The ability to work from home can save remote workers on travel time and wardrobe, but home can feature a lot of distractions. The tools below can reduce distractions and make participating in team activities much easier. Depending on the living situation of the remote worker, these tools can be electronic or physical.
A Privacy Screen
For a remote worker in a small home or one that has small children, having a privacy screen that can be placed between the worker and the rest of the household can be extremely useful. A three-part folding screen can provide all the barriers necessary to make it possible to focus on work. If one side of this screen can be covered with cork, the whole unit can be a bulletin board for notes and ideas.
A Whiteboard
An electronic whiteboard where the whole team can toss up ideas to see what sticks is a wonderful way to build camaraderie in a team that is far apart. Once you gather ideas and get started on a path for the project, you can split out the board to assign tasks all around. This digital workspace can help you manage your team as well as keep tabs on the projects they are working on.
Shared To-Do Lists
Once the ideas get rolling on the whiteboard you are going to generate to-do lists. Sharing those lists can give all employees the chance to jump in, grab a task, finish it up and look for the next project.
When putting together your lists, make sure you separate out projects vs. tasks. Productivity expert David Allen reminds us that tasks are single actions that need to be done, and when you complete enough single actions, you can ultimately complete a task. A simple example is doing laundry, which is a project that includes several tasks. Folding socks is a single task, as is hanging shirts. Once you finish enough single tasks, you can cross out the project of doing laundry.
A Headset
Headsets offer a variety of benefits. The ability to snap on a headset can serve as
- a reminder to stay in the chair
a way to cut down the noise of the household
a simple way to answer and end phone calls
Depending on the team’s favorite method of communication, you may need to decide between a Bose 700 UC vs Bose 700. The ability to end calls remotely right on the headset can free up a home-based worker to move around effectively and stay efficient in their space. While the quality of both is excellent, the UC offers a USB link and more controls at the headset.
A Timer
Putting a timer to work can give remote workers and their families a heads-up about dedicated work time vs. the time they can be interrupted. For remote workers with children, the Pomodoro technique can be extremely freeing.
The science behind the technique is simple: The brain is able to function intently for only short amounts of time before fatigue sets in, so if you can use a timer to help you focus for 25 minutes, then take a five-minute break to stretch the body and rest the brain, you can get more done accurately and effectively than if you plow through the project until it’s done.
Even if 25-minute snippets of time don’t work in your situation, you can use a timer to reduce the number of times you check the clock or look at your phone.
Focus Noise App
For remote workers who live alone, the silence of their house may be distracting. To give them just enough noise to allow them to turn away from a possible distraction, a focus noise app can be extremely helpful. These tools are great for remote workers and for freelancers. If remote workers can’t get to a coffee shop, they may be able to find a noise app that will serve.
Remote work was a creation of the crunch time during the pandemic. However, it looks as though the ability to work from home will remain a need. The tools to keep remote workers connected are simple, but making sure that everyone has input on projects to be handed out will keep remote workers involved and effective.
