During the pandemic, many companies are moving to work from home to keep their business going. One of the biggest problems with working from home is that productivity, communication and collaboration are greatly reduced. On the other hand, for highly disciplined employees, working from home gives them more time to participate in life.

So, how can we improve work efficiency and strengthen team communication and collaboration? Here are some suggestions.

First, get up on time in the morning and get dressed. Don’t go to work in your pajamas, because it’s hard to get started. Getting up at the same time every morning, dressing up, and putting on your usual clothes will give you a sense of ritual that will help you get to work faster. It will also provide you with a sense of productivity and focus.

Second, separate the rest area from the office area. That means having a separate area in your home for your work. Don’t rest where you work, and don’t work where you rest. Keeping your rest and relaxation areas separate from your office space can greatly improve productivity.

Third, work time and rest time should also be separated. It’s easy to get distracted when you’re working from home, scrolling through your phone or wanting to lie down, not being able to focus during work hours. At this point, it is advisable to allocate work time and rest time. After 30 minutes of focused work, take a few minutes off to stretch your muscles and get something to eat. Then move on to the next 30 minutes of focus.

Fourth, strengthen communication, and be sure to communicate regularly. It is suggested that we adopt the early and evening meeting, spend some time communicating with all staff on the day’s work arrangement in the morning, and summarize the day’s work progress before leaving work in the evening.

Fifth, choose the right communication and collaboration tools. There are a number of instant communication tools on the market, and you can choose what you want. In addition to instant communication tools, telecommuting requires collaboration tools, such as document collaboration tools. Only in this way can the collaborative editing, sharing and transmission of documents be completed efficiently.

We are all still at the stage of exploring the new form of office. Experience together, explore together, and improve together. When we work from home, the boundary between life and work is often blurred, so we become irritable and anxious. Therefore, in the face of multifarious work, also do not forget to backup data, in case of document loss or data missing caused by equipment failure or other human misoperation. For example, the alpha backup system is one of the best backup software in Malaysia.