Doing work at home is fun and relaxing. However, it becomes a nightmare when there’s a boatload of tasks to do, and you’re using up more than eight hours of your time every day to finish all of them. Thankfully, some readily available tech upgrades can boost your productivity and let you do more work in less time.
1. Switch To Fiber Optic Internet And Online Faxing
In 2020, the DSL coverage in the United States and its territories were around 86%. Unfortunately, DSL can’t completely satisfy the bandwidth demands of most remote work jobs. So, if better internet connection technology like fiber optics is available in your area, you should immediately switch.
Say that you’re a photographer or videographer in a team that sends out raw file data to other members at work. The fastest DSL speed you can get in some states is around 50 Mbps. Forget about downloading and receiving files.
The main problem with DSL—or ADSL in particular—is its horrendous upload speed. A 100GB uncompressed file may take a whole day with an old ADSL connection. With fiber, you can cut down the upload time to a couple of hours or so.
If you’re worried about losing your fax capabilities because you may lose your fax and phone line when you switch to fiber, don’t be. Do know that you can get the best online fax service to replace your physical fax line and machine.
2. Use A Password Manager
Whether you’re doing work or personal stuff on your computer, you’ll need to deal with and remember a ton of usernames and password combinations. And if remembering your user credentials isn’t enough of an inconvenience, some websites and companies will require you to frequently update and change your passwords, making logging in and out of websites a huge inconvenience. And if you mistakenly forgot one, prepare yourself for some time-wasting verification and password reset processes.
With a password manager, you can eliminate all those troubles. In addition, you can even secure all your passwords and accounts using one single app. You can also access all your accounts using a single password. And the best thing about most modern password managers is that you can use them across all your gadgets and devices. It’s an ultimate convenience that can boost your productivity singlehandedly.
3. Install Browser Extensions
Honestly, most remote work is done using an internet browser nowadays. Instead of mandating employees to use a custom or propriety app, most companies tell them to use popular internet browsers instead.
Thankfully, most internet browsers nowadays are fully customizable, and you can easily integrate additional functionalities—using browser extensions or plugins—on them to boost your productivity. Some popular plugins are often added to integrate notepads, calendars, grammar checkers, and even time trackers to help people with their work.
4. Learn How To Use Macros And Scripts
Even if you’re not a programmer or a tech-savvy employee, you can create a macro, script, or program that can automate some of your mundane work. For example, if you’re a graphic artist who often spends time applying the same filter and effects to tens and hundreds of photos every day, you can record all your actions in a macro.
Once you do that, the macro can repeat all your actions by pressing a single key on your keyboard. It’s highly convenient, and it doesn’t require deep technical understanding.
5. Buy A Macro Keyboard
If the programs you use don’t enable macro-options and you don’t want to dabble with third-party scripting programs, you can get a macro keyboard instead. A macro keyboard has additional keys which you can program and use as special shortcuts in your operating system and programs.
Some video editors often add two more keyboards and dedicate all their keys to various shortcuts that they often use in video editing. With a macro keyboard, you can work using a single one without worrying about your desk’s space. Always keep in mind that being efficient in the tools that you use may boost your productivity in the long run.
6. Find Free Applications On The Web
If the extensions available for the internet browser you use aren’t enough to fulfill all your productivity-boosting needs, then you have the option to find and collect free applications and remote work tools on the web instead.
However, don’t just download and install anything. As a precaution, be sure to learn more about every application you want to use on your computer. Commonly, most free software may come with viruses, malware, and adware.
7. Upgrade Your Computer Or Its Components
Most of the time, it’s the equipment that can hold your productivity back when working from home. And since you’re working remotely, you may only have one device that you can rely on. If it’s already running slow, consider upgrading it or its components.
If you’re still using a hard disk drive (HDD) for your operating system, switch to a solid-state drive (SSD). Additionally, if you’re using DDR3 or DDR4 RAM, replace them with DDR5 RAM sticks and upgrade to a motherboard that can complement your upgrades. Accordingly, you may also need to upgrade your CPU to make it compatible with the board you’ll get.
Conclusion
Those are the top seven technology upgrades and things you can do to boost your productivity when working at home. Of course, you should not limit your upgrades to this list, as you can always find newer tech on the web that can aid you in fulfilling the tasks that your job entails.
