Working from home because of the pandemic sounds like a luxury. In fact, many people don’t want to return to the office anymore. They want the comfort of working from their own living rooms. Of course, this setup doesn’t work for everyone, though. Those who have kids to take care of, dishes to wash, and laundry to do realized the reality of working from home; there is no boundary between what you need to do at home and what tasks you have to finish at work.
Aside from the realities at home, there’s another one that remote workers have to face. They do not have the capacity to troubleshoot tech problems. Since they do not have an IT department at home, they will rely on what little tech knowledge they have.
It’s easy to say that the answer is for employers to hire remote IT support, so technicians can guide remote workers with their problems. However, tech problems slow down productivity. Every single second matters, so waiting for someone to help them with the problems—while still the most practical long-term solution—is not going to cut it for many businesses.
Less Is Better
The most practical tip that any remote worker needs to follow is this: less is always better. The more programs and apps are open on your computer, the slower your device will work. Minimize the number of tasks you require your computer to do. Close programs that you don’t need. Do not overwhelm the system, as they say. Even computers with the fastest processors will have problems with multiple apps running in the background.
Internet Backup
Most people are experiencing a slow internet connection because everyone is at home and hoarding the signal. If the signal is unreliable, which means that it’s okay in some rooms and slow in others, then invest in a mesh WiFi system. It will provide a more stable internet connection at home using wireless access points.
The other option is to talk with your internet provider. Maybe you need to upgrade your subscription. If that doesn’t work, make sure you have a backup internet connection such as another internet provider or your phone’s hotspot feature.
External Hard Drive
A full hard drive is a hassle. It will affect your computer’s performance and, thus, your productivity. You should, first and foremost, declutter your storage or archive old files to free up space in your hard drive. Another thing you can do is get an external hard drive to transfer some of your files there. An external hard drive comes in handy if you are not comfortable with cloud storage, but you should use both for backup.
File Recovery
One thing that causes panic among remote workers is the loss of files. When that happens, don’t panic. Sure, call the IT department at work already, but you can do basic things to retrieve your files. The first step is to check your recently deleted files and trash bin. You can also try the search tool because you might just have saved it in another folder. You can also check the cloud because it might have been automatically uploaded to the account.
If those did not work, don’t worry. There are programs that can recover “permanently deleted” files. You have to act quickly, though, because there’s also a possibility that you’ve overwritten the area on the drive.
Hardware Problem
What if it is a hardware issue? For example, you spilled water on your laptop. You need not panic. Laptops are not made to be waterproof, but they won’t break with a simple spill. What you can do is disconnect it from power and turn it off. Wipe as much liquid as you can and unplug any external devices such as the external hard drive from it. Turn the laptop upside down and let the water drain for a day or two. Once that is done, disassemble the laptop and dry the components separately.
If this strategy does not work, take it to the nearest service station. They can still do something about it. Unless you dunk your laptop in a tub of water, you will have it back in no time.
Working from home is a dream. It is still better compared to having to commute to and back from work. But the challenges of working remotely are also real. This is why it’s important to understand simple troubleshooting so that your work at home will be uninterrupted. Although tech problems are intimidating, they should not be a reason to lose productivity.
