Remote work

Decision Making is an integral part of our everyday lives. From the time we wake until the time we go to bed, we end up making multiple decisions in a day. Decisions could be something as simple as, what time to wake up in the morning, when to exercise, what breakfast to eat, to more complex decisions such as those relating to work etc. This process of consistently making decisions can exhausting and can thus lead to a phenomenon called Decision Fatigue. 

A report says that on average an adult makes about 35,000 remotely conscious decisions each day. After making all these decisions, one might most probably feel drained by the end of the day. To make yet another decision might leave you feeling exhausted.

The reason here is decision fatigue. 

What is decision fatigue?

The term decision fatigue was coined by F. Baumeister, a social psychologist known for a wide range of work on motivation, aggression, sex differences etc. He refers to decision fatigue as the decline in the quality of decisions made by an individual after making many decisions. The deteriorating quality of our ability to make good decisions, after a long session of decision making is called decision fatigue. In simple words, decision fatigue occurs when the decision-making process results in low self-control and willpower due to having to make too many decisions. 

Why can’t I focus at work and how to fix it?

Just as how our body’s muscles feel exhausted, the same happens to the brain after taking loads of decisions in a day. Either one ends up making an impulse decision or no decision at all.

The effects of decision fatigue

F. Baumeister and his team defined a link existing among decision-making actions, self-control, and willpower. Continuous decision-making results in deteriorating the self-control and willpower of an individual. Our impulses could not be controlled as we end up making decisions after decisions.

For example, the junior subordinate might have asked you for approval for the presentation to present it to the clients. As you would have been drained making a lot of decisions in a day, you might signal for approval without reviewing it to discover later that false data was mentioned in the presentation. 

Additionally, decision fatigue can also have an effect on our physical health leading to multiple other illnesses.

Exhaustion by Decision Making

In this 21st century, lots of notifications on the phone are in the form of mail, social media, etc. and are waiting for your attention. To deal with this much influx of information, one’s mind works in a cognitive bias (a systematic pattern of deviation from rationality in judgement). With all these lists of information waiting for your attention, you make a choice. Ignoring information is also considered a choice. More the decisions you make in a day, the more difficult it becomes for the brain to make decisions as the day progresses. 

Because of this drain in energy, the brain creates shortcuts to make decisions to conserve energy. Impulsive decisions are the common ones among them. As one loses the willpower and self-control by making a lot of decisions, you become more prone to make impulsive decisions. Which are not necessarily the right choice. They aren’t well thought out and the outcomes haven’t fully been considered, which could cause us trouble in the future. 

Here’s a case study to know more about it. Parole was approved to most of the prisoners depending upon the time they appeared. Judges in the US granted parole to 70% of the prisoners who appeared in the morning session. Only 10% of the prisoners who appeared later in the day were granted parole by the judges.

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Researchers say that this was based on a judge’s decision fatigue. In this case, the judges used the shortcut of making an impulsive decision. It was the lack of self-control, willpower and urge to complete the task. Many decisions were made by the judges to grant parole for the prisoners who appeared in the morning, so they were more likely to deny the parole of prisoners who appeared later in the day. This was not a wrong decision, neither the right one. 

How to overcome decision fatigue?

There are a few ways that would help us overcome decision fatigue. The cure for decision fatigue is as follows. 

1. Plan Daily Routines

Preplanning a routine helps in reducing the decisions we take each day. The time can be used productively for other purposes. So, it is always better to prepare a chart that helps in minimising the daily routine. The food to eat, to dress up, to exercise, etc.  

Do you know? Many politicians and businessmen such as the President of United States Barack Obama, businessmen Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg are known to reduce their everyday clothing down to one or two outfits to limit the number of decisions they make in a day. 

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2. To be a minimalist

The availability of abundant alternatives and choices is a factor that leads to decision fatigue. More choices mean to spend more time to decide between the choices. If we have fewer choices or similar alternatives, it helps in conserving the energy which we spend by overthinking. Filling the closet with the same coloured dress and with fewer alternatives helps us from decision fatigue. By reducing the number of decisions you make every day over these kinds of stuff, you free up the space for ones that matter.

Do you know? Many politicians wear the same kind of dress with minor variations in the colour. The reason is it helps them to not waste more time in decision making over relatively insignificant stuff.

3. Time blocking

Time blocking is a method of blocking a particular time in a day for a particular task. We have a lot of tasks to accomplish in the day; Without blocking time for tasks, it would be difficult to accomplish them. The effort and time spent on task planning lead to decision fatigue. 

During work, it is important to block a particular time for a particular task. To boost productivity, one should batch the work. For example, If you schedule to meet your team by 10 am, and meet the client by 12 pm and then plan a meeting with senior management by 2 pm you are planning effectively. By blocking time, one removes the need to make decisions on what to work on every day and every hour. This allows having a continuous routine that frees the mind from making small decisions which could lead to fatigue.

Time Blocking: All you need to know about this powerful technique

Importance to key decisions: Also while working on key decisions, dedicate a time when your energy is in the highest. The judge and prisoner example is the better one to interpret again. When the judges were sitting with full energy in the morning, they ensured to arrive at the right decision in the morning. But in the evening only 10% of the prisoners were given parole, which actually was not a wrong decision though. But the brain was able to analyse carefully in the morning. Therefore, while batching time for tasks, we need to keep in mind that key decisions should be given importance when energy is in the highest. 

4. Fixing deadlines

It is important to fix deadlines to take a decision which helps to set our mind free. We would have many tasks in a day to perform which requires our attention to take a proper decision. We might need to fix a time to meet the clients, to decide the procedure to hire personnel, etc. The truth is, endless commitments! For decision making, a deadline should be fixed that helps the brain to focus on one particular thing at a time. By setting a deadline, you are letting your brain know that you need to come back again over this to make a decision. Until that, you can concentrate on other tasks which help to save energy and helps to save you from fatigue.

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5. Regular breaks and good food

By giving the brain regular breaks, you allow it to make improved neural connections which ultimately leads to making good decisions. And if one is feeling the effects of decision fatigue, a quick nap can help in resetting the mental space. This more likely helps in making better decisions, at least better than before. 

Decision fatigue study says that hunger is scientifically linked to the desire to make impulsive decisions. The stomach produces Ghrelin, a hormone produced if you are hungry, which decreases impulsive control. ‘Acts of self–control cause reductions in blood glucose levels, which in turn predict poor self-control on behavioural tasks’ says F. Baumeister. Therefore, whenever you feel hungry and the glucose levels are low, eating healthy food results to you to be more productive and avoid making wrong decisions.

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FAQs

1. What is decision making?

Decision making is the process of identifying and choosing alternatives based on the values, beliefs, and preferences resulting in the selection of course of action among several alternatives.

