Quickbooks online

self management more….

Before I show you my kit of the top online tools that are sure to assist you to work remotely, I must discuss one more issue about self management and especially to do with maintaining your focus and levels of concentration

I’ve discovered and verified a consistent habit in people who work online and I’ve been in contact with for quite a long time and I call this trait the 50 min rule. I observed these members of both sexes who focus and work for fifty minutes and then make themselves take a whole ten minute break and are a significant order of magnitude more efficient and generate a substantially greater quality of work than individuals who don’t have similar working methods.

OK as promised for your consideration is my list of choice remote working online services:

E-Mail

Google Mail doesn’t cost anything. In my experience the search and label (categories) mechanisms are superior to anything I have previously seen. Googlemail can be a little slow on aging PC’s

Phone calls

Skype used to infuriate me as the call quality and reliability was down right horrible, but three cheers for the engineers at Skype now as they have substantially changed the quality of the service. For few dollars a month ! can call and conference in any phone and Skype subscriber on the planet. The current version of Skype has a wealth of really good features and there are now plenty of of useful add on applications.

Organising Content

Evernote has reached in excess of a million users in no time at all – it lets you to store, organise and add notes to any type of digital media up on the Internet. Just go check it out…it’s free.

Invoicing, Time and Expenses capture, Accounting and CRM

You surely know that my urge to work remotely was originally sparked off by Quickbooks Online, a small business accounting software web application. But it is no match for the free edition of salesorder.com – a lead to cash system that’s as easy to use as a pencil I looked at NetSuite whose pricing (and people) scared me off. My choice here is salesorder.com – Go check it out.

Quickbooks online

The number one reason workers fail to adjust to working remotely is they fail to realise the criticality of having first rate organisation and sustainable self discipline.

I have been operating remotely for almost a decade since I first found Quickbooks online an ‘on demand’ small business accounting software web application and was spellbound by the fact that if you can perform accounting on the web then why shouldn’t it be feasible to do other important types of work away from the conventional office?

Whilst working remotely has numerous upsides there are numerous pitfalls which lead to issues that cause decreased productivity and lower motivation. The most significant reason for decreases in work output from remote professionals is disturbance and it is a verified and well known fact that it can take a employee up to 0.33 hours to establish their original efficiency level after experiencing a distraction.

Deeper insights reveal that individuals who are consistently subjected to disruptions are more likely to be susceptible to lower memory power and are prone to developing mental health trouble in later life. We live in an over communicated environment and it is important that you are acquainted with the problems this causes before you start working remotely. Whilst operating remotely you must do everything possible to eradicate the jeopardy of being disturbed.

Here’s how I do it:

1, Get a routine, make sure that everybody knows it and stick to it!

Good examples are a regular time of day when you read or send mail and make or will accept phone calls. Before I began working remotely I used to receive in the region of a couple of hundred electronic mails every 24 hours. Now I think I am unfortunate if I get greater than 4. To ’reset’ my e-mail experience I changed my e-mail address and tenaciously took precautions to protect the details being made known to anyone. I then educated everybody who I gave my e-mail address to, to use it wisely and sparingly. I also set up an automatic reply that swiftly told anyone sending me mail my routine for reading mail and if someone required my immediate consideration to mark it as ‘Urgent’.

2. Get rid of alerts.

Disable absolutely everything that can send you a interruption. This includes mobile and
conventional phones and forms of alerts from electronic mail such as display events, warning sounds, display changes to your inbox folder and of course facing a window. Get a door on your office and put up a ‘do not disturb’ sign on it.

In ‘Remote Working Part 3 – Essential tools’ I will reveal my favourite tools and software.

 

Quickbooks online

Obviously not everyone is able to work remotely as some vocations require individuals to consistently attend their employers premises or travel to perform their work face to face. But for those of us have the chance to work remotely then I thought it would be useful to share my experiences and present some practical guidance by writing and publishing it on the net with the sole objective of providing valuable ways for adapting to remote working or managing remote workers.

I should warn you that there are a substantial number of self proclaimed ‘gurus’ on the net who will try and sell you courses for large sums of cash, take my word for it you don’t have to do this.

