How to Work From Home: The Complete Guide

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Work From Home

Imagine sitting in your favorite corner of your home, sipping coffee and answering emails on a sunny Monday morning.

That’s what wfh meaning is- working at a place where you’re comfortable.

This is a real deal now since people are adapting to the new work from the home scenario. The best part is, while it’s comforting, it’s more productive as well. In fact, according to a survey, wfh leads to a 13% increase in performance.

Maybe that’s why only 30% of companies will embrace a full return-to-office model post-pandemic.

Even though we all are navigating how we can get work from home ready? It’s time to put your best foot forward, even when you’re at home.

So, let’s discuss how you can work from home effectively yet solve all the remote problems in a calming way.

What is Working From Home?

Work From Home (WFH) is a modern-day term for flexible working. It is a concept where the employees can perform their job from the comfort of their homes.

There are many reasons to work from home. From flexible working hours to an exponential work-life balance, work from home can help you elevate every aspect of your life.

Review42.com has some fascinating stats on working from home. It states that 55% of businesses globally offer remote work for greater productivity. In terms of profits, 30% of telecommuters save up to $5,000 a year while working from home.

In these uncertain times, irrespective of your physical location, working from home is helping businesses run smoother.

While giants like Apple and Microsoft are already operating fully remote, companies like Shopify would also stay “digital by default,” which means most of the employees will work remotely even post-pandemic.

Top Benefits of Working From Home

Now that you have understood wfh meaning. It’s time to find the “why” behind working from home.

As per Forbes, the top three benefits employees want are healthcare, professional development, and coaching. They all come at 69%, 63%, and 54%, respectively.

Now that gazillions of employers are working from home, benefits are a crucial part of remote working. So, here are the top benefits of working from home:

1. Better Work-Life Balance

People can perceive wfh meaning in several ways.

For some, it can be work-life harmony or, as they say, work-life balance. When we look overall, it turns out that people want more family, relaxing, and me time.

About 92% of people feel that work-life balance affects their decision to join any organization or even change jobs.

But in the case of working from home, there are so many opportunities where you can turn back time and reinvest it in your family or for your hobbies.

Since you don’t have to:

  • Rush to catch a train or sit in traffic.
  • No need to carry heavy laptops
  • More family and peacetime at home.
  • Out of any no stressful office politics.
  • Extra Savings.

When you’re working from home, you can save a big chunk of your money since no commuting means you get to save money on your gas, car maintenance, new clothes for the office, and whatnot.

Remember the time spent in line waiting for the office elevator or the one where finding parking seemed like an exhausting task. Yes, it was tiring but now it’s long gone. Thanks to wfh!

2. Own Your Schedule

Working on a flexible schedule is like the best of both worlds. You can work whenever you want, and choose the hours you’re most productive in and ditch the 9 to 5 old age process.

For example: if you’re a content creator, you can create a plan for all upcoming campaigns at the best time of the day. If you’re a night owl and enjoy working at night, go ahead and rejoice in those hours.

Till the time you’re completing the assigned tasks within the given deadline, you’re good to go. Making your schedule and sticking with it makes you a more confident and reliable individual.

Also, don’t forget to mark your break time, take a power nap or cook a quick meal and enjoy working from home in those breaks.

3. Independence and Flexibility

People appreciate their freedom. If you’re an individual who always has to-do lists handy, then you will appreciate being a remote worker.

Even though you’re not a big planner, working from home can still be a relaxing experience.

As long as you set the hours right (that suits your work-life), you can make time for your hobby, attend medical appointments and also watch your kids’ favorite basketball game with them. This independent outlook towards working can take the pressure off all employees and provide them better job satisfaction.

4. Personalized Space

You’re likely tired of facing those same four walls and working in your cabin for 8 hours.

Remote workers are initiating their home-working setup, which is not only personalized but also reflects their personality.

Creating an inspiring workplace has a great impact on how we think and our energy levels during work. People can create an inspiring workplace, like putting up their favorite quote on the wall or just having their favorite plant in front of their eyes.

This feeling of belongingness can help employers to focus and ignore all other distractions while working.

This also increases the employer’s output and ultimately helps organizations.

5. Enjoy Additional Benefits

Well, this one is a noteworthy benefit for remote workers. Ever heard about subsidized insurance plans or workspace support?

These are some of the remote working employee benefits. Additional benefits include access to home care services where employees are offered a helping hand for their household chores. They are provided domestic care services like meal delivery and laundry to focus on their jobs and leave all the rest.

Similarly, there are platforms like safety wings that offer a range of subscription-based coverage plans that includes telehealth options for remote employees.

Tips To Increase Productivity While Working From Home

Besides having so many benefits, you often face the most common issues like maximizing your performance while working from home.

When you work from home, you’re in your comfort zone. But if you can get your basics right, from following a good routine to showing up when it’s needed, your productivity will escalate.

Here are a few tips you can follow to become more productive:

Use Tools to Connect And Cooperate

It has never been more crucial to communicate and stay connected with your employees and teammates. You can use specialized tools like Splashtop, TeamViewer, Slack, Zoom, etc., for scheduling meetings and sharing updated information.

You can stay more productive if you have a clear task list so that everyone can be on the same page. You can define every role and connect using these tools without wasting any time.

Break Down Large Tasks

When you’re in the comfort of your home, in your PJs, you’re not in the mood to see a long list of emails.

Whether it’s to “write a 2000 word long-form blog post” or “coding for a new accounting software,” all you need to do is step back, take a deep breath and break all those tasks into small, simple, achievable steps.

This is an old productivity hack but it works due to its doable approach. Breaking tasks down helps us to see large tasks as more convenient and easy.

Communicate

One of the best ways to be more active and productive is to talk and communicate. Biting off more than you can chew, which means if you take projects you can’t complete due to household chores can keep you frustrated. In this case, having a one on one conversation with your manager is more productive than getting stuck on the same task.

Suggest some options, talk about how you can handle other aspects of the same project. Communicate your hurdles and issues so that you can focus on things you’re good at and do more of that.

Use Time Tracking Tools

Time is a vital currency, both for remote workers and businesses.

If you’re not tracking your time, getting distracted in a cozy home environment is easy. But tools like Time Doctor, Clockify or Timely can help you automate and keep track of all your projects in one place.

These tools provide a tracking tool through which you can review your project’s dashboard, break down tasks, and see how much each member worked on the project.

Finally, Take Breaks

Last but not least, working from home has its perks and its downsides.

However, if you can unplug yourself from your desk and go for a quick walk, your work brain will activate.

This means taking breaks is the biggest productive hack you will ever come across. Ever wondered why great artists and inventors like Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein were fans of taking breaks.

It helps you to recover from stress and see the bigger picture of things going on in your life. In this case, it helps you to look at your work with a fresh pair of eyes and be more productive.

Working from home can be an appropriate choice if you know how to be your cheerleader and still be effective. Different things work for different people. So experiment, navigate, and finally, you will reach your destination in this new remote market.