never entered your mind a few years ago. You had heard about others doing it, and you even thought that not having to endure the daily commute might be nice. But now the coronavirus pandemic has had you home for the last 10 weeks. There is a very real possibility that you might never return to the office. What do you do?
A recent CNBC report reveals that some of the country’s biggest companies are making plans to keep large numbers of remote workers at home permanently. They have come to realize that bringing the workers to the office every day is not necessary. As such, companies like Walmart and Facebook will be making the work-at-home model permanent for certain employees.
Expect other companies all across the country to follow suit. Your employer might even get on board. If so, you might have to adapt your lifestyle and your home to accommodate permanently working from home. This post offers some helpful tips for doing so.
Table of Contents
Beef Up Your Internet Service
BenefitMall, a broker services and benefits administration company out of Dallas, recently offered tips to workers who were temporarily allowed to work from home during the coronavirus pandemic. Among those tips was a recommendation to be aware of internet limits. The idea is to be aware of how robust your internet connection is just in case you have to limit non-work activity during work hours to accommodate video conferencing, online presentations, etc.
If working from home will be permanent for you, beefing up your internet service is probably a good idea. Go with a plan that offers the fastest upload and download speeds. If necessary, upgrade to a multi-channel router that will allow you to separate business traffic from everything else.
Create a Separate Space
More than one temporary home worker has spent the last 10 weeks working in the bedroom with the door closed. This hardly constitutes a proper work environment for a permanent work-at-home scenario. Thus, now is the time to start creating a separate space for work.
That spare bedroom that is only used by guests during the Christmas holidays would make a nice home office. You might be able to set up a desk and still have room for a futon, sofa bed, or day bed.
If you live in a smaller home or apartment, even blocking off a small corner of the living room with a portable partition wall can create a space separate enough to allow you to concentrate on work more fully. The point is that having a separate space will be a tremendous help if working from home is permanent.
Create Daily Routine
Working from home can be more difficult due to distractions. With summer just about here, things are only going to get worse with the kids done with school. Now is a very good time to create a daily routine that minimizes interference and distractions.
You need the routine to keep yourself focused and on track. Your kids need a routine to help them avoid the temptation of disturbing you throughout the day. When everyone knows what the routine is, it is easier for the family to work together for the common good.
There are other things you can do to better adapt your home and lifestyle to permanent remote work. The three tips discussed here are enough to get you started. If you are facing a permanent work-from-home scenario, know that some adaptation will be necessary. Stick with it and be patient. You will learn to work it out over time.
