Remote Working Why it Rocks
There’s an awful lot of fear and panic surrounding the thought of working from home. Many people reject the notion entirely, my own Dad included, but is it really as bad as it seems?
My Dad claims he “couldn’t be trusted” as he’d just be in the pub by lunch, but with the imminent closure of the boozers, and offices across the UK, remote working is becoming a very real possibility for a lot of buisnesses.
As we formed Knights by working from home, and personally my previous web agencies before it, I wanted to break down some of the reasons why I think it’s great! Even if I do prefer the office myself.
View Our Full Guide
We wrote a full guide on this topic amidst all of the COVID-19 coverage as a tool to assist the transition for other small business owners.
Reason 1: More Time On The Job
Any of us that have, or have had, offices in the centre of a city, or that are miles away from home, know the pain of wasting hours in the car or on public transport on the commute.
When deadlines are looming and there’s work to be done, being stuck in traffic or on the train platform, is incredibly frustrating.
When you work from home, the commute is usually as short as from the bedroom, to the office (or dining room, or wherever else you’re working from). Not only that, but you don’t even need to get dressed if you don’t want to! Not that I’d recommend sitting in your underpants just in case you need to just on a conference call.
But all of that saved time from traffic, and in some cases showering, does in-fact mean you’ve got more time to get work done.
Something that all of us entrepreneurs wish we had!
Reason 2: It Brings Discipline
I alluded to this before with my quip about not getting dressed. However, you should maintain order and discipline in your day. One of the first steps to success that Jim Rohn tells us in his book 7 Strategies For Wealth And Happiness.
A sturdy routine, a default diary perhaps, and self-discipline, are essential when working from home, whether for yourself or an employer.
When, as now, there is no other option, you need to maintain discipline to pay the bills, and that’s a great motivator to get the job done.
Reason 3: It Forces Systems
Working from home, naturally, separates some of the communications you can have in the office. Which is where a well documented system supported by apps comes into play.
When you’re moving your business from paper over to a web app, or a series of them as in most cases, you need to develop a workflow as to where information is added and when so you don’t lose track of things.
This organically forces you to think about workflow, and about how you’re communicating various pieces of information around the company. Perfect for translating into automations and apps online at a later date as you start to recognise boring and repetitive tasks.
One of the best ways to grow a business is to automate the boring and repetitive to maintain quality and automation. Hell, even McDonalds do it: you can buy a cheeseburger in Leigh in the North West of England, and it’d be pretty damn near to one you bought over in the States.
That’s all down to process and systems.
Reason 4: It Helps You Trust Your Apps
The idea of moving your entire workflow of documents, spreadsheets, paper forms, and notepads seems like a scary thing to hand over to an online app at first. But when you’ve no other choice, it’s best to get used to it!
The first time you started using online banking was probably daunting, but when you realised you could keep an eye on your finances whilst brewing a cup of coffee in a morning without having to queue for hours at the bank, it probably felt quite nice.
When you allow yourself to trust your apps and tech for business, and not just your grocery shopping, then you unlock true freedom, and the ability to work from anywhere in the world (as soon as they let us travel again).
Confidence in technology is a good thing, and if this helps you develop that, then so be it.
Reason 5: It Boosts Your Confidence To Camera
There are some conversations where voice, and text, don’t convey enough emotion. Perhaps you’re not the fastest typer, and you just need to speak to someone.
As most of communication is non-verbal as we know in the NLP world, getting on a video conference is a very likely requirement, especially whilst quarantined.
Talking to your webcam, or your phone camera on a Facebook like, might feel weird at first. But once you’ve done it a few times as a necessity it doesn’t feel quite so alien anymore.
Once you’re comfortable, video is one of the most invaluable tools in your digital marketing arsenal, so it’s worth getting good at!
When you can speak to all of your potential customers from a little device in your pocket, being comfortable doing so suddenly seems like a great skill to have.
More Information
If you’d like to learn more about working from home, check out our handy guide giving you loads of advice on some apps to try, and plenty of online tools to replace your offline environment.
WFH: A Guide to Remote Working.
Stay safe out there folks, see you on the other side of the pandemic.