1. What is decision fatigue?

The deteriorating quality of decisions made by an individual after a long session of decision making in a day is called decision fatigue.

1. What is choice fatigue?

Decision-making fatigue and choice fatigues are one and the same. 

1. Who is the founder of decision fatigue study?

The term ‘decision fatigue’ was coined by F. Baumeister and he is the founder for the same.

1. What causes decision fatigue?

Decision fatigue is caused by making too many decisions in a limited period of time.

1. What is an impulsive decision?

A choice made without deploying the powers of reasoning and rationality is called an impulsive decision. 

1. What are the effects of decision making fatigue?

Decision fatigue leads a person to lose self-control and willpower which ends up making no decision in a day or making impulsive decisions. 

1. How to defeat decision fatigue?

Planning a daily routine, fix deadlines for decision making, block time for particular tasks is the cure for decision fatigue. Regular breaks during work and a healthy meal also help to defeat decision fatigue. 

1. How essential is it to defeat decision fatigue?

It is essential to defeating decision fatigue because to increase productivity and to make wise decisions. 

Conferencing through video calls is one of the essential needs for remote working. Working remotely necessitates conducting virtual team meetings. The medium which facilitates these remote meetings are video conferencing calls. But it is very important to follow video conferencing etiquette to have an effective discussion and efficient collaboration. 

Many professionals might have recently stepped into the remote working world, or there may be some professionals who might be a new joinee in a company. They need to be aware of the video conferencing etiquette to fair well in the remote meetings. In this article, we are going to discuss the various do’s and dont’s of video conferencing elaborately. 

The Do’s and Dont’s of Video Conferencing

1. Test your Devices before

One of the important video conferencing etiquette is to maintain continuity in the discussions without any disruptions on the net connectivity, visual clarity, audio quality, and software malfunctioning. These all can be prevented by a sanity check before the meeting starts.

Ensure that your software in your mobile devices or laptops or desktops are up to date and do not throw up any errors in between the meetings or discussions. The net connectivity must not falter as it may disconnect you intermittently breaking the flow of conversations. Your webcam should have good visual capability and your face should be clear throughout the meeting. Ensure that you can connect to the embedded audio and video facilities of the remote meeting software or tool.

Read: 8 Best free Video Conferencing Software

Important Tips

As part of remote meeting etiquettes, it is advisable to perform a test run of the devices, software, and tools before dialling into a video conference call.

2. Be punctual and on time

Video conferencing etiquette demands you to be on time and not be the reason for a delay in initiating the meeting. The key reason for it is you are visible to the other participants, your body movements and expressions are noticed by all. Late entry disturbs the smooth flow of conversations and distracts the other members in the video call. 

It is recommended to log on or dial in at least 5 minutes before the start time of the meeting to avoid any last-minute technical glitches or unnecessary disturbances. Since you would be facing the participants visually, you need to maintain proper eye contact for generating a feeling of trust and acceptance. 

Fact to remember

A late joiner in a meeting is normally not appreciated and sometimes even criticized as not being sincere or dedicated in his or her work. Hence to avoid such kind of odd situations, one of the video conference best practices is to maintain punctuality and join in before time.

Suggested read: Virtual Icebreakers – How to have smooth first remote meeting?

3. Dress appropriately

Though attending remote meetings happens at the comfort of your home or a co-working space, yet it is important to be appropriately dressed. You may prefer to be comfortable in your house to wear or even some casual wear. But you need to remember that you will be visible to all the participants in whatever attire you are in. Therefore it is advisable to be in proper professional attire while attending video calls.

It is advisable to imagine attending the video conference calls like that being in face to face meetings. You can then select your attire appropriately without any confusion. 

Important Tips

Remember the way you dress and present yourself reflects a lot about your personality and behavioural attributes. The other participants in the meeting must respect you and your professional qualities, and a lot of it depends on how you dress. Dressing appropriately and professionally is a very important video, conferencing etiquette.

Read: 9 Best screen sharing software

4. Select an appropriate Work Place

While you are live on a video conference call, it’s not only your face that is visible to others but also the background behind you. If you position yourself at a place with disturbing background pictures or posters, you humiliate the seriousness of the meeting.

There are two options to ensure the background features are great. You can paint the walls white or light colours. If you have pictures in the background, ensure they depict topics or words that are professional and not funky. The second option is to utilize the background changing facilities provided by the various remote meeting software.

Fact to remember

You might be participating in meetings or conferences or training sessions attended by people of various designations, roles, and even different cultures. You need to pay serious attention while designing your workplace and especially the place where you will position yourself for the video conferencing call. It is an essential video conferencing etiquette that needs to be followed by remote professionals.

Suggested read: 8 Remote Work Habits Of Every Productive Employee

5. Use the Mute button

One of the video conferencing best practices is to use noise-free microphones. But still, they may pick up external background noises like the sound of vehicles outside or coughing and sneezing sounds or a fan moving, etc. Hence as part of video conferencing etiquette, it is advisable to use the mute button of your remote meeting software when you are not speaking. The sounds and noises easily distract other participants and prevent the smooth flow of conversations.

In certain instances, you can even experience heavy breathing sounds which are quite distracting in remote meetings. There are even cases wherein you may receive a phone call which you need to attend urgently in between a meeting. These external noises are a cause of irritation for the other participants and are not considered good remote meeting etiquettes. It is advisable to avoid such situations by simply pressing the mute button. 

Important Tips

Almost all video conferencing software have mute buttons. Still re-check their functioning and usage before the meeting starts to eliminate any issues in between conversations.

Read: 8 Simple ways you can combat remote work loneliness

6. Adequate Lighting

Ensure there are proper lights to illuminate the area from where you attend the video calls. Attending calls in a gloomy environment decreases the picture clarity. The other participants may not feel comfortable interacting with you. Since the essential purpose of video conference calls is to visually interact with each other, hence downgrading that aspect will not assist the motive behind the remote meetings.

Maintaining adequate lighting so that your face and the background are visible is an important video conferencing etiquette. The other members of the call must feel your presence to be able to converse with you effectively. Remote working bars individuals in meeting face to face since they do not operate in a common office space. The video conference calls are meant to assist that particular drawback by remote viewing each other.  

Fact to remember

Your success in remote working largely depends on how you develop an interpersonal relationship with the team and your leadership. Since video conferencing is a powerful medium to enable trust and confidence, you must dedicate adequate attention to ensuring you excel in all such meetings and discussions. Proper lighting plays an important role and must not be overlooked as one of the remote meeting etiquettes.

