By now, you’ve likely gotten the hang of Zoom, understand how to mute participants on a large virtual call, and know how to work from home and still be productive while wearing sweatpants. None of us thought we’d be here (okay, most of us, at least) this time last year and the looming question remains unanswered: what if we’re still working virtual jobs in 2021?
It’s likely. Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield even admitted in an interview with BBC that, “We all know that work will never be the same, even if we don’t yet know all the ways in which it will be different.” If you’re worried about transitioning from an office to a full-time virtual job next year, here are a few of our top tips on how to make it work.
1. Familiarize yourself with the right tools
As mentioned, it’s likely that you’ve already gotten the hang of Zoom calls, know your way around Slack, and have a pretty solid working efficiency of other online tools you didn’t need to use before March 2020. Now, when virtual jobs take over (perhaps) in 2021, you’ll need to ensure you’ve got other tools on hand to help you win the digital game. This should include a time and activity tracking tool (Time Doctor works great), a tool for project management, and a business phone solution such as Burner to allow you to have a second work phone without needing to actually pay for an additional phone.
2. Keep a tight schedule
Working from home looks different than working in an office and that’s okay. Learning how to schedule your day in a virtual job setting is crucial in setting yourself up for professional success in 2021. This includes scheduling specific slots for certain tasks. Now that you understand your work-from-home flow, schedule according to your working style. If you know that you’re too distracted to answer emails before 10 am but love designing early in the morning, shift your schedule around accordingly. Try to only schedule meetings for 30 minutes at a time, and pencil in a break every hour or two to get up, stretch, and walk around.
3. Over-communicate
Learning how to over-communicate will serve you well whether you’re working a virtual job or not. Even if things go back to normal early next year, learning how to communicate effectively with coworkers can help increase your working efficiency, prevent you from wasting time on the job, and even help you improve your personal relationships as well. Ask questions, follow-up to confirm a detail, or jump on a quick call to inquire about a project deadline. If you eventually transition back into an office job, you’ll still be able to use this skill.
4. Think outside of the box
The workforce is shifting dramatically and there’s still quite a bit we don’t know about virtual jobs and the future of our working culture. Succeeding in a work from home environment in 2021 means being forgiving about the current culture. You’re adjusting to an entirely new way of life, both personally and professionally. So, if you’re not as productive in the same ways as before, that’s okay. Think outside of the box. Perhaps you need to work from your backyard hammock or you find that you’re most productive from 7 to 10 pm. Find what works for you and run with it.
5. Create solid work-life boundaries
Who else here is burnt out from this year? You’re not alone. After eight months of working from home, studies are showing that more than two-thirds of remote workers are struggling. At Burner, we conducted a study that found that, for 67% of people, their relationship with their phone has changed due to the pandemic. Next year, to reduce that stress a bit, focus on creating a better work-life balance.
We’re here to help with that. We reroute calls coming to your Burner temporary phone number and send them to your cell phone so your personal number stays private. And, it gets better. You’re also able to mute calls specifically linked to your Burner number. This means that whenever you finish your workday, you turn on Do Not Disturb for work calls and continue to enjoy using your phone for other, more personal tasks.
Create your second phone number now and indulge in the feeling of balance.
