Planning On Working Remotely This Holiday Season? Use These Smart Methods
While you might care about your business a lot, you want to make sure that you can spend some quality time with your family at the same time. If you have a home office and a few jobs to finish before you would start a new year, the advice is: work smarter and not harder. The below tips will help you make the most out of your time at home and manage your important tasks from home.
Get a Collaboration Platform Set Up
If you don’t want to commute to the office during the holidays, you might want to create an online collaboration platform, such as a cloud business account. Check out the different features of Microsoft 365, allowing you to collaborate with your team through the internet. Instead of having meetings in the office, give them the option to talk to you once or twice a day through video conferencing. This way you can keep an eye on the business, without having to spend time away from home.
Limit Your Screen Time
You are staying home for a reason. Don’t give in to the temptation and get stuck on the computer all day. While you want to get your business ready for the holidays, you want to have a clearout at home and clean your house for the guests. Tell your colleagues and customers when you are available, and send out emails telling them that you will check your emails a couple of times a day, and you might not answer immediately. Many people running their business are unable to switch off, and worry about their business all the time. It is time to let go and relax, enjoying some quality time with your family.
Add Emergency Contacts
You cannot be available for business emergencies, and this means that you need to delegate tasks and responsibilities. Add emergency contacts to your online platform, and make sure that if you have employees at work, they know what to do. You don’t want to leave during your family dinner just to call the plumber. If you get measures in place to get emergencies sorted without you, it is possible to enjoy a relaxing and peaceful holiday season.
Set Up an Answer Machine and Q and A Section On Your Site
You might not want to deal with customer inquiries during the holidays. Before you leave the office, make sure you work with your team to create an informative Q and A section on your site, and direct your customers and visitors to it. This way, you will not have to spend time answering the same question again, and you appear to be a responsible business owner. Communicate your opening hours during the holidays with your customers, so they know what to expect.
Making sure that you are ready for the holidays and are able to take some time off to spend your family is challenging. Put systems and procedures in place to inform your customers about the opening times and availability.
[Editor’s note: This is a partnership produced post.]
