The global COVID-19 pandemic has thrown the world into upheaval, affecting nearly every aspect of life. As stay at home orders were announced in states across America, employees and employers were forced to explore telecommuting. And, as a potential second wave threatens to hit in late summer, remote work in some form will likely become part of the “new normal” for the foreseeable future.

However, the news isn’t all grim. Prodoscore, a California-based company, recently tracked a 47% increase in productivity, suggesting that employers who adopted the telecommuting process early may not be experiencing efficiency setbacks as feared. According to survey data compiled from 100 million data points across 30,000 users:

  • Telephone calls are up 230%
  • Activity on customer management systems is up 175%
  • Email is up 57%

In an interview with Forbes, Crisantos Hajibrahim, chief product officer at Prodoscore, noted,

“The common assumption is that remote workers are less productive than those who are in a traditional office. But our ability to capture, integrate, and analyze workplace data shows otherwise.”

As employers shift to a network, engineers can utilize a virtual private network (VPN) for access, where they can operate and collaborate in AutoCAD, SolidWorks, and with Excel files, allowing their connections to remain secure and encrypted. In fact, in the past five years, some mechanical and systems engineering firms have experimented with hiring remote employees to contribute during the drawing and modeling process. While being on-site may not only be an advantage but a necessity in certain steps of the process, you can still be just as, if not more, productive as the world navigates this “new normal.”

Here are seven tips to help you stay productive while working from home.

Establish a Designated Workspace

To increase productivity, designate a work environment in your home. Ideally, you can create a home office in a separate room, like a guest bedroom, a basement, or even a garage. This allows you to separate yourself from the rest of the living quarters and helps keep pets, children, and general distractions at bay. If this is not possible, there may be a perfect spot in the house that is unused, like a corner in a quiet den, or a generally unused area of the dining room. Consider purchasing an inexpensive room separator or put up some bookshelves to create a divide.

Make sure the space is large enough for you to access all your required equipment, which may include multiple computers, printers, or any machinery that is required to complete your work. You will be more productive if you are able to fit all your work elements in one space, as opposed to running around to access different tools in three or four different locations. To help make the space more comfortable, you may want to consider adding in a few perks to your workspace, like an ergonomic chair or investing in an HD camera and a high-quality microphone to host remote meetings.

Remember: One disadvantage of working from home is the loss of boundaries between work life and home life. A dedicated office space allows you to have some option to shut the door at the end of the day, much like you would when walking out of the office.

Maintain a Consistent Schedule

Set your office hours and approach working from your home office as you would when heading to the office, which means setting and maintaining a similar schedule. Determine what time you will enter the office, what time you will take breaks, and when you will leave for the day.

Interestingly, Prodoscore’s survey also revealed data about the workday. Key statistics in the survey include:

  • The average worker starts work at 8:32 a.m. and ends work at 5:38 p.m.
  • Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are the most productive days, in that order
  • The most productive period during the workday is from 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
  • Employee “ramp-up” to being productive takes one to three hours daily

To help minimize the one- to three-hour “ramp-up” period, consider adding a new element to your routine. For example, consider the time you would normally take to commute to your office. Instead of sleeping in or getting distracted in the house or online, add in an exercise routine during that time. Take an early walk with a pet around the neighborhood, start a weightlifting routine, or consider morning yoga. Exercise can boost your mood and cognitive abilities, ramping you into work with a sharper mind.

Tip: Consider Monday as your goal setting day, and give yourself some time during your schedule to offset the Monday blues and can lead you to distraction in other areas of your home. This may be a new engineering app or helpful software that you’ve been wanting to test out.

Apply the 80/20 Rule

The 80/20 Rule, otherwise known as the Pareto Principle, suggests that 80% of your success is generated from 20% of your efforts. Make a list of all your daily tasks, even the most mundane. Ask yourself which 20% of your activities result in wanted outcomes and which 20% of your activities are causing 80% of your problems. Once you have narrowed down that 20% of activities, pick a time of day when you are at your most sharp to tackle them.

For example: If you work best in the morning, start your day off by completing the tasks you think will bring you the highest level of success.

Consider a Smart Assistant

Help increase your productivity and set goals with a smart assistant like Alexa or Google Plus. The smart assistant can help you keep track of your schedule, project dates, and important phone calls. A voice-enabled smart assistant can help you search without having to move your screen from your current focus. It may also be helpful in setting up goal markers for long-term projects.

Tip: Reviews.com determined Amazon’s Alexa to be the best smart assistant in 2020, specifically because of its voice match and brand compatibility, which would be important for engineers working on different software programs.

Goal Set with Long-Term Projects for Consistency

Divide long-term projects into units or increments and set a deliverables date. This date can be completely internal; its intention is to continue to move you forward in a project. It also may prevent you from feeling overwhelmed when looking at the big picture. When creating your goal setting for long-term projects, consider implementing what Intel CEO Andy Grove calls OKRs—Objectives and Key Results.

Remember: Break your long-term project into individual units with objectives and set a key result you hope you achieve by reaching the end of that unit.

Maintain Communication with Colleagues, Management, and Clients

Communication with your colleagues, employer, and clients is not only key to your performance and productivity, but also to your mental well-being. Consistent communication with your client in which you can provide updates and deliverables will soothe any concern your client (or employer) has about your productivity and project status during both COVID-19 and while telecommuting.

Prodoscore’s survey also revealed that chat was up by 9%.

Tip: Communicating with your colleagues can reduce feelings of isolation and may provide an opportunity for collaboration or virtual workshopping.

Try a Productivity App

While a smart assistant may help you schedule your day and maintain consistency, a productivity app may provide shortcuts and be invaluable to you when you are telecommuting. If your company does not offer Dropbox, consider exploring this app for additional storage. Desktop Connect allows you to access any Mac, Windows, or Linux directly from your iPad or iPhone, and it is fully encrypted.

Xero is yet another app highly touted for engineers as it helps engineers track expenses, which is crucial during these times. Todoist is another popular app with engineers as it claims to free up your mental space by getting all the tasks out of your head and into your to-do list. This app supports your long-term goal setting.

Bonus: Many of the most useful apps are either free or offer a free trial. You should still research before you download anything, but there is comfort in knowing you’re not locked in to your first choice.

In this new world of telecommuting, it is positive news that productivity is rising. Advancements in engineering software and networking systems now allow you to do some or most of your work from home, which helps support flattening the curve of COVID-19. Use this time to experiment with new goal-setting processes, invest in yourself by exploring new equipment and apps, and reach out to others. In doing so, the “new normal” does not need to feel so abnormal.

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