Read: 14 Best Productivity Tips to Achieve More At Work & Life

7. Eye-contact with the Camera

Maintaining direct contact with the camera is a video conferencing etiquette that you must follow throughout the entire duration of the meeting. You must reserve the entire time to focus on the meeting and not club it with other work activities like emailing or writing down notes or calling someone. These activities portray a negative image of yours among the participants about being not focused or attentive. They may also feel that you are not providing due importance to the meeting and disrespecting others attending the call. 

When you look into the camera, you are looking into the eyes of the person who is speaking in the call. You need to inculcate this habit to earn the respect of other participants. It is against any professional etiquette to concentrate or look somewhere else when a person is trying to convey his or her thoughts in remote meetings. It essentially defeats the purpose of creating a healthy environment between the remote team members. 

Important tips

It is recommended to practice looking at the camera both when you are speaking or when someone else is speaking. You can create an imaginary situation at home and develop the habit before joining any video conference calls.

Read: Best Remote Working Tools That Make Life Easy

8. Greet and Meet

Wishing your fellow remote team members joining the video conference call and even the leadership team is considered as an ice breaker and one of the video conference and teleconference best practices. “Good Morning”, “Good Evening”, “Good Afternoon”, “How are you doing today?” etc. are some of the good practices to greet a person. You can enquire about the weather conditions or discuss any special news. These questions ease out the situation between the participants before initiating the meeting. 

A sense of bonding and togetherness is created, strengthening the interpersonal relationships between the remote team members. It eventually helps in the effective functioning of the team through efficient collaboration. Stay cheerful and smiling when you greet a person. You need to remember that you are being observed by all the participants in a video conference call. Your facial and body expressions illustrate your behavioural attitude.

Important Tips

Practice greet and meet conversations through a mimic act at your home before joining a video conference call.

Suggested read: 8 Simple ways to organize your life

9. Do not Interrupt conversations

There may be situations when you need to ask questions for more clarity or may have a different viewpoint on a specific subject being discussed. It is inappropriate to interrupt the speaker and place your thoughts. It may lead to disruptions in the meeting flow and continuity in the conversations. The other participants may dislike your attitude and you may be warned by the host of the meeting or the meeting coordinator for interrupting.

It is recommended to use the chat features of a video conferencing software or tool to place your thoughts or communicate with others. You can specifically select the person with whom you want to chat instead of disturbing others. Such an action will not disrupt the meeting and you can comfortably express your opinion with the speaker or the host of the meeting. 

Important Tips

Be conversant about the different useful and advanced features of the video conferencing software before the meeting starts. Leverage them during the ongoing conversations to respect the virtue of professionalism.

Read: Team Communication 101: What is it & How you can crack it!

10. Do not lose concentration

Maintaining your concentration level determines the success of remote meetings and video conference calls. Distracting yourself to side conversations in phone calls or typing in your desktop and laptop are not good practices in virtual meetings. You may miss some important discussions and announcements.  

You may sometimes attend training sessions being conducted by an instructor. As a recipient, you may be required to keep yourself visible so that the instructor feels comfortable and can understand the body language of the attendees. Focusing on the training lectures shows respect for the tutor. You can also grasp the concept fast and ask questions as required.

Since now we have discussed some of the key tips for video conference and teleconference best practices, hope you can effectively conduct or participate in virtual meetings.

Further read: Cybersecurity During Work from home | A Security Checklist

In our daily to-do tasks, inbox zeroing is something to be achieved daily. Our inbox is buried with a lot of unread emails daily. The report says that the average worker receives 121 emails every day. Anxiety and stress is the state one achieves if she/he doesn’t clear the unread emails or doesn’t zero the inbox. 

What is inbox zero?

An organized and structural way of dealing with the emails we receive daily is what we call inbox zero. To maintain empty unread emails in our inbox is the ultimate goal here. 

In simple words, inbox zero is achieved when we manage to work on the emails we receive daily. To organize it, label it is a system that allows us to maintain an empty inbox daily. A proper way of mail management is what we are here to discuss.

Read: 14 Best Productivity Tips to Achieve More At Work & Life

Merlin Mann’s Inbox Zero –  The Philosophy

The philosophy and term ‘inbox zero’ was originally termed by ‘Merlin Mann’. He is the founder and the writer of ’43 Folders’. It is focussed on how to improve the quality of your career and life by managing your attention in a way that allows you to work on the creative projects that matters most to you. In simple words, it is about finding the time and attention to do your best creative work. Here, zero doesn’t refer to keep the inbox empty, contrary to the popular belief. Instead, it refers to the amount of time an employee’s brain is in his inbox. 

Merlin Mann suggests a few steps to accomplish the same:

• Do not keep the email program opened for most of the day
• Delete, respond, delegate, defer or do is the thumb rule that should be followed when processing a mail. 
• Any mail that only requires a concentration of 2 minutes or less than that should be responded immediately without any delay.

In 1993 I didn’t need a system for doing email and yet, today I feel like the only way you are going to succeed at a job is figuring out how to deal with a high volume of email. – Merlin Mann

Read: Deep Work Summary: 5 Key takeaways to help you be more productive

How to get to inbox zero?

Stress is what we achieve if our inbox is loaded with unread or unfinished mails. So it is necessary to manage the daily emails we receive. Email management is something necessary to learn these days as it is a primary and widely used source for communication. Inbox zero should be maintained to remain hassle-free. Let us discuss the guidelines to reframe the inbox to achieve a zero inbox.

 

1. The way you think about inbox

In a day, you might receive a lot of emails which might lead to loss a track on it. Paying attention to each and every mail is necessary here. The mails could be classified as important, not important and urgent. 

Urgent emails should be addressed immediately. But in all the cases it isn’t necessary to address each and every mail we receive. Some mails might require some time to work.  Those emails should be organized properly.

Mails should be properly addressed timely. They should be categorized in 3 ways. They are

• A mail might require a minute’s attention to address it. Those messages should be replied hand-to-hand without any delay. 
• Some mails might not even require any action from us. Those messages should be archived.
• A few mails require some time to think about it and reply later. Those messages should be snoozed to a date and a time. The time when the mail is snoozed, it doesn’t distract us. The mail then should be addressed later.

Tips to achieving inbox zero:

Never leave an email as unread for more than one day. 

 

2. Creating templates for the usual mails

Almost, everyone receives the usual mails which requires the standard answers to address them. Responses like ‘we will get back to you’, ‘thanks for the info, will look into it’, ‘thank you, take care’, etc. Responses for accepting an invitation, declining an invitation, acknowledging a mail, an introduction about you or the company, etc. The case maybe anything among the above, be it personal or professional. These messages should not require any efforts to respond. Do not waste the time writing the same kind of stuff for regular messages. 

