Five tips for working from home

The way of working is changing in our days. It is increasingly common to find programmers, translators, designers or developers who work at home using the Internet and who work from home. Some companies offer work at home as something optional.

But working from home is not done for everyone. Apart from the difficulty of the work itself, there are certain challenges and requirements that must be met to be productive.
Here are five tips to work from home and not die trying.

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Have a convenient place

Actually the access to the applications in the cloud allows us to work from anywhere, be it a cafeteria, a public transport, a library, a park, etc ...
But to develop an application or to carry out a more elaborate work it is necessary to choose a more convenient and fixed place.
This allows to maintain concentration and avoid errors due to distraction.

It is also very important to have a large desk with a good chair and a closet with spaces for storage. The chair must hold the back, which allows to move easily and be ergonomic, since we will spend many hours sitting.

Have office supplies

A notebook, or a notebook.
A printer. To print documents.
Post It of various colors. It is a way to fill the workplace with reminders.
Ballpoint pens, pencils, staplers.
USB memories.

Have a good computer and a reliable and fast Internet service

Interaction with cloud services and video calls requires a reliable high-speed connection. Therefore, choose a service provider that is reliable and is not the cheapest on the market.

In addition, as something optional, it is also useful to have a USB modem with 4G or a mobile that allows Internet sharing (most smartphones with Android already do).

It is also necessary to have a backup hard disk , to store documents, source code, images, etc ... if possible located in a place away from the desk. The solutions of hard disk of high capacity with interface of network, are the most appropriate.

Have a comfortable keyboard and mouse. The short distance between the keys, the lack of numeric keypad, and the small knock of the buttons.
Have a good processor and memory. As with the Internet, computer "failures" discourage any desire to continue working.
A desktop computer is more ergonomic than a laptop, and the screen should have enough brightness, contrast and definition to avoid eye fatigue.

It is also necessary to have a multifunction printer . Print, scan, photocopy, are tasks that are necessary from time to time.

Have good headphones with microphone

In some companies, it is not welcome to work with headphones, but at home it is sometimes strictly necessary for the following reasons:

• To communicate with our customers, suppliers or collaborators. You need to have your hands free to use the keyboard without problems.
• To not hear the background noise. The neighbor who hammers or drills, the child who is learning to play a musical instrument, the incessant beeping of excavating machines working in the street, the noise of household appliances and in the case of having pets at home, children or couple, the possible interruptions and distractions that they provoke.
• To listen to relaxing or motivating music that can help you focus on the work.

Obviously we have to choose a high quality and comfortable headphones, so that we can use them for several hours.

Use applications of time management, and self-control.

There are some applications that block Internet websites based on a specified time. If we do not have willpower to avoid seeing the results of the last game on the sports website, or the new products of an online store, these applications make it a bit difficult for us.

It is more difficult to separate work life from personal life. In an office we usually do not have elements that distract us, such as pets, children, couples, housework, food, etc ... It requires being a more disciplined and methodical person.

The second type of application is the organizers or time planners.
Most of the notes are more comfortable written on paper, but the tasks or the objectives is better to program them in a cloud application that allows to consult it both on the computer and on the mobile phone.
Applications like Google Drive (cloud hard drive), Keep (tasks in the cloud), GitHub (repository of source code in the cloud), allow us to work in the cloud in a comfortable way and they are also free.

Assess the pros and cons

In the background working from home is something different from working in the office.
If you are considering working from home, you should take into account, not only the above requirements, at the level of comfort and productivity, but also think about the pros and cons:

You organize yourself your time, your clients, and you do not have a boss to tell you what you have to do, so it is important that you know how to deal with procrastination.

Nor are you exempt from noise. That is, if you adapt the temperature to your liking, without going through cold or heat, you can even breathe fresh air out onto the balcony or the garden.

On the other hand, you do not have any companions with whom to have a coffee or to comment on the latest sports news or holidays. In the event that you are a very sociable person who needs to be with people, it will be a considerable effort to work only from home.

Also, you choose your own schedule, you can reconcile your work and personal life to the maximum, but beware of not knowing how to disconnect. Find a schedule in which you feel more productive and plan all the tasks you have to do.

There are other solutions to locate your work site, for example rent a place, rent an office or look for a coworking space. But the disadvantage is that they involve a considerable expense to take into account.