7 Tech Tips to Improve your Work-From-Home Strategy

As the number of U.S. citizens who have become infected with COVID-19 increases, so does the number of businesses requiring their employees to work from home.  Here are a few tech tips to make it easy to set up your off-site work setup.

Make sure you have a strong Wi-Fi connection

We live in an age where most devices are able to connect wirelessly.  Your job performance at home is going to largely depend on the reliability of your WiFi.  The potential of several different devices competing for throughput on one network can cause internal traffic issues, and decrease your performance while working from home.

One way to help with this would be to upgrade your router. It’s safe to say that if you’ve had the same router for more than five years – it may be time to replace it. Newer routers offer dual- and tri-band wireless networks and with it you can segment your network into two networks. Many newer Wi-Fi routers are also good at negotiating the throughput usage of the devices on a network, and you can tell them which devices get priority.

Whether or not your router is old or you decide to upgrade, you should at least be sure to go into the router’s management software and ensure it’s running the latest firmware.  This will improve the router software and update any security vulnerabilities.

Boost your internet speed

Your internet speed depends on the level of service you have selected from your Internet Service Provider. When you know that you’ll be working from home for an extended period of time, you should evaluate the level of service you have. Selecting a plan with upload and download speeds that will be an important part of your work from home plan, especially if your job responsibilities will require things like teleconferencing, large file sharing, video editing and more.

Ensure your home network is secured

All of the devices on your home network, especially the ones you use for business practices, need to have the latest software updates which will contain critical security patches.  You need to be sure to update your anti-virus software as well.

Purchase a USB dock or hub

If you are working from home, and are working on a desktop PC, you may be ready to go. However, there is a chance that if you’re working from home, you may be working on a personal or company-issued laptop. 

The main problem with modern laptops are that they don’t offer many ports. By purchasing a USB hub that fits the needs of your laptop, you’ll give yourself extra ports for devices like an external hard drive, or peripherals such as a mouse. Purchasing the correct hub will also allow you to connect an additional display, although you may be limited on things like resolution.

Use a Monitor that fits your needs

There are few other things you can do that has as fast of an impact on productivity than connecting additional monitors. If you’re using a laptop, there are several options for how you can set up. If you have a Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C port, you can attach 4K displays and make your laptop a powerhouse.

Another productive thing to do in regards to monitor selection would be to familiarize yourself with how your operating system works with split screens and multiple displays. Between the system and the display, there will likely be built-in tools for managing real-estate to make multitasking easier.

Pick the correct webcam and headset

If you are going to begin working from home, chances are you’ll be on a lot of video calls. Colleagues like to actually see each other when they are collaborating.  This means you’ll need a good webcam and headset for clarity both visually and vocally.

These days, the built-in webcam on a device, and any basic headset should do the trick. However should you need to, investing in a higher quality webcam and/or headset will only improve the digital meeting experience.

Don’t forget about your keyboard and mouse

Purchasing a good external keyboard and mouse will increase your productivity. External peripherals are usually more versatile than a laptop’s built-in solution. Additionally, external devices are usually more comfortable for someone to use.

Do you need help with any of the tech tips in this article?

SpaceBound Solutions can help! Click here to see how we can help you prepare your remote work strategy.

Story via ABC News