The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced a large number of changes across the entire world. One of the most prominent is how many businesses have been forced to allow their teams to work remotely.
For those who have never been in this position, it can be difficult to complete your required tasks. Fortunately, there’s a handful of computer tips you can turn to in order to improve your performance as a remote employee.
Not quite sure how to begin? We’ve got all the info you need.
Let’s explore everything you should keep in mind.
Table of Contents
Prepare for Outages
One of the most important things you should keep in mind as a remote worker is that your Internet Provider could experience downtime at any given moment.
Unfortunately, many people find that this tends to occur during key scenarios, such as right before a presentation or project submission. So, it’s imperative that you plan for alternatives regarding your Internet connection.
Reliable ways you could maintain Internet access include relocating to a coffee shop or public library, using your mobile hotspot on your smartphone, etc.
Optimize Your Speed
In order to work as efficiently as possible, you’ll need to take steps in order to optimize your speed. You should aim to eliminate as many distractions as you can, and you should aim to work in an environment where you feel creative and productive.
Additionally, you should be sure that you avoid running too many applications at once, as this could drastically reduce your machine’s capability to perform. If you find that your computer isn’t running as quickly as it should, open your machine’s Task Manager (Windows) or Activity Monitor (Mac) and look for applications that are running in the background.
Sometimes, programs you aren’t even using can passively drain a large number of resources.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Each time you use a keyboard shortcut, you can instantly perform an action that would normally take seconds. Eventually, the amount of time that you save begins to add up into minutes and hours. Additionally, using keyboard shortcuts to complete tasks allows you to stay on track and become far more focused.
Fortunately, you don’t need to remember every keyboard shortcut in order to take advantage of it. Many people choose to bookmark a page that has a list of shortcuts or print them out onto a sheet of paper that they keep at their desk.
As you begin to use them more often, though, you’ll discover that they become second nature. You can visit this resource for a list of useful keyboard shortcuts that you can take incorporate into your workflow.
Security Is Crucial
It should come as no surprise that you will need to heavily prioritize security while you’re working remotely. Not only is your personal information at risk, but so is the data of the company that you work for.
In some circumstances, a data breach on an employee’s personal device could have catastrophic results for the business. So, practicing safe browsing habits is essential.
This means avoiding suspicious websites and emails, contacting your employer as soon as possible if an incident occurs, and ensuring that your virus protection software is always up-to-date.
Productivity Applications
There’s a large handful of productivity applications that you can utilize in order to boost your overall efficiency as a remote worker. Some of these aim to help you stay on task, while others are specifically build to streamline certain processes.
For example, many people download applications that lock them out of certain programs for a predetermined amount of time. To elaborate, let’s assume that someone frequently plays games on the computer while they should be working.
The productivity app could stop the user from opening this program during work hours, which will eliminate this distraction entirely.
Screen sharing apps are also notable ways to help users collaborate with each other since the other party will be able to see exactly what you’re doing on your device. The software is particularly useful for larger teams, as this will allow you to quickly resolve issues, gain insight into current progress, etc.
You can visit the following resource for more information on screen share software: https://setapp.com/how-to/top-screen-sharing-mac-apps
Dual Monitors
Having multiple monitors is one of the most straightforward ways in which you could improve your productivity.
The best way to use this setup to improve your workflow is to have a primary monitor and an offhand motor. Your offhand monitor should be used for displaying research, secondary applications, etc. while the main work is performed on the primary monitor.
Depending on the industry that you primarily work in, you may even need to take your productivity to a higher level. At this point, it’s not uncommon to have three or even four separate monitors while working.
Each screen should be used for a specific purpose to help you stay organized, and you’ll drastically be able to reduce the amount of clutter on your primary monitor and give yourself some much-needed breathing room.
Even adding a relatively small extra screen can drastically improve your workflow and allow you to get more done in a shorter period of time.
The Above Computer Tips Can Seem Complicated
But the above information will make the remote working process far smoother. From here, you’ll be able to use these computer tips to take your productivity to new heights.
Want to learn more info you should keep in mind? Be sure to explore what the rest of our blog has to offer.