Every mail system now has a system for creating standard templates. It just requires some time initially to create them. After that, the only work would be to paste the standard format templates for the usual mails. 

For example, in the lab section of the Gmail website’s settings, Gmail’s canned response feature can be enabled which helps in creating and inserting templates for common responses.

Ultimately, this helps in saving time.

Also Read: 8 Remote Work Habits Of Every Productive Employee

 

3. Unsubscribe the unwanted

Mostly, 20% to 30% of the mails one receives is eating one’s day entire time spending for unwanted subscription mails. Once we might have entered/subscribed to our email id on some websites. With no delay and without a day gap, we would be receiving the same and usual mails all day. Deleting those emails daily is a non-stop routine for everyone. 

Let’s disengage it from its source. Spare a few minutes to unsubscribe from every mail you get unless it benefits you. 

For the recurring messages that don’t matter about unsubscribing, filters should be created that automatically place them in out-of-the-way areas of email hierarchy. Google’s inbox is designed in such a way that could segregate as ‘Promos’, ‘social’ and ‘primary’. It can be set to appear ‘once a day’ or ‘once a week’ whichever would be comfortable. 

 

4. Scheduling proper time

Every day one receives a lot of emails. Most of the time, one might be working/concentrating on many other things. Once when one gets to know that she/he has received a mail, they tend to hop between multiple things. So one should restrict themselves from hopping between multiple tasks which end up wasting the productive time. The report suggests that almost 40% of the productive time is lost hopping between multiple tasks.

Try to restrict yourself from opening an email whenever you are occupied with some other work or busy working on something else. Fixing or blocking a particular time to work for emails is efficient in saving the time, which at least does not distract one from the ongoing task. This helps in balancing productivity and helps one to concentrate concretely over the other tasks.

Suggested read: Time Blocking: All you need to know about this powerful technique

 

5. Organizing the structure

In an organization, one might be working for several projects and for several clients. Several mails would be received from multiple persons enquiring about the status of the project, query clarification, etc. Storing all those emails in a common folder ‘Inbox’ would be quite difficult to manage them. Likewise, while working for several projects, there would be a need to update the superior on the status of each file. 

Categorizing those mails in a separate folder would be convenient for using it effectively and efficiently. To search a mail, to address a mail later, for references categorizing emails in folders helps in identifying the mail easily. A mail can be categorized in the manner one prefers to. It also depends upon the nature of work, work environment and types of mails one receives.

Further read: Contemplating Career Change? Here’s all you need to know

Tips to achieving inbox zero

If an email can’t be addressed from a phone, mark it for later and ensure that you reply to that mail when you open the next time. You might need to reread the instructions again and again which ends up doubling the work. 

FAQs

• What is inbox zero?

Inbox zero is a rigorous approach to manage the emails aimed at keeping the inbox empty. It is an organized and structural way to manage all the emails we receive daily.

• How do I manage my inbox?

Inbox management is an unlearned art by many. Proper categorization of email is very important as one works with many projects, many clients, etc. A lot of unorganized mail leads to a state of annoyance during work. Categorizing the emails helps to 

• How to get to inbox zero?

A few steps should be noted to get to inbox zero. Replying immediately to emails that doesn’t take more than 2 minutes to address, snoozing the emails to address later if more time and attention is required to address, unsubscribing the regular unwanted emails, creating templates for usual reply mails are some the guidelines that should be followed to get to inbox zero.

• Who coined the term ‘inbox zero’?

The term ‘inbox zero’ was originally coined by Merlin Mann. 

• What does Merlin Mann intend the term ‘zero’?

The term zero is not intended to refer empty inbox. It refers to the amount of time an employee’s brain is in his inbox.

• What is Merlin Mann inbox zero?

Merlin Mann’s inbox zero is focussed on how to improve the quality of your career and life by managing your attention in a way that allows you to work on the creative projects that matters most to you. 

Although distributed teams are on the rise, some leaders refuse to accept remote working due to perceived risks of security. Employees accessing client data on public wi-fi at a coffee shop is the worst nightmare for a chief security officer. However, remote jobs have now become essential to live. In such situations, cybersecurity during work from home becomes a necessity. Companies need to find ways to allow flexibility in location while still safeguarding data.

While there is a lot that is done on an infrastructure level to keep consumer data secure, the fact is that data from your organization is just as secure as the weakest individual link. As long as we have our devices online, we are in danger. From tablets to kitchen appliances and home assistants, new products are coming online every day, with their manufacturers still lacking long-term support. Cybersecurity for remote workers has to be strengthened.

As per Have I Been Pwned (HIBP), over 130 million user accounts have been compromised across more than 400 sites for a total of over 9 billion times. While those figures seem overwhelming, they are scratching the surface. They miss threats that have never been identified or made public, targeted attacks and social manipulation in daily life. Only the tip of the iceberg is established.

This article would concentrate on the minimal cybersecurity measures for remote workers to safeguard the data of their organization (not to mention their own personal information). Although these protection measures are true for everyone, the cyber security measures for remote workers are extremely relevant since there are workers working just about everywhere in the world. 

Cybersecurity work from home – Security checklist 

Here is a security check list consisting of home cyber security, cybersecurity tips and relevant cyber security measures for remote workers – 

Encryption helps avoid unauthorized access to your device’s files. It does so by encoding the information in a way that makes it impossible for unauthorized people to decode. It may be especially relevant in the event of a device being missing or stolen, as it helps prevent anyone from accessing your data without your password or pin. This is an important home cyber security measure that ensures the protection of your data. 

Here is how to turn on the encryption on your device –  

• Windows: Trigger BitLocker. 
• MacOS: Switch FileVault on. 
• Linux: Usage of dm-crypt, or anything similar. 
• Android: Since Android 6, it is enabled by default. Do not use any previous version. 
• iOS: Default enabled from iOS 8. Do not use any previous version.

Read: Remote Meeting 101: How to have better remote meeting?

2. Usage of compatible versions of the operating system on your device 

This is one of the key cybersecurity tips. While operating system developers only support the last few major updates, security vulnerabilities are regularly discovered that affect any and all versions, whether supported or not. Unsupported versions do not get security fixes for reported bugs, which puts the data at risk. Ensuring that you are using a supported version, preferably the latest one, is critical to cybersecurity remote workers.

