Remote Working Part 2 – Self discipline essentials
The key reason people fail to succeed at working remotely is they fail to realise the need for excellent organisation and rigid self management.
I have been working remotely for nearly 8 yrs since I first unearthed Quickbooks online an ‘on demand’ small business accounting software online system and was mesmerised by the fact that if you can do accounting on the net then why shouldn’t it be practical to perform other key types of of work away from the conventional office?
Whilst working remotely has substantial gains there are numerous pitfalls which evolve into problems that result in cuts in work output and reduced morale. The most cited reason for low work output from remote professionals is interruption and it is a verified and well known fact that it can take a professional up to 20 mins to return to their original productivity level after experiencing a disruption.
Research also shows that members of both sexes who are consistently subjected to disruptions are more likely to be susceptible to lower memory capability and are prone to developing mental health issues in later life. We live in an over communicated society and it is important that you are aware of the problems this causes before you decide to work remotely. When operating remotely you should do everything feasible to eradicate the probability of being interrupted.
Here’s how I do it:
1, Get a habit, make sure that everybody knows it and rigidly adhere to it!
Good examples are a consistent time of day when you check or compose and reply to e-mail and make or be available for telephone conversatiions. Before I began working remotely I used to get nearly 200 electronic mails every 24 hours. Now I think I am unfortunate if I get more than 5. To ‘restart’ my electronic mail experience I altered my e-mail address and tenaciously took steps to defend the details being passed on to anyone. I then ‘trained’ every person who I gave my e-mail address to, to use it prudently. I also configured an automatic reply that swiftly informed anyone sending me mail at what time of day I would be processing mail and if an item needed my immediate awareness to mark it as ‘Urgent’.
2. Get rid of alerts.
Turn off every possible mechanism that can send you a visual or audible alert. This includes portable and
conventional handsets and forms of alerts from electronic mail such as visual alerts, audible warnings, display changes to your inbox folder and of course facing a window. Get a door on your work room and put up a ‘do not disturb’ sign on it.
In ‘Remote Working Part 3 – What should be in your tool box’ I will reveal my favourite tools and software.
Tags: Quickbooks online, small business accounting software
This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 at 9:34 am and is filed under iPhone Mobile Cell Phone. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.