Homeworking has been a relatively new concept for most people, but we are currently living in a world where this is the new normal and we at The R3VT Guys suspect this could be something that’s here to stay more.

If you don’t know much about us, The RV3T Guys is a technical service, offering quality 3D drawings for engineers and consultancies across the UK. We’ve been a remote service for a while, communicating with our clients through the brilliance of technology but realise, for the vast majority a few tips on how to make a success of working from home, might be useful.

1. Routine – don’t fall into the sofa working pyjama trap, it does you no favours in the long run. Wake up, wash, eat a good breakfast, and change into the type of clothes you’d feel comfortable going to the shops in. Who knows, you might even surprise yourself with time to cook breakfast!

2. Communication – let people know what you are working on and what your up to. This will help manage both time and expectations. A friendly catch up on what you and your team are doing, will go a long way.

3. Technology - rather than shy away from group calls, technology such as zoom and Microsoft teams allows you to problem solve and still ensure the same results as a catch up over a brew will. Try and limit the length of these, to optimise productivity.

4. Equipment & Space – ensure you are sufficiently equipped to work from home. Working remotely does take a little more organisation than a typical office structure may have provided for you. Ensure your printer is topped up with ink and paper, your stationery supplies are ample and your workspace is in a clean, tidy and productive environment.

5. Plan your week – if like us, it is in your line of work to keep to deadlines this is particularly important. Don’t let time run away with you. Planning your time, into client or project-based chunks will help you allocate, prioritise, and become as productive as possible.

6. Fresh Air – in an office environment, it’s very typical to come 1230pm, desks to be desolate. Why is it any different at home? Perhaps you won’t be going for your daily walk to the sandwich shop, but a 20-minute stretch outside will leave you feeling refreshed and focussed for the afternoon's work.

7. Limit faffing – streamline as much as possible. Particularly at home as there seems to be an abundance of time, it can be easy to waste time on non-essential parts of your work. Figure out the most time-efficient ways of achieving the same high-quality results you need for the outcome.

8. Write a to-do list longer than is probably necessary or achievable in one day. Not only will this spur you on during the day, but this constant stream of tasks will also keep you on track. This will also help, the next morning when you are working out where to start your work for the day! Rinse and repeat and you’ll never be short of productive tasks to do.

9. Communicate expectations with those at home – a tricky one that may need approaching with caution however an important balance to strike. If you have others in the house at the same time as you, who are not working it’s important to let them know boundaries. I’m sure in an office environment, they wouldn’t rock up at 3 pm seeing if you wanted to pop out or watch the telly so as much as possible, try and replicate this at home too.

10. Plan your downtime too. One that we haven’t quite mastered yet, admittedly! Working from home is convenient, the commute is tiny and with everything you need at your fingertips, the temptation is there to ‘just do a few more hours, I’d have been in the car anyway’. If you can, try and plan to start and stop times for your work, as well as things to look forward to at the end of the day.

If you have a project coming up or perhaps you have an influx of work currently, get in touch - we'd love to help.