Here is how to do it as per your OS: 

• Windows – Check the official website of Microsoft for guidelines on each version of Windows 
• macOS: Apple is not transparent about its MacOS rules. The most recent version and two previous security patches are targeted. For example, if the latest version is macOS Catalina, then this means that it supports macOS High Sierra and newer versions. 
• Linux: This supports most of the popular distributions. 
• Android: The latest and last two big versions are targeted for security updates. For example, if the current version is Android 10, then this means supporting Android 8 and newer versions. In the case of Android, you do have to make sure your manufacturer/carrier seeds the periodic security updates to your device. You can get them every few months, at least. If not, consider updating your computer, or testing if LineageOS has official app support. 
• iOS: Apple’s iOS strategy is not clear, either. The most recent upgrade and three previous security updates are targeted. For example, if the current version is iOS 13, this means supporting iOS 10 and newer versions.

Suggested Read: 8 Best free Video Conferencing Software – Connect, Communicate, Collaborate!

3. Maintain up-to-date operating systems

This is a very important cybersecurity work from home measure. The average time from disclosure to the fixing of a security vulnerability is over two months. That is a significant exposure window even in the best-case scenario, and it is in the best interest not to prolong the cycle any further. You get the security patches as soon as possible, make sure that your computer has automatic updates turned on, and you install them regularly. Most modern devices have automatic updates allowed by default.

4. Hold an up-to-date software

The layer after the operating system, such as the browser or office suite, is the software on which it runs. This can be weak too. It is important to keep your software up-to-date for the same reasons that explain the necessity to update the operating system. Most modern software automatically checks for and applies or prompts updates. For all the others, make sure you regularly verify whether you are using the latest version.

Read: 14 Best Productivity Tips to Achieve More At Work & Life

5. Disable logging in automatically

Unattended computers are easy targets for prying eyes unless they are set up to make sure that you can control them, and only you. To this end, you will ensure that automatic authentication is disabled and that you need a password, pin, or biometric alternative when you turn them on or resume them from sleep. Remember that exchanging your password or pin with other people defeats the aim, so you have to keep it to yourself. Automatic authentication is turned off on most modern devices by default.

6. Enable the automatic lock feature

This is a crucial cybersecurity work from the home tip. You can lock it if you walk away from your laptop at your coworking space or at the coffee shop at which you work. Yet it is natural to make a mistake by forgetting to do so. Toa void this, there is an automatic locking feature to help secure your devices against accidental access. Make sure you set up an amount of time that is not unreasonably long but reasonable, such as 30 seconds for handheld devices, or 5 minutes for laptops. In most modern devices, the automatic lock is activated by default.

 

Read: Best Home Office Set Up For Remote Work

7. Using a pin or password on your devices that is difficult to guess

All of this precaution is at risk if you can easily guess the pin or password to your devices. Avoid something that is simple to do, such as repeating the same number (such as 00000000), sequences (such as 123456), and the like. Check out the popular password lists to make sure that you do not use anything that is easy to guess. In fact, do not even use something that is relevant to you, such as your date of birth, license plate, door number, and so on. A strong pin or password should look random to someone who is not you (ensure that you change your password immediately after you check this assumption).

8. Using a password administrator

Typically, you do not want anyone to know your passwords or keys, or be able to guess them. And if someone accesses one of them, you do not want them to access more than just one computer, app, or website. All your passwords and pins should be special, suitably difficult, and reset regularly to keep your data secure. It can be very difficult to handle manually. Password administrators deal with all this for you and thus, using a password administrator is essential to cybersecurity work from home. They help you create and remember good passwords and share them safely with family members or friends. Some also help you store confidential notes, credit card numbers, and other personal information. Some also encourage the adoption of two-factor authentication. Password managers automate a lot of the boring yet required grunt work around password hygiene and simplify that. A must-have, they must be used.

Read: Virtual Icebreakers – How to have smooth first remote meeting?

We advise Bitwarden. Its versatile feature-set for both free and paid plans, it being open-source and allowing users to run the application directly if they wish, and has undergone a security audit before its release makes it trustworthy. Moreover, with any common alternative available across various platforms, it is hard to go wrong. These alternatives also do not place restrictions on the number of devices or passwords that you can store, such as 1Password or LastPass.

9. Activate two-factor authentication and make use of an authenticator app

An essential cybersecurity work from home measure, two-factor authentication involves using two different factors in an app or site to check your identity. Your password is the first, and most popular. The second one can take several forms but is usually a one-time code. For the second factor, it is necessary to be conscious of safe and unsafe choices. SMS, for example, is a common alternative, but it has been shown to be vulnerable, to the point that governments are actively disapproving of it. Usage of an authenticator app such as Google Authenticator or Authy is best practice.

Despite this caveat, having allowed two-factor authentication significantly reduces the chances of fraud, data loss, or identity theft. An intruder just knowing your password will no longer claim to be you. He/She will also need access to whatever is bringing out your one-time codes, such as your authenticator app or security key. This is necessary for anything that holds confidential data, such as your password manager, email, online banking, file and document storage, and the like, to have two-factor authentication allowed. If in question, allow it. Better still, allow it everywhere.

Suggested Read: Remote work policy – What it is & how you can create one easily!

10. Enable the features of find my device and remote wipe

In certain cases, being able to locate and remotely wipe devices may be critical, for example when a device is lost or stolen. Wiping, in particular, makes getting to the data much more complicated, no matter how much patience or energy an attacker has. Without access to your device, you cannot activate this, so if you have not done it before, then it would be the best time to do so now.

Here is how to do it as per your OS: 

• Windows: Activate in Settings > Update & Security > Find my device.
• macOS: Set up iCloud on your device. Activate from Settings > Your Name > iCloud > Find My Mac. 
• Linux: Includes an application from third parties, but we have no clear recommendations. 
• Android: Set up your device to have a Google account. Then, it will get enabled by default. 
• iOS: Set up iCloud on your device. Activate from Settings > Your Name > iCloud > Find My iPhone/iPad.

Read: 9 Best screen sharing software

11. Wipe any device to which you have access

Necessary for cybersecurity work from home, it is important to wipe any device off and reset it to factory settings when lending, giving, selling or trashing a computer. Doing so would prevent access to your data until you no longer have control over your computer, either temporarily or permanently. Note that wiping deletes all information on the computer before doing so. Back it up if you believe you are going to use it in the future or if you are uncertain.

Here is how to do it as per your OS: 

• Windows: Follow the Microsoft guide. When prompted, pick Remove everything
• macOS: Follow the Apple guide 
• Linux: Follow the Arch guide, and then reinstall your distro
• Android: Go to Settings > System > Reset options > Erase all data (factory reset)
• iOS: Follow the Apple guide

12. Using a VPN in public or untrusted networks 

Very significant from the point of view of cybersecurity work from home, a VPN creates a stable, encrypted link over the Internet to another network and routes your traffic over it. Doing so significantly enhances your privacy and confidentiality online. It makes it incredibly difficult for your network attackers to snoop down on your traffic and intercept what you are doing. This also prevents websites from knowing your exact location, or your internet service provider from tracking your behaviour or using traffic shaping on your link. The list continues. If not unlawful in your country, ensure that you make use of a VPN in public networks or networks that you do not confide in such as those in coworking spaces, restaurants, coffee shops, airports, and the like. You are welcome to go one step further and to always use a VPN. 

