How To Improve Your Working From Home Technology
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many people worked from home because it provided them with an enormous amount of flexibility. As you can appreciate, working from home makes it easy to juggle family life around work.
You're likely reading this today because you are working from home - either by choice, or due to a change in policy from your employers. But, you are wondering whether you can make some technology improvements to help you work more efficiently and productively.
With that in mind, here are some practical ideas you can consider to boost your technology to be a better homeworker:
Supercharge Your Computer Setup
The first place to look at when improving your working from home setup is your computer, irrespective of whether you use a desktop computer or a laptop. It would be best if you started by doing some computer housekeeping.
If you have a Mac, for example, your system can slow down if you aren't getting rid of unwanted files or organizing documents and shortcuts on your desktop. The tips in this link will help you clean up your system.
Your system may also benefit from hardware upgrades, such as extra RAM or a solid-state drive (SSD). Such upgrades will make your computer operate faster and more efficiently.
Get A Faster Internet Connection
Next, review your Internet connection. Is your link with the online world so slow that you have to take working breaks for large files to upload or download? If the answer to that question is yes, now is the time to consider a fiber-optic Internet connection.
Thankfully, you can get connections at various speeds, so choose one that best meets your needs. You may even find that your employer is willing to pay for any extra costs because you work from home.
Use Noise-Canceling Earplugs
Are there other people in your home at the same time as you when you're working? If that's the case, you may find it hard to concentrate on your work - especially if other householders are being loud or the things they do distract you in some way.
One idea to get around that problem is by wearing some noise-canceling earplugs. They are perfect for people that need complete silence to work, and in your case, it means you don't have to find somewhere else to work outside your home!
Set Up A Unified Communications System
There are other ways that technology can help streamline your working from home setup. For example, you could have your work number diverted to your cell phone, so you don't miss any important calls.
You could also set up a voicemail to email system, so you can review voicemail messages even if your phone is off or out of signal range.
Make Use Of Cloud-Based Document Storage
Last but not least, it makes sense to use a cloud storage facility to share documents and files with your work colleagues. They can also collaborate on those files with you, even if they're working from home too.