I am blessed to be allowed to work in whatever location I choose and just about everybody who asks me what job I do wants to get an idea of how I am able to work remotely. Don’t get me wrong here I am still developing the art of remote working as each day I come across folks online who tell me about new ways and I am repeatedly uncovering new packages and ways that make my life easier and make me more efficient.

Over the past 7 years I have slowly but surely adapted my working methods to enable me to do just about all of my work remotely with a portfolio of internet tools and rigid self discipline. One day whilst exploring the Internet I uncovered Quickbooks online and this got me thinking about what just might be possible. The discovery of online ‘on demand’ small business accounting software was the turning point for me and the beginning of my ‘remote working journey’.

I want to state up front that productively working remotely is as much about the systems as it is about self discipline. Working remotely also means stating to your team members, managers and customers as to what they can expect and how they will maintain contact with you.

In ‘Remote Working Part 2 – Effective working styles’ I talk about how to focus.

Quickbooks online edition

Obviously not everybody is able to work remotely as many jobs require employees to consistently attend their place of work or travel to perform their duties in person. But for those of us are allowed to work remotely then I thought it would be useful to share my experiences and present some practical wisdom by writing and publishing it on the web with the sole objective of providing useful timesavers for adapting to remote working or supervising remote workers.

I would caution you that there are groups of people on the net who will try and get you to buy courses for preposterous sums of cash, believe me you don’t have to do this.

I am blessed to be able to work in whatever location I choose and just about everyone who asks me what work I do wants to know how I manage to work remotely. Don’t be mislead here I am still refining the art of remote working as each day I come across people online who show me new knowledge and I am continually coming across new packages and ways that make my life simpler and increase my productivity.

During the past 7 years I have slowly but surely adapted my working practices to let me to do the majority of my work remotely with a portfolio of internet tools and robust self discipline. One day whilst searching the Internet I unearthed Quickbooks online and this got me thinking about what just might be possible. My encounter with web based ‘on demand’ small business accounting software was a pivotal moment for me and the start of my ‘remote working experience.

I have to inform you up front that successfully working remotely is as much about the software as it is about self management. Working remotely also means imparting to your team members, superiors and clients as to what they can expect and how they will keep in touch with you.

In ‘Remote Working Part 2 – Why self discipline is important’ I discuss how to focus.

Quickbooks online

The main reason workers fail to succeed at working remotely is they don’t realise the essential requirement of excellent organisation and enduring self management.

I have been toiling remotely for over seven years since I first discovered Quickbooks online an ‘on demand’ small business accounting software service and was struck by the fact that if you can do accounting online then why shouldn’t it be workable to do other key types of of work remotely?

Whilst working remotely has its obvious perks there are numerous traps that people easily fall into which convert into problems that cause reduced productivity and reduced morale. The major reason for low effectiveness in remote employees is disturbance and it is a established and well publicised fact that it can take a person up to twenty minutes to return to their original output level after experiencing a disruption.

Research also shows that persons who are continuously affected by interruptions are more likely to suffer from lower memory capacity and are prone to developing mental health problems in old age. We live in an over communicated era and it is imperative that you know the problems this causes before you begin working remotely. When operating remotely you should do everything possible to mitigate the risk of being interrupted.

Here are things that really do work:

1, Get a habit, make sure that everybody knows it and stick to it!

Good examples are a regular time of day when you read or send mail and make or be available for phone calls. Before I began working remotely I used to receive well over hundreds of e-mails a day. Now I think I am unfortunate if I receive more than 4. To ‘restart’ my electronic mail experience I changed my e-mail address and vigorously took steps to shield the details being made known to anyone. I then educated everybody who I gave my e-mail address to, to use it with special care. I also configured an automatic response that swiftly informed anyone sending me mail at what time of day I would be processing mail and if something must have my urgent attention to mark it as ‘Urgent’.

2. Get rid of alerts.

Turn off absolutely everything that can send you a visual or audible alert. This includes mobile and
ordinary telephones and types of alerts from electronic mail such as display events, warning sounds, display changes to your inbox folder and of course facing a window. Get a door on your office and put up a ‘do not disturb’ sign on it.

In ‘Remote Working Part 3 – The basic implements’ I will reveal my favourite tools and software.