10 Tips to Work From Anywhere This Summer

4 February 2021

Staying at home this year hasn’t been an easy ride for many, but now summer is upon us at last with its long sunny days and beautiful balmy nights. Isn’t it about time you got out there and made the most of it?

We don’t normally associate summer fun with keeping office hours, but thanks to the global shift toward flexible work-from-home policies, it’s now possible to work from anywhere – with a few bits of gear and some handy hints.

1. Get your Wifi sorted with Lifestyle Broadband

On the road no longer means off the grid with a Lifestyle Broadband plan – a fast and portable 4G broadband option for your motorhome, caravan or bach.

2. Use a headset for clearer calls

Birds squawking, children screaming, waves roaring – you often don’t realise the volume of these ambient sounds until it’s time to make an important client phone call and you struggle to hear each other.

A good headset can make a world of difference when you’re on the road and have less control over your environment, blocking out distracting sounds and providing clearer audio

3. Maximise your productivity with two or more screens

When you’re used to your office setup including two or more screens, it can be difficult to shift down to just the one, especially if it’s a smaller-sized laptop. Working off a smaller screen can slow your productivity considerably – but there’s a workaround.

If you’re in a bach or motorhome with a TV, you can connect it to your laptop using an HDMI cable (plus potentially an adaptor, depending on your computer), and turn it into a second monitor

 4. Get your landline calls on your mobile

With a landline number that you can set up to dial into your mobile device, no one needs to know that you’re not in an office when you take company calls, and there’s no loss of professional boundaries

5. Set up a neutral background for Zoom calls

Unless you want to stoke envy among your coworkers and clients, it’s probably best to stay away from the beach or any distracting backgrounds for your Zoom calls. A simple background can help to maintain a professional appearance, wherever you are. 

6. Carve out a designated workspace

We’ve all learned this year the importance of carving out a designated workspace at home, to help keep our home life and work life separate. In a small space when working-from-anywhere, it may be more difficult to achieve this, but it’s also more necessary.

When you haven’t got an entire room to designate for work, you have to get creative. If you’ve already got a desk in your boat/bach/motorhome, this part will be easier for you. If you’re in a smaller campervan or somewhere without a desk, try improvising one with a large chopping board that you can set up your laptop, mouse, and notes on.

7. Make sure your workspace won’t hurt your back

You may have already felt the pain of a non-ergonomic workspace when you first started working from home in March – neck strain, back pain, and headaches can all be symptoms of a poor workspace setup.

To make a spine-friendly workstation, set your screen up at eye level so you’re not tilting your head up or down to view it. If you don’t have a laptop stand, try using a spare box or books to get it to the right height. Your keyboard and mouse should be closer to waist level, so your elbows sit neatly by your side as you type.

Most importantly, make sure your seat is comfortable and level, so you’re not leaning, twisting or slouching your back as you work.

8. Try time-batching to get more hours in the day

Time-batching is the art of planning your daily tasks so that related activities are completed together in a single block, rather than scattered throughout the day. This has been proven to increase productivity and allow for longer periods of focus, so you can tick off those projects faster and get back outside to enjoy your summer sooner.

9. Keep office hours 

Keeping to a regular daily pattern of work and play can help you stay on top of things when you’re travelling – both to ensure you’re getting enough work done and to make sure you’re stopping and enjoying some time off at the end of each day.

10. Schedule breaks, walks, and adventures

The whole point of working from anywhere is that you get to see the country, so to make sure you don’t get too caught up in working non-stop, schedule in some breaks and half-days to take a walk and explore your new ‘neighbourhood’.

Make a list of the places you want to see, and don’t forget to include a few rainy day options.

This article provided by wirelessnation.co.nz