Here at Portland Internetworks, we have a staggered workforce right now as the state begins to reopen. We have a number of people splitting their time between working at the office and working from home. Going back and forth between work and home is a situation that’s ripe for things to go wrong (forgot your power supply at home?). Here are some helpful tips to make the most of your time when you’re part time at both work and home:
- Make sure you don’t leave your laptop in your car! These past few months have surely meant less driving for everyone, it’s likely we’ve gotten out of the routine of taking our laptops home with us every once in a while. Remember to not leave it anywhere it shouldn’t be. And encrypt your files!
- Figure out your setup at each location. It’s going to be helpful to have a few extra monitors, make sure that your employer is supplying you with enough for both your desk at the office, as well as at home. Having ample monitors is essential to productivity; there’s no reason to not have one for your home setup as well as in the office. Along the same lines…don’t forget your power supply and any other cords you may need! Make it easy on yourself and get an extra so it’s one less thing you have to remember to tote with you each way.
- Get (and use!) a carry case. You want to make sure you’re protecting your laptop each time you transport it. Going back and forth between office and home means more opportunities for your laptop to be dropped, or left on top of your car. Rather than stuffing it in your old gym bag, invest in a proper carrying case to make sure it’s stored securely.
- You may have gotten out of the habit of locking your computer while you were WFH. Why would you, to keep your cat out of your classified company files? Now that you’re back in the office, it’s time to get back into that habit.
- Disinfect your workspace and follow guidelines on proper computer disinfecting protocols. You don’t want to bring the office germs back home with you!
- Consider cloud services when it comes to data storage. Not only does it make your computer faster the fewer files it has to store locally, but if you happen to misplace your laptop, you won’t have to worry about losing access to your data. This also helps to alleviate some workflow hiccups; files are available whether you’re in or out of the office.
It doesn’t have to be a burden; moving back and forth between working at the office and working from home. If anything, you get a nice change of scenery every few days! Being mindful of your space and your tools will ease the transition when switching from one location to another.