We advise the use of Mullvad. We like it for its openness and for its special presumption of privacy and protection. The company allows its users to stay fully anonymous except to them — they do not rely on email addresses and allow users to pay or mail money using cryptocurrencies. It also conducted a security audit and released it.

Read: Contemplating Career Change? Start here.

13. Using the best judgement you can

Sadly, privacy and security online do not come down to a predetermined set of guidelines. It can be situational with regard to protection and often, you will have to use your best judgment. 

Examples include – 

• Do not open attachments to emails unless you know the sender and trust him. 
• Do not execute downloaded files, unless you are assured that their source is secret. 
• Prefer applications from the official store or repositories of your provider, such as the Windows Store, Apple Store, or Google Play. Applications are undergoing a review process in these stores, which helps ensure that they are safe and have not been abused.
• Avoid browser plugins or other applications unless you are sure that their source is trustworthy. 
• Never press browser or operating system alerts without thorough examination of them. 

Factually, this last segment is more important than all of the others. Be mindful of how you use your tools, remain cautious and diligent and make the most of your decisions.

Ensure that these cybersecurity work from home measures are taken in order to ensure the protection of your data.

The World COVID-19 pandemic has forced individuals in various professions into home quarantine for weeks. There is no certainty as to when we can emerge out of the emergency prevailing or can say gripping the entire world. With all the shopping malls, restaurants, gyms, theatres, etc. closed, many people are in a panic state for survival. Situations are forcing some to spend off their savings, posing a danger to their future. It is very important in this situation to practice patience as there are plenty of opportunities to earn extra money during the quarantine. In this article, we will discuss how to earn money during quarantine? It will provide you with great ideas to earn money by availing some of the popular remote jobs.

Let us discuss now a few interesting methods to earn extra money during quarantine with a special focus on COVID-19.

1. Home Gigs

Professionals involved in full-time jobs often struggle to pick up home gigs and invest time into it. Some are passionate, and experts in certain gigs but fail to pursue them due to lack of time. Being at home due to the effects of coronavirus and quarantine mandates, you can leverage the time in home gigs, the prominent ones being enlisted below:

Read: 14 Best Remote Job Sites: Start your job hunt at the right place!

• Content Writing and Copywriting

Writing is one of the popular remote jobs offered by many travel websites, and companies for creating content blogs. They approach freelancers on a contract basis to write for them on varied, interesting topics. If you possess a writing desire, then search for such opportunities as per your niche and expertise. So if you are trying to find out how to earn money during quarantine, then you can pursue these remote job opportunities to support your livelihood.

• Editing Videos

Prominent YouTubers and marketing firms are often on the lookout for professionals who can edit videos by improvising quality and sound effects. So if you have the experience and expertise, then there are ample opportunities for you to investigate and engage in one of the popular work from home jobs during COVID-19. 

• Online Tutoring

Kids and children are quarantined at home with their parents. Schools and colleges are closed, hence the students are missing the tutoring from their teachers, lecturers, and professors. Parents are opting for online videos and tutorials to keep their children engaged and not lose out on their learning spree. If you are a teacher professionally or have a zeal into teaching, you can contact different academic institutions or training agencies offering opportunities for online tutoring. 

• Social Media Coordinators

Established bloggers and content writers often require coordinators to manage their social media accounts on different platforms. They look for freelancers and part-time professionals to manage their accounts. So if you are interested to know how to earn money during quarantine, then this is one of the easiest and convenient methods.

Also read: 18 Best remote companies to work for in 2020 

2. Take up Paid Surveys

Certain websites provide money for taking up surveys on different types of topics like home essential products, food habits, educational requirements, purchasing habits and many more. You are only expected to create an account on the website with correct credentials. Once you are registered and logged in, you can access the surveys recorded in the websites. The surveys provide you with a list of questions to be answered and voice your options on several topics. A certain amount of money keeps on adding up to your account and once you achieve a certain limit, the amount gets credited to your bank account or PayPal account, etc. Bet it will answer your question on how to earn money during quarantine.

Tips

The popular and reliable websites offering paid surveys are SurveyJunkie and Swagbucks. The recommendation is to read the reviews before registering on the websites.

Read: Virtual Icebreakers – How to have smooth first remote meeting?

Facts

Paid surveys are easy and do not require special expertise or skill. So when the world is fighting with coronavirus and quarantine is the only solution for us to stay safe, paid surveys come as a saviour to those desiring to earn money from home.

3. Sell old belongings

Amid our hectic daily life, we find limited time to check our old unused belongings. These items keep on accumulating unnecessarily without realizing the amount of value they would fetch in once sold. So now when you finding a resolution to your question on how to earn money during quarantine, try to find all your old stuff which is unused and suitable to be disposed of. Check out websites that accept used and old products and sell them off.

Some websites accept old books, DVDs, Video Games, furniture, cell phones, and electronic goods through their online marketplace. You are expected to pack the items and keep them ready to be shipped. They normally pick up from your doorstep, thus negating the necessity to step outside from your home.

Important Tips

It is recommended to check the authenticity of the websites and their rules and regulations before registering for selling your old and unused belongings.

Also read: Guide to conducting & attending Remote Interviews

4. Stock Trading

Among the most preferred work from home jobs during COVID-19, stock trading ranks high in the list. Though there have been some ups and downs in the trade market, still you can avail of a few opportunities to fulfil your short term monetary obligations. There are different strategies for stock trading, and you can adopt any of them if you need an answer on how to earn money during the quarantine.

You can try for day trading where the philosophy is to buy and sell stocks within a day and not beyond that. The second option is called swing trading, wherein you can buy a stock and observe the price variations for a few days before selling them in the trade market. The third option is to perform shorting, borrowing stocks from a broker and selling them to purchase later at a lower price. 

Important Tips

If you are a first-timer in handling stocks, then you must consult an expert and read through various recommendations on the internet before investing in any shares or bonds. Since you will be looking for short term gains, you need to be a bit cautious in your venture.

Read: Stock Market 101

5. Virtual Assistant

Online businesses have been increasingly on the rise in the modern era. The business owners are on the lookout for experts to assist and support them in their initiatives. They post their requirements for a part-time virtual assistant on different social media platforms. Hence it is advisable to log in to your social media accounts and join groups hosting such jobs. Depending on your skill and expertise, you can share your profile with the business owners. 

