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Working from home is not everybody’s cup of tea, but at the moment, most of us don’t have any choice in the matter. For those who have been already working from home or remotely this is not such a massive challenge. Yet, for the thousands and millions of workers out there who have to face this for the first time, it isn’t easy. It can be very stressful, to say the least.

Struggling with new technology, etching out a time plan, working on a virtual team, and staying motivated and sane are just a few of the challenges awaiting the new home office worker. Here are seven tech tips to help ease this stressful period + some bonus self-care tips too!

TIP: If you’re using a work computer while working from home, make sure you get a VPN to protect your network. It can be very easy to have your computer hacked when you’re outside of your typical office space.

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✔ Make technology your new best friend

Tech is your new best friend, whether you’d like it to be or not. Don’t get intimidated by all the new tech options available, it can be pretty simple.

Ways to communicate online

ZOOM: By now, I am sure you have heard of Zoom. Zoom is a cloud platform providing video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars offered across mobile devices, desktops, telephones, and room systems. This seems to be the popular platform for universities in Düsseldorf.
Go to Meeting: Go to Meeting is another platform to host virtual meetings.
Microsoft Teams: They offer chat-based messaging, telephone, and collaboration tools.

Ways to organize your work life

Dropbox: If you need to share a file with a colleague, don’t bother emailing an attachment, sling your files in here and they’re readily available and easy to find when you need them.
Genius Scan: An app to scan documents and convert them to PDFs on the go, good for expensing receipts, or converting CVs and cover sheets.
Toggl: mostly used by creative types, developers, and freelancers to account for their time, all you do is start the timer and it automatically fills out a timesheet for you.
Headspace: one of the first mainstream meditation apps to hit the market, and one of the most enduringly successful, with routines you can do anytime, anywhere.

TIP: If you’re working from home now and need a better internet connection, don’t just purchase the first one you see with excellent speeds, make sure you compare prices on an online comparison website first!

✔ Master your online communication skills

Now that you are in the world of virtual meetings, here are seven tech tips to make your communication easier and smoother:

1- Before you go into your virtual meeting put a “do not disturb” sign on your door letting everyone in the house know that you are not available. For urgent cases, kids can text you.

2 – Try to do a bit of small talk with your colleagues as a means of breaking the ice before a meeting.

3 – Make sure you know exactly where your mute and “turn off video” buttons are (just in case you have a cough attack or want to eat breakfast during a meeting)

4 – Don’t be shy to request a five or ten-minute break during a mega meeting to stretch your legs or make a coffee. It is exhausting trying to give 100% of your attention in such a setting.

5 – If you are facilitating a meeting, try to use people’s names to avoid everyone speaking at once. Encourage your team to put their hand up if they wish to make a comment.

6 – Have a shared Google Doc/OneNote/whatever for meetings so people can follow along with the conversation and keep track of what’s been agreed/asked – don’t assume that somebody else is writing in their pad/on Post-Its if you can’t see them doing it.

7 – Using a headset is your own preference, but, if you do, choose one which is wireless (Bluetooth) so you can move around freely. Media Markt often has the good offers, but I’d also reccomend checking out Vinted as a great secondhand option.

✔ Become a Master of Self Care

Who would have thought that our world would be going through such epic times as right now? Everything has shifted, and moved, nothing seems to be in their original place. This causes a lot of distress, anxiety, and worry. Therefore, it is more important than ever to look after ourselves. Here is another seven-tip list for self-care when working from home.

1 – Get dressed, take off your pajamas, have a shower and get into comfortable clothes. Prepare yourself as if you would be going into the office. This sets your brain into work mode rather than pajama mode (aka. sleepy time)

2 – Block in time for yourself to have a proper break and lunch. Get away from the computer, eat at the kitchen table. Make sure your colleagues know that you are taking your lunch break.

3 – Although our movements outdoors are restricted, if you can get outside then I highly suggest a bit or walking and oxygen to clear your brain.

4 – Take an online yoga class, Shivas Loft is offering free yoga in English. See their schedule for yoga (they currently offer it 4 times per week). They are using the Zoom platform.

5 – Try to resist the temptation of scrolling through the news. It’s important to keep abreast but too much news about the COVID-19 virus can create a sense of anxiety and panic.

6 – Don’t feel guilty about getting your kids online to watch a movie or to do an activity so you can get your work done. If they are older, you can encourage them to take an online course.

7 – Remember, this situation is only temporary. You will get through it.

✔ In need of a job? There are a growing number of sites dedicated to offering remote work

Life in Düsseldorf has an entire resource section dedicated to helping you find jobs, even when they aren’t remote. However, there are also a number of websites dedicated to helping you find a remote-specific job: