Remote work is now something that is available to around 25% of the population. This is because modern technology has made it possible to perform all their normal tasks from the comfort of their own home. However, just because this technology is freely available, that does not mean that people understand it.
Lots of employees working from home trip up on the simplest of computer commands during the workday. With no one else around to help, solving these problems can take a while. Wasting time on fixing tech problems isn’t ensuring that you are as productive as you can be in a remote position. Fortunately, you can use these tech tips to get yourself started in your home office.
Download As Many Video Calling Apps As You Can
There are several reasons why it is important to keep in contact with the other colleagues in your company. You need to share ideas and information to get projects done, and talking to other people in the office can prevent you from feeling isolated when working remotely. That is why most remote companies provide their employees with a text-based social platform like Slack. However, there will come a time when a face-to-face video call is more formal.
There are plenty of video-calling services in the workplace now, and you never know which one is likely to be used by a new person. There is nothing worse than setting up a Zoom account only to receive a meeting invite for a Microsoft Teams call. That is why downloading as many video calling platforms as you can will save you a lot of time and stress. Some popular platforms include:
- Microsoft Teams
- Skype
- Zoom
- FaceTime
- Google Meet
Compress Files
Sometimes your computer may not act in the way you always want. However, this isn’t always a fault of the machine. There are some tasks that will not allow you to proceed with them if you do not meet certain criteria.
For example, an email may fail if you do not send it correctly. Having an email take too long to send at an important time can lead you to miss key deadlines. Therefore, you try to use PDF tools to compress the files within. An email will not send quickly if there is too much data within. Compressing this data into a PDF can save you space and reduce the time it takes for an email to reach the intended recipient.
Improve Screen Size
Working at a laptop all day isn’t always the easiest. These smaller devices may be cheaper than a PC, but that doesn’t always mean that they are most suited to the job at hand.
If you find that you require a larger screen for certain tasks or video meetings, you may want to consider hacking into a larger screen. Most people will be able to link their laptops to an old computer monitor or TV screen. It may take some getting used to the controls, but this is the tip for you if you are craving a bigger computer screen.
Use AI In Your Office
Artificial intelligence may be in its infancy in the workplace; however, it has been in the home for a long time. You may be familiar with personal home assistants like Google Dot or Alexa. As such, you may want to think about using this technology as part of your home office.
You can use these personal assistants to set deadline reminders, call clients, and even research new topics. Using tech in this way can improve your workday productivity, while also making you more comfortable with modern workplace technology.
Avoid Scams
Unfortunately, cybercrime is a very present threat in the modern working world. With remote working becoming so popular, a lot of cyber criminals are choosing to attack big companies through their employee’s home computers. Therefore, remote workers must remain vigilant.
A cyberattack could leave you vulnerable to losing your financial details, having your money stolen, or hackers gaining access to your colleague’s personal details. Your employer should provide you with any necessary protective technology and training should you be at a high risk of a cyberattack. However, the average employee can avoid cybercrime by installing antivirus software, learning how to spot phishing emails, and making other employees aware of any suspicious computer activity.
Back-Up Your Work
Any tech issue you face has the potential to pause your workday, but it can also delete any work you have done up until that point. You don’t want to have to start these projects again, and doing so could cause you to miss deadlines. While saving your work regularly can help you to avoid this issue, there is still a good chance that a complete computer shutdown will require you to redo anything you did after your last save.
To fully protect your work, you should learn how to back-up all your saved projects. You can do this by saving things to the cloud as well as your hard drive or by emailing finished documents to yourself once they are finished. This way, you can always download an online copy of your files should the one on your hard drive go missing.
Remember, Time Zones Exist
One of the biggest benefits of remote working for employers is that it allows them to hire people from all over the world. While this allows the business to hire the best candidates in the world for a role, this spread of employees can pose a challenge for average employees.
The main issue with this approach is that a standard eight-hour workday takes place at different times across the globe. This can make it difficult for employees who are working on the same project to communicate with each other. You don’t want to cause a disruption for a colleague by waking them up with a message at three in the morning. Fortunately, you can avoid these mishaps by keeping multiple clocks on your desktop, each one displaying a different time. If this doesn’t work, you can always use your AI home assistant to help.
Prevent Others In Your Home From Accessing Your Work Computer
You will find that your work is much easier when you leave things on your computer exactly how you want. Unfortunately, a computer is needed for more than just work in the modern home. As such, it can be extremely tempting to let your other family members or roommates access your work computer for other tasks. However, doing so could disrupt your setup.
All it takes is someone else unpinning something from your taskbar or accidentally deleting an email to ruin your work routine. Avoid this at all costs by keeping your work and personal home computers separate.
Conclusion
Working from home should be a much easier alternative for all involved. Sadly, a poor understanding of modern tech could prevent you from performing as you should when working remotely. That is why you should always be on the lookout for tech tips like these to help you out when you need it most. Some may speed up your tasks, while others may save your work in an emergency.