The advantage of being a virtual assistant is you have the privilege to work from home without any hassles. All you need good is internet connectivity and laptops or desktops with fast speed and proper configurations. Your infrastructure and network connectivity must be able to support being online at any moment within your work schedule.

Important Tips

Though being virtual assistant solves your problem on how to earn money during quarantine, yet you need to be cautious too before engaging with any online business firm. Research and analyze the business goals to understand the objectives and long term certainty of the firms.

We have discussed some of the opportunities to answer the most common question on how to earn money during quarantine. Now let us focus on some of the money-saving tips during the quarantine.

Sugested read: 14 Best Productivity Tips to Achieve More At Work & Life

6. Consult a Financial Advisor

With all your savings and investments so far, it is essential to consult a financial advisor on how to protect and increase their value. You may be earning less than what you have been doing in your regular life before being quarantined for COVID-19. But you cannot exhaust our savings as that may create a negative impact on your future survival. 

Financial advisors provide guidance and assistance in supporting your long term goals. They provide appropriate suggestions on investments and opportunities for monetary growth. So list down and amalgamate your saving accounts, deposits, investments on real estate, mutual funds, and others. Discuss in detail with a financial advisor and design an appropriate long term plan.

7. Reorganize your insurance, loans, and taxes

Decisions on insurance and loans for home and car are often made in a hurry. We seldom compare all available options before opting for them. The reason is we are busy handling the daily humdrum in our life. The moment now when you are really worried about money-saving tips during quarantine, it is time to reorganize your financial parameters. Check if your insurance and loan options are proving to be beneficial or not. Explore other available options to check their benefits and you may want to switch over if situations are favourable. 

Ensure your taxes are calculated as per the regulatory and statutory mandates of your country. Keep a tap on any waivers and extensions as per the government announcements of your country.

Do not be panicked with the current situation of COVID-19, but be confident in your abilities and tips shared through this article. You will surely be able to find a way to earn money in the current state of quarantine.

Further read: Deep Work Summary: 5 Key takeaways to help you be more productive

Each one of us in the professional world understands the need to organize our lives. Be it maintaining a healthy work culture, balanced personal and professional lives or a stable interpersonal and social relationship. We often find ourselves racking our brains as on how to be more organized? They are constantly on the look-out of ways to get organized to ensure all the work deadlines are met efficiently leading to exponential future growth. In this article, we will discuss strategies and tips that will assist you with the question of how to organize your life?

Before we proceed to discuss the ways to get organized, let us understand why at all you need to know how to organize your life? 

Important Tip

If you want to know how to organize your day, never start your day without a proper plan. That’s the first step towards organizing your life.

Why should you organize your life? 

Organizing your life leads to several advantages as highlighted in the points below:

• Increases the probability of completing your assignments as per the stipulated deadline
• Ensures you are disciplined and punctual in your work
• Supports in achieving a healthy work-life balance 
• Never miss out on important and priority activities and tasks
• Helps in maintaining good physical and mental health
• Relieves the mind and body from unnecessary stress and anxiety
• Increases your concentration level and attentive power

Important Fact

Whenever a thought lingers in your mind about – “Do I need to organize my life?”, think about the advantages mentioned. Analyze your life to find out whether you have been able to achieve the points specified without organizing your life. The answer will be a definite “No”. It is advisable not to ignore the word “Organize”, but focus more on it to ensure your life runs smooth and steady.

Read: 8 Remote Work Habits Of Every Productive Employee

How to organize your life?

1. Pen down the Details 

Human memory is not a CPU of a computer that can store gigabytes of data. There are few geniuses in the world but that comprises almost 5% of the entire population of the earth. The majority do not possess the capacity to remember every information. The information can be important points discussed in a meeting, To-Do list for a day or a week, phone numbers, names of persons and many more.

Hence if you are interested to know how to be more organized, pen down every detail captured during meetings or conversations. Inculcate a habit of maintaining a notebook or a digital ebook.

Advantages of writing notes:

• Acts as a reference for future, allowing you to look back to the points when needed
• Assists in tracking action points on specific individuals and the target date of completion
• Prevents missing out important dates for personal as well as professional engagements
• Helps in remembering names of people and phone numbers

Important Tips

Do not only list down dates of office meetings but also doctor’s appointments, parties, pick-up time for kids too. You must also maintain the list for your groceries, gifts and even items required for home furnishings.

Recommended: Deep Work: 5 Key takeaways to help you be more productive

2. Maintain a Well Devised Planner

Creating a daily planner with the To-Do list activities and tasks mentioned along with the timeline, is an important activity to accomplish and a key answer to the query of “How to organize your life?”

Without a plan, you cannot achieve a proper work and life balance. You may tend to focus on low priority jobs more, investing more time into it. Whereas your high priority jobs will stay neglected and ignored. This will lead to the complete disorganization of both your personal and professional lives.

Remember, you cannot achieve all your tasks in one day. The tasks need to be spread across different times of a day or different days of a week depending on the complexity and duration. A planner helps in achieving it with ease, enabling you to be more effective and efficient in your life. It is one of the essential tips for organizing your life.

Things to remember while creating a planner:

• List down all the activities to be accomplished, the moment you leave your bed
• Your planner must include time for your workouts and pursuing your hobbies
• Vacation period must be specified clearly in your planner to organize the holidays well
• Your professional activities must not extend throughout the day, consider including breaks in between
• Fix the start time and end time of each activity

Important Tip

Before creating the planner, prioritize the activities to be completed in a day and the ones that need to be carried over to the next day.

Read: 14 Best Productivity Tips to Achieve More At Work & Life

3. Maintain a simplistic living

As we move on discussing the question of “How to organize your life?”, we need to understand a very important aspect related to home décor. Many of us possess a wrong notion that “I can organize my life only if I own a big house stuffed with all amenities and luxuries”.

This is a myth but not a fact. The fact is to stay organized rather than cluttering your house with too many unnecessary things. It is recommended that if you are a remote worker, arrange a room or a corner of a room as your workspace. Ensure the space has all the ergonomic facilities instead of overcrowding the place with excessive papers and documents. 

Keep things which you will use and not stuff those which stay just to accumulate dust. Learn to declutter your house and donate unwanted stuff to the needy. A good idea is to list down the things present in your house. Analyze and judge whether all of them are being used or will be needed in the future by you or your family members. If you own an excess number of non-value adding things, then you need to assure yourself, “Now it’s high time for me to organize my life”.

