Whether you’re telecommuting from a cozy fireside location at a house sit in Ireland, from the road while touring Peru or from the comfort of your long-time family domicile, working from home is efficient. It saves time, money, stress and the inevitable wear and tear on things like professional clothing, your vehicle, manicures and more.
Another benefit is being able to take the time for a work-at-home-fitness routine, even if it’s just a simple dog walk, a couple of swimming pool laps or using an exercise ball instead of a chair. Of course, it’s also important to stay organized when telecommuting. Work is work, whether you are performing your tasks in a traditional office cubicle, from the road or from a command center you shoehorned into an old closet.
One of the things that can be most challenging for telecommuters to organize is the countless incidentals like binder clips, file folders and rubber bands. Having too much or too little can be detrimental to productivity, so balance is key. For people who operate between their car and home, using a fishing tackle box for office supplies is an affordable hack that takes up very little space. It’s also portable, and the built-in sections make organizing the various bits of office fluff a breeze.
Wearing your own work station is also a huge help to a successful telecommuting experience. For those on the home front, using an apron as a portable work station works well. Especially if you go for one of those shorter, utility aprons used by contractors or restaurant wait staff. They easily hold your smart phone, ear buds (if you don’t do the Bluetooth headset thing), sticky notes and pencils for those times you receive a client call while your head’s in the washing machine or you happen to be outside hanging out laundry.
Of course, if you are a digital nomad cranking out assignments as a backpack journalist while pounding the pavement in Paris, Beirut or even Boston, then a wearable portable work station will need to manifest differently. For example, pants with cargo pockets, utility belts and expedition-style jackets might come into play, along with waist packs, shoulder straps with storage and other types of gear that allow you to put your hands on what you need without too much fuss.
One thing’s for certain, anyone who’s been given – or created – the opportunity to telecommute for any length of time will do nearly anything not to return to the traditional employment model. By making your “office” routine as efficient as possible, you’ll be able to have the seamless telecommuting experience you’ve been striving for.
Photo Credit: DDFIC
