{"id":16628,"date":"2021-06-21T20:32:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-22T00:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/?p=16628"},"modified":"2022-06-21T09:00:54","modified_gmt":"2022-06-21T13:00:54","slug":"remote-workplace-filled-with-traps-how-to-avoid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/remote-workplace-filled-with-traps-how-to-avoid\/","title":{"rendered":"The “Remote” Workplace is Filled with Traps: Here\u2019s How to Avoid Them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tom* is a truck driver in Georgia who says he\u2019s “living the dream.” He might be on to something. When he gets his rig from A to B, his duty is done, no ifs,<\/em> ands,<\/em> or buts<\/em> about it. Tom looks at folks with corporate jobs with a hefty dose of pity; their days never seem to be done. That smartphone keeps \u2018dinging\u2019 with email notices and messages way beyond quitting time. It\u2019s too true for too many: the only time we stop \u2018working\u2019 is when we\u2019re asleep. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cRemote working<\/a>\u201d has \u2013 for many \u2013 only exacerbated the problem. Work and life have an even thinner boundary, and while home has its comforts, there\u2019s something about putting on office attire and being in a workplace. If nothing else, going to the office offered a change of scenery. But let\u2019s put the griping aside. The remote workplace isn\u2019t going anywhere, and we\u2019re just going to have to learn to evolve and thrive in this new environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The BBN Times<\/a> notes there is a \u201csilver lining\u201d to working from home, reporting: \u201cMost employees are 22% more productive when working from home. The average person has 43% less meetings than they did before the pandemic. Most people have 2.5 more hours in their schedules than they did before Covid-19.\u201d So, there are \u201cpluses.\u201d But pitfalls lurk. The biggest challenge most remote workers face is maximizing productivity while dealing with new, and abundant distractions. To get the most out of remote work, we\u2019ll need to start developing new mindsets\u2026 and perhaps a few new tech skills, such as learning how to block websites. The effects of the pandemic sped up a transition that was coming anyway \u2013 now, productivity trumps all. You might have noticed some changes in yourself, becoming more computer literate, figuring out ways of doing collaborative projects that used to be \u201cimpossible\u201d without face-to-face meetings. Companies and employees are growing and changing \u2013 and overall, that\u2019s a positive thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Productivity boils down to getting stuff done and to accomplish that, you can\u2019t waste huge chunks of the day surfing the web or procrastinating. Most of us, however, do a lot of that. Time management isn\u2019t a quality most folks are born with. And so \u2013 as we adjust to the realities of a new era \u2013 it\u2019s almost like we need to go back to school and re-learn some basic skills. Luckily, there are a few shortcuts to productivity. There are some of the most powerful \u201chacks\u201d that can help you stay relevant (and employed) in the remote workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not going to surprise anyone to hear that eliminating distractions is the first thing that boosts productivity. No, you can\u2019t work and watch Sweet Tooth<\/em> on Netflix at the same time. Not many people are even genuinely able to work and listen to music \u2013 humans aren\u2019t great multitaskers. If your home or workspace is noisy, noise-canceling headphones are a worthy investment (experiment with \u201clo-fi\u201d music<\/a> or white noise if you wish.) The biggest distraction, however, is sitting in front of you. Your computer is your lifeline and essential for work, but it\u2019s also capable of taking you on some mega-time-wasting trips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of relying on willpower, a growing trend with remote workers is getting some assistance from a productivity app, or what others call a blocking app. Download it, sync it across all devices, then set parameters. For example: nothing but email and the company website permitted from 9 to 11 a.m<\/em>. The apps offer a huge range of flexibility \u2013 and all the choices are up to you. They block pop-ups, have timer features and even allow you to set up \u201coffice hours\u201d during which, people outside your work circle are sent a friendly message such as, \u201cSorry, but Susan is currently working. She\u2019ll be available to respond at 3 p.m.\u201d Take away the biggest distractor \u2013 the internet \u2013 and you\u2019ll be shocked at how much more gets done in a few hours of \u201cblocked out\u201d time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another major booster for remote workers is the well-timed break. You\u2019re not a slave or a machine. You can\u2019t think or be creative when feeling sluggish. Put exercise into your schedule, and aside from a good workout, take breaks. Walk around the block. Stare out the window at some trees. Re-charge, re-new, and then return to work! Blocking apps all come with timers \u2013 the idea being to work like nuts for 25 minutes and then take a nice break. The idea works well for some and is worth giving a try. Finally, remember that humans of all ages thrive best when in a well-balanced routine<\/a>. Sure, you could <\/em>wake up at 10 if you want to, you could<\/em> wear pajamas all day, you could<\/em> balance your laptop on a table as you lie in bed\u2026 but before long, this \u201ccasualness\u201d will seep into your work. Double-check the spreadsheet numbers? \u2013Nah<\/em>. Spellcheck the report? \u2013It\u2019ll be fine<\/em>.  Accept that we all need guide rails and a schedule. Working remotely allows a lot of leeway. If you\u2019re a morning person, you can adjust accordingly and have more evening hours to yourself. But basing the day\u2019s workflow on how you feel<\/em> each morning isn\u2019t going to lead to higher productivity, nor is it likely to grant you any extra free time. A \u201cstandard routine\u201d is the way to go.     