Suggested Read: Best Home Office Set Up For Remote Work – Shoot Up Your Productivity

Tip on how you can achieve your objective

• Separate the things which are almost new and can be used by someone else as value adds. Donate those to some social institutions or organizations or resell them in the market
• Discard things which can disposable or need to scrap
• Books, pens, pencils can be donated to orphanages or children who do not have enough money to buy them
• Perform the exercise of decluttering at least once in 3 months and get rid of unwanted and extra stuff
• Whenever you plan to buy things or visit a shop to purchase things, stop and think before arriving at a decision. Ask a few questions to yourself – “Do I need them?”, “Am I buying just out of curiosity?”, “Is it worth spending money to buy them?”. If the answers to all these questions are “No”, then do not purchase them. It is a clear indication that you are proceeding towards cluttering your house by buying them.

Important Fact

Think innovative but not complex even if it’s related to your home décor or professional life.

4. Leverage the Power of Delegation

An important key answer to the query on “How to organize your life?” is to leverage the power of delegation. If you believe that you can complete all your tasks alone without any assistance and support then remember you are leaning towards an unorganized life. Human brains are not immortal, they have a certain threshold limit and acceptance capacity. Beyond which will lead to fatigue and stress, damaging human health both mentally and physically.

You must be thinking now, “How to be more organized?” especially when I have numerous activities of high priority. Well, you need to adopt the art of delegation. There is a common saying in the professional world that a person can be a good manager only if he or she can delegate. It is applicable in your personal life too.

Important Fact

People who are careerist and ambitious, like to accept challenges. Entrust them with proper responsibilities and delegate tasks to them. Your work will be completed on time, leading to greater efficiency and effectiveness. You will gain the trust and confidence of your team and peers.

How to delegate work and responsibilities?

• In your personal life, learn to trust your family members and a few close friends. List your activities and grant privilege to others to act on them. Believe in the abilities of others and entrust them with responsibilities. It will not only ease your burden but develop a strong bonding with your family members and friends.
• In your professional life, it is important to list down your activities in a planner and delegate certain tasks to your team based on their skillsets and expertise. Do not underestimate your team and keep on accepting all the burden to yourself. Every single member of a team needs a chance to prove his or her ability and as a manager, you need to enable that. The act of delegation leads to the creation of an efficient and responsible team

Read: Managing Remote Teams: 13 tips that will come handy

Important Tip

Your near and dear ones except you to believe and trust them. They like sharing burdens and accepting responsibilities. Respect their feelings and delegate the household activities, looking after kids and pets and even the financial aspects.

5. Financial Budgeting and Planning

Most of us feel financial planning and budgeting are performed only by companies and organizations. But little do we realize that we need to practice the same at our home while dealing with our financial matters. Hence if you want to know, “How to organize your life?”, create a financial plan and budget for yourself and your family.

How to create a financial plan and budget?

• First and foremost, list down the platforms where you have invested your money and your bank accounts
• Calculate your income, expenses, and savings based on your historical data
• Decide on your future needs and the money required for each of them
• Think of means and ways to increase your money balance through different investment mechanisms
• Analyze the various investment opportunities available in the market and decide judiciously which ones serve your purpose aptly

Refrain from unnecessary expenses if you are anticipating huge expenditures in the near future. Curtail some of the current needs to plan ahead. That may temporarily disrupt some of your current activities, yet ultimately your future remains secure. We often tend to neglect the concept of financial planning as long as we undergo a steady flow of income. But remember future prediction is essential as various external criteria drive the job market and the world economy.

Natural calamities, an outbreak of disease epidemics, monetary frauds and scams are some of the factors which may lead to the downfall of the economy affecting the world financial balance. People may lose jobs leading to a severe monetary crisis. Hence if you want an answer to, “How to be more organized and secure in life?”, protect the future of yourself and your family.

Read: 18 Best remote companies to work for in 2020

6. Save your Passwords and other Credentials securely

Nowadays we need to provide passwords for almost all the mobile and desktop applications as well as for online transactions in banks and other e-commerce websites. Providing a single password for all is risky and not advisable. Similarly, too many passwords will lead to difficulty in remembering them.

So now the question is, “How to organize your life comfortably when you are troubled with memorizing passwords and other credentials?”. The best way is to use an excel sheet or word document to maintain the passwords and lock the file with a secure key. Do not reveal the secure key to anyone, not even your trusted friend or family member. The only catch is remembering the secure key, which you need to memorize. 

Some professionals use apps for storing and remembering passwords. But then apps are again vulnerable to hacks hence it is better to avoid them and use simple Microsoft features that are user friendly and easy to handle. One boon is almost all the websites and online applications offer the benefits of resetting passwords after certain verifications. So there are fewer chances of someone intruding into your profile.

Important Tips

• Even after maintaining your passwords securely and adopting all the security measures, there may be instances of someone trying to illegally access your bank accounts or other profiles. Immediately reset your password and inform the police and the relevant parties.
• Never write down the authentication code of credit or debit cards. Memorize it and register in your brain. In case you misplace it for some reason contact the card service provider immediately and lock your card from further access.

Read: Contemplating Career Change? Here’s how you should do it!

7. Arrange Documents skillfully

Arranging documents properly according to the different categories is considered an essential step towards answering the query on, “How to organize your life?” As we grow in our professional life and our family expands leading to greater responsibilities, the paperwork also increases. There is a necessity to store important documents and files for future reference for example house agreements, fee books, bills, doctor’s prescription, vaccination charts, etc.

Keeping them clustered into one file will pose difficulty in searching them when in need. You will struggle to find them during emergencies. The recommendation is to prepare separate folders for each of the areas like school, home appliances, doctor, house agreements, tax documents, bills, etc. and place the respective documents in each of them. Ensure to name the folders and keep them in racks. If you want to more disciplines you can number the racks as well and maintain a small index in your work table. 

Advantages of organizing documents and files in different folders

• Easy access to important papers at the time of crisis and emergency
• Prevents misplace of key files and documents 
• Your desk at home and work are not cluttered with unnecessary papers 
• Your family members can easily refer them in your absence

Suggested read: Synchronous & Asynchronous Communication For Remote Work

8. Back-up your Files and Photos 

Remember your laptop, desktop, and mobile devices are machines. Though they can store a large amount of information yet they may crash any time without even providing you the adequate time to take backups of your files and photos. 

It is a good practice to regularly take the backup of your mobile and smart devices in one or two external hard drives. Ensure the hard drives are also daily checked and verified of the presence of the data backup. If you are working remotely then connect with your office server to keep a backup of the official files and folders. 

You can also utilize the cloud apps provided by different companies. They provide large storage spaces at affordable plans and discounts to keep your data safe and secure.

Now when you are aware of how to organize your day, do follow the tips and strategies religiously and sincerely.  You can surely achieve better organized personal and professional lives.