This
article is for all the Work from Home professionals and home based online
Tutors. It is Monsoon time - the season of breakdowns.and disruptions Most of the reasons for disruption
due to Monsoon – power cut, loss of Net connectivity, laptop / PC down etc. are
beyond our control, but we can certainly prepare for these contingencies and
ensure that we continue to work uninterrupted.
The most
crucial component for any work from home professional is Electricity. Though
metro cities do not suffer much, the same can’t be said for the rest of the
country. Unfortunately, it is not
possible to have redundancy in this matter as there can be only 1 supplier per
household. As a basic precaution, ensure that your laptop is fully charged and the
battery capacity is sufficient to give you a couple of hours of work time.
People having standalone homes can install
generators as a backup, but multi-apartment resident s can’t enjoy that luxury
due space constrains and noise pollution. An alternative is to have an inverter
as a backup power source. While selecting the inverter, ensure that the
capacity is sufficient to power a couple of appliances like tube light, fan, and
router along with laptop / PC. After all what is the point of having a working
laptop without net connection or working in the dark in sweltering heat.
The next
vital component for Work from Home is the Internet connection. The Net is no
longer a luxury to while away our time It times of physical isolation, it has
become our source of communication, helps in our financial transactions, shopping,
paying our bills and of course, our source
of livelihood. It has become a must have but now we need to give it a higher
priority. Firstly ensure that if possible you subscribe to a big name brand
rather than the cheaper local cable Wala. The local guy usually cuts corners in
his back-end infrastructure and passes on the savings to you in the form of
lower charges. For instance, they usually
sling their cables across poles and trees and are prone to frequent breakdowns
due to cable damage, whereas providers like Airtel and Tata have underground cables.
Moreover, the bigger providers also try to have redundant data paths for a
locality, ensuring that even if 1 cable is damaged, the service is uninterrupted
by routing data through alternate paths. Another differentiation between the
local provider and a professional provider is the performance I have observed
that a lower speed connection from Tata or Airtel is much better and consistent
than a higher speed connection from a local provider. The third difference is
in the level of service and problem resolution. All in all, it is better to invest the extra
amount in a good internet connection rather than be let down at a crucial time.
As a backup, you can also consider using Mobile hot spot. This works if you have
good network signal. You can always switch over to provider who has better
signal strength at your location, not that you have much choice nowadays.
The next
crucial component is your own IT infrastructure – router, Laptop, Printer etc.
These are very much in our control and we shall discuss how we can take care of
these.
Router –
This is the link between us and the outside world and it has a very important role
to play in performance of our Net connection. Routers with 802.11 ac Wi-Fi and
dual band – 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz will give you better performance. Routers with these features are typically available for around Rs 2,000- 3,000. You may also
consider investing in a repeater or a signal booster if you are getting weak Wi-Fi
signals at your work desk and can’t relocate the router to a nearby spot.
Laptop/ PC –
Ensure that you have the latest updates and security patch. Keep your
anti-virus up to date and scan your system regularly. A virus attack would be
the last thing you would want. Backup your data to the cloud. All the main
folders on my Laptop are mapped to Google drive and get updated in real time.
Ensure that your laptop battery is in good condition. A weak battery can get
completely discharged in as less as 15 minutes, leaving you high and dry in the
middle of an important session. I have a habit of having spare accessories like
mouse and writing tab, headphones etc. I think it is a worthwhile investment. Off
course, as an extreme case, I also have a spare laptop and this has paid off
since my laptop broke down recently but I could continue with my daily routine
without any disruption. I just logged in to by Google account hand had all the
data synced to the spare laptop.
If you have
a printer, ensure that you use it regularly to prevent ink from drying up. A
frequent problem in monsoons is paper jam. This can be prevented by shuffling
the papers regularly and specially before printing.
I have kept
the most important part of Work from Home for the last – You. Please do take
care of yourself. Eat healthy, home cooked food, do regular light exercises,
consume immunity boosting food and stay healthy.
I have been
working from home for the past 8 months and have not had a single disruption.
You too can stay safe and productive if you follow the above tips. As a thumb
rule, you should invest about 5%-10% of your earnings to upgrade your infrastructure
and for self-development.
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