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tom* is a truck driver in Georgia who says he\u2019s “living the dream.” He might be on to something. When he gets his rig from A to B, his duty is done, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Tom looks at folks with corporate jobs with a hefty dose of pity; their days never […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":16630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[52],"class_list":{"0":"post-16628","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-news-2","9":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nThe "Remote" Workplace is Filled with Traps: Here\u2019s How to Avoid Them - TechWalls<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Work and life have an even thinner boundary, and while home has its comforts, there\u2019s something about putting on office attire and being in a workplace. If nothing else, going to the office offered a change of scenery.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/remote-workplace-filled-with-traps-how-to-avoid\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Guest Authors\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/remote-workplace-filled-with-traps-how-to-avoid\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/remote-workplace-filled-with-traps-how-to-avoid\/\",\"name\":\"The \\\"Remote\\\" Workplace is Filled with Traps: Here\u2019s How to Avoid Them - TechWalls\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/remote-workplace-filled-with-traps-how-to-avoid\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/remote-workplace-filled-with-traps-how-to-avoid\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/workplace.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-22T00:32:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-06-21T13:00:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/#\/schema\/person\/440f216965cffca997e53e754f489c84\"},\"description\":\"Work and life have an even thinner boundary, and while home has its comforts, there\u2019s something about putting on office attire and being in a workplace. If nothing else, going to the office offered a change of scenery.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/remote-workplace-filled-with-traps-how-to-avoid\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/remote-workplace-filled-with-traps-how-to-avoid\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/remote-workplace-filled-with-traps-how-to-avoid\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/workplace.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/workplace.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":853},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/remote-workplace-filled-with-traps-how-to-avoid\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"The “Remote” Workplace is Filled with Traps: Here\u2019s How to Avoid Them\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/\",\"name\":\"TechWalls\",\"description\":\"Technology News | Gadget Reviews | Tutorials\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/#\/schema\/person\/440f216965cffca997e53e754f489c84\",\"name\":\"Guest Authors\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/author\/guestauthor\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The \"Remote\" Workplace is Filled with Traps: Here\u2019s How to Avoid Them - TechWalls","description":"Work and life have an even thinner boundary, and while home has its comforts, there\u2019s something about putting on office attire and being in a workplace. If nothing else, going to the office offered a change of scenery.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/remote-workplace-filled-with-traps-how-to-avoid\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Guest Authors","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/remote-workplace-filled-with-traps-how-to-avoid\/","url":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/remote-workplace-filled-with-traps-how-to-avoid\/","name":"The \"Remote\" Workplace is Filled with Traps: Here\u2019s How to Avoid Them - TechWalls","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/remote-workplace-filled-with-traps-how-to-avoid\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/remote-workplace-filled-with-traps-how-to-avoid\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/workplace.jpg","datePublished":"2021-06-22T00:32:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-06-21T13:00:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/#\/schema\/person\/440f216965cffca997e53e754f489c84"},"description":"Work and life have an even thinner boundary, and while home has its comforts, there\u2019s something about putting on office attire and being in a workplace. If nothing else, going to the office offered a change of scenery.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/remote-workplace-filled-with-traps-how-to-avoid\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/remote-workplace-filled-with-traps-how-to-avoid\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/remote-workplace-filled-with-traps-how-to-avoid\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/workplace.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/workplace.jpg","width":1280,"height":853},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/remote-workplace-filled-with-traps-how-to-avoid\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The “Remote” Workplace is Filled with Traps: Here\u2019s How to Avoid Them"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/","name":"TechWalls","description":"Technology News | Gadget Reviews | Tutorials","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/#\/schema\/person\/440f216965cffca997e53e754f489c84","name":"Guest Authors","url":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/author\/guestauthor\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/89"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techwalls.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}