Working from home may sound like a dream come true, but for many, this new lifestyle may come with a few challenges. Newly remote workers in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic may find it disorienting to be taking calls from their dining room or have kids present for a meeting.
Rather than focusing on what you dont have, which may be foot traffic and a retail location, were encouraging you to work with what you do: the internet. There are more potential buyers online than ever before, and if youve never made a sale online, now’s your chance.
Keep reading to learn our digital tips for remote workers that can help you work efficiently with team members, collaborate on projects, and boost your revenue.
Do What You Would Do at Work
Treat your home office like you are traveling to work. Creating a schedule (and sticking to it) will help you set clear expectations of when you should be in the zone – and when to log off. Get dressed every day. Sure, wearing sweatpants may be fine the first day, but putting on work clothes will help distinguish weekdays from weekends.
A great tip that many moguls tout is to do the thing which you are putting off first. That could be the most complicated tasks, that one phone call youre dreading, or the most tedious job. This will give you a productivity boost and set a positive outlook for the day.
Stay connected to employees, co-workers, and customers by leveraging video chats, phone calls, text, email, and messaging apps. You should also aim to move often and take your lunch break: eating and moving are important to keeping you sharp.
Audit Your Online Presence
If you feel restless, we recommend performing an audit of your online presence. Web traffic is soaring, with noticeable increases in mobile traffic. Make sure that your website can be viewed easily on mobile and tablets. Click around and pretend that youre a customer. If something feels off then it most likely is to your customers.
You should also review your directory information. Customers during the COVID-19 pandemic are reaching out more to businesses to confirm hours of operation and ask questions. Be sure to check if your information is current on all the major platforms.
You can also use this time to leverage your SEO strategy and gain the digital advantage. If you do not have an agency or have been doing it on your own and need a bit of help, FZA Digital offers SEO services. We can perform the audits for you and identify where your website needs the most help.
Teams, Collaborate Digitally
During this time, its a good idea to communicate more than usual. Schedule brief video chats for your team to connect. Keep them short (around 15 minutes) and to the point. Check-in one-on-one with staff to see how theyre adjusting to the change of routine.
Youd be surprised how many tasks can now be completed effectively online using free or nominally priced service software. Yes, everyone and their mom is on Zoom, but do you know about other tools for project management and storage?
Some options we recommend are:
- Chatting and Messaging – Slack
- For Video Conferencing/Training – Zoom
- Project Management and Productivity – Evernote
- Time Management Tools – Toggl
- File Storage – Google Drive
- Password Manager – Dashlane
- Focus – Krisp
As every business has different needs, we recommend signing up for a few options and asking your team what you can offer to make their day easier.
A Positive Attitude is Key
Finally, its important to keep a positive attitude. This doesnt mean walking around with blind to the situation. But its important to recognize and accept some things that are out of your control and focus on what you can change.
Taking time off may seem counter intuitive. However, In the grand scheme of your well-being, how much more productive you can be once you return will outweigh your short break.
Here are some other simple but fun ways you can break up your day:
- Goat 2 Meeting For a modest donation, Sweet Farm will video conference a goat from their farm to your next Zoom meeting.
- Audible (temporarily free) One of the worlds largest suppliers of audiobooks is offering a huge selection of free audiobooks as long as the world is at home.
- Netflix Party A Chrome extension that allows you to watch Netflix while also video chatting with your friends and family.
We at FZA Digital hope you are staying safe and keeping busy! If youre ready to dominate online, were ready to take your call at 424-229-2923.
