{"id":5745,"date":"2020-06-30T14:52:44","date_gmt":"2020-06-30T14:52:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-ca\/industry\/blog\/?p=5745"},"modified":"2020-08-04T14:37:53","modified_gmt":"2020-08-04T14:37:53","slug":"eight-remote-working-essentials-to-stay-productive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-ca\/industry\/blog\/uncategorized\/2020\/06\/30\/eight-remote-working-essentials-to-stay-productive\/","title":{"rendered":"Eight remote working essentials to stay productive"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Woman<\/p>\n

The second in our Keep your business moving securely<\/em><\/strong> series, this post offers eight remote working essentials to help you stay focused, productive, and secure from home. You can try out these tips at your business and\/or share this post with anyone who may be procrastinating!<\/p>\n

The legendary humorist Mark Twain once quipped, \u201cNever put off till tomorrow what may be done day after tomorrow just as well.\u201d It seems Mr. Twain understood the procrastination problem, which can strike anyone, especially when they find themselves working from home.<\/p>\n

Why do some of us tend to procrastinate? The answer may not be that complicated. With so many distractions on offer at home (kids, pets, Netflix, Xbox, phone calls, neighbours, podcasts, errands, appointments, exercising, meals, naps, laundry, and the list goes on) is it any wonder self-directed efforts fall by the wayside?<\/p>\n

\u201cSelf-directed\u201d says it all. Grouping into teams gives employees working remotely more structure, motivation, and support to succeed.<\/p>\n

Instead of criticizing yourself or anyone else for procrastinating, take a moment to consider what\u2019s missing: structure. <\/strong>Workplaces like offices and schools act as social networks, complete with expectations, rules, processes, hours of operation, meetings, whiteboards, and all the other mechanisms to keep people stay focused and productive.<\/p>\n

When working from home for long periods of time, many people lose their sense of structure and, by extension, the benefits it yields. The goal then is to mimic part of that structure using technology and practices that give us the necessary human interaction and motivate us to deliver results.<\/p>\n

Eight remote working essentials<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Get set up properly<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Schedule every day<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Share your screens<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Co-author with colleagues<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Keep records<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Encourage etiquette<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Automate your processes<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Practice business self-defense<\/p>\n

1. Get set up properly<\/strong><\/p>\n

In our last post, we covered some of the remote working fundamentals<\/u> including how to set up a productive, ergonomic workspace. Plunking a laptop on a coffee table or counter somewhere may seem convenient, but in the long run, a dedicated, quiet, ergonomic workspace provides the most comfort and productivity. If you can\u2019t find a quiet spot, try noise-cancelling audio headsets or buds.<\/p>\n

2. Schedule every day<\/strong><\/p>\n

Build structure into your day with healthy start and end times. Schedule daily status calls with colleagues. Use Microsoft Teams<\/strong>, the teamwork hub, to stay connected. Follow up via routine phone and video calls with your clients\/customers and vendors. Set up formal and informal meetings to collaborate. And make sure to share and calendar with colleagues! Microsoft offers a step-by-step guide with a video on how to share your calendar in Outlook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

3. Share your screens<\/strong><\/p>\n

Go beyond your calendars. Get feedback in real time by sharing files and documents during calls. Microsoft Teams makes presenting files easy. To capture visual feedback, like comments on a website design, for example, you can use the Whiteboard <\/strong>app. With Whiteboard, you can insert a file, like a photo or design mockup, into your whiteboard and\/or use different pens and highlighters to markup documents.<\/p>\n

Break the language barrier with employees. Make your meetings more accessible. Use Presentation Translator<\/a> to automatically display subtitles directly on your PowerPoint, in any of the 60 supported text languages.<\/p>\n

4. Co-author with colleagues<\/strong><\/p>\n

Instead of circulating document versions by email, try co-authoring. Let\u2019s say your company has a proposal you need to put together. Instead of tasking one person with drafting that proposal, build the file as a team in real-time in your productivity cloud together. With the modern version of Office<\/strong>, you can co-author documents and see who\u2019s working on what. Welcome transparency and say goodbye to versioning issues.<\/p>\n

5. Keep records<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking of transparency, did you know you can search people, meetings, chats, files, and apps from a single Teams workspace? Persistent chat threads capture and record your chats, including any links you share, so you do not have to search through emails to find shared information. With a single click, you can also record your meetings in Teams for future reference or get up to speed in case you were not able to attend.<\/p>\n

When Office subscribers record calls in Microsoft Teams the recording automatically appears in the subscriber\u2019s Stream<\/strong>, the video organization service in Microsoft 365. Stream allows users to view, label, tag, and share all their videos from one place. Stream can also auto-generate closed captioning transcripts to improve the accessibility of the recordings. In fact, subscribers can even access and edit those transcripts. You can visit this Microsoft support page<\/a> for instructions.<\/p>\n

6. Encourage etiquette<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like any professional meeting, online meetings require its participants to follow etiquette. Can your meetings benefit from applying these tips?<\/p>\n