Complete Work from Home Guide | Best Work from Home Jobs

Ultimate Guide to Working from Home

 The current Covid-19 pandemic has become a prime factor in the increasing numbers of persons seeking work from home opportunities. However even before the corona virus pandemic, people have been seeking to work remotely for many reasons. Some employers even, are all for remote operations as it would cut on office space expenses and reduce turnover rates. Many are starting t

But would you be as effective an employee working from home? ...Absolutely! In fact, many employees experience a higher rate of productivity working from their own comfy space and advancing technology such as Zoom and Skype makes it easy for them do that.

 I’ve been working from home for 90% of my career life and here are some of things I wish someone told me before I started. Whether you’re looking to work from home part-time or full-time these simple tips will help you increase your productivity tremendously.

 

How to Effectively Work from Home

 As appealing as working from home may sound, jumping into it without a plan, as in anything else, can lead to problems down the line. When I first started my first remote job the feeling was immaculate. I didn’t have to get up ridiculously early and force myself out of bed to get ready for a job I didn’t want to be at. I was making money online from home without leaving my house. I could eat breakfast without worrying about when my “break time” was going to end and what my introverted self loved most of all, I did not have to mingle with people every day.

 But I soon got a hit of reality when I started procrastinating so bad I started to wish I could go back to the 9-5 hours just to get some work done. You see as appealing as working remotely sounds, it has its downsides and if you don’t create a plan and follow through with it from the start, things can go bad for you. 

 So I’ve consulted with some field professionals and friends who also work remotely and I put together a list of tips that will help you work from home effectively.

 1.      Have a designated workspace with the necessary tools and technologies you will need.

This step is so important because your workspace will affect your productivity levels. Try to find a quiet space, where there are little to no distractions. I would not recommend using your bedroom because you have very high chance of falling asleep or getting distracted.

 2.      Create a Work Calendar

Creating a work calendar, or planner, might sound a bit cliché but trust me planning your day will go a long way. From the time you wake up, you should have an idea of exactly how your day will go and what you should be doing at specific time frames. You do not want to just wing it every day. Time management is key.

Although some have said that creating a schedule would feel like being under the control of a 9-5 job, I believe not having a schedule will get you right back to working a 9-5 job. Having a planner will also help you eliminate distractions that you might “forget” about. It will help you organize your day by helping you figure out what the best time would be to wake up so that you can get breakfast, meditate, get the kids or pets fed and any other chores you need to do, so that you can start your work on time.

There are many free planner tools that can do the trick.

3.      Set Your Ground Rules

Whether you work for yourself or for a company you need to set your ground rules to protect your mental health. If you work for a company, you need to find out from your employer the outcome they expect from you in 24 hours. Make sure that is clear ahead of time so that you do not end up overworking or under working yourself.

Make sure you are familiar with the software you would need such as Microsoft Teams for group chats, Trello for project management or Zoom for Video Conferencing. A complaint that many of friends have expressed is that employers usually expect more work from them when they started working from home because they believe they “have more time”. This couldn’t be further from the truth, however communicating your workload abilities from the start can help eliminate this problem.

Don’t forget to set your ground rules with your family members as well so that they don’t distract you when you’re working.

4.      Have Backup Devices

I understand that not everyone can afford to have two phones, or two laptops, or even two Ipads, but the truth of the matter is that technology is not 100% perfect and it can crash when you least expect it. If you can, try to get at least one backup device and always back-up your data on the cloud or google drive. There’s nothing more heartbreaking than losing weeks or even months of hard work.

5.      Plan More Social Activities

If you’re as introverted as me the thought of working from home and making money online without having to leave your house probably excites you. However, I found that it can get extremely lonely and not doing more social activities or activities you like can lead to major procrastination and even depression. Something as simple as a lunch date one or twice a week with a friend or visiting your favorite waterfall on the weekend can help you overcome this feeling. I can’t stress this enough, remember you NEED to enjoy the journey.

Types of Work from Home Jobs

 There are over a hundred different types of jobs you can do from home. Advanced technology and reduced costs have encouraged companies to create more work-from-home-opportunities, and there are also many freelance jobs available to people with different skill sets.

The Top 7 Best Work from Home Jobs include:

 

·         Virtual assistant: Takes care of the secretarial needs of the boss.

·         Call Center/ Customer Service representatives

·         Translators

·         Data entry

·         Teachers (growing demand)

·         Transcriptionists

·         Influencer Marketing

    Websites such as Fiverr.com gives persons a chance to promote their skill set with companies      looking for freelancers can find them easily.

   Websites such as Flexjobs.com and Indeed.com help persons find companies that are hiring         remote workers.

   You can check out Forbe’s10 Best Jobs Working from Home list to better help you find               companies that hire remote workers and decide what online job you might be interested in.

There’s also the option to start your own online business. Many millennials wish to take this route but most never finish it simply because they gave up too fast. Whether you’re working for yourself or for a company, the hours of work you put in is what you will get out. Working from home is NOT a get rich quick scheme and it requires just as much, if not more, work than a regular 9 to 5 job.