5 tips for working from home in rural Australia

A reliable Internet connection and enough data is the most fundamental tool for successfully working from home.

That’s true whether you’re choosing to work from home, or in a situation where you have to work from home.

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Here are our top tips for effectively and affordably using the Internet to work from home.

1. Get the right data plan for working from home

Do you have a lot of meetings in your job? Are these all going to happen online now?

The table below shows how much data is used per hour for video and voice meetings over Skype.

How many Skype meetings can 50GB get you?

 

Source: Explorenet.com

Use voice over video where possible as each GB of data represents 11 hours of Skype voice-only chat time.

Beyond online meetings though, you need to consider:

Document handling and file sharing
What size files are you uploading and downloading from the Internet, including cloud storage? How frequently are you doing that? How much data does that add up to?

Personal Internet Usage
Activities like social media, personal email, banking and Netflix need to be considered when deciding on your plan

Who else is using your Internet
Are other people in your house also working from home? Are there kids or university students trying to study? What do they need to do online?

SkyMesh Recommends

Satellite customers
We’re recommending the 140GB Sky Muster™ Plus plan for people who’re working from home. This will give you 70GB of Anytime data and 70GB of Off-Peak data.

Everything is now unmetered on Sky Muster™ Plus by default, with the exception of VPN traffic and video streaming, so you’ll have all the data you need.

Fixed Wireless customers
We’re recommending the limitless plan for people who’re working from home. 

You’ll never run out of data for work or play with the Limitless Fixed Wireless plan. 

Upgrade your plan anytime via your online SkyMesh Account or by calling our Aussie Team on 1300 759 637. 

Don’t forget data blocks are also an option if you just need an ad-hoc top-up.

2. Make use of apps and cloud-based programs that will make working from home easier

Cloud Storage 

• Google Drive (This is our recommendation because it offers you the most amount of storage for free.
• Dropbox
• Microsoft OneDrive

Communication 

• Slack (We use this at SkyMesh)
• Skype
• FaceTime
• Facebook Messenger
• Zoom
• Teams

Project Management 

• Trello
• Asana
• Evernote

Other 

• Scanner Pro (for scanning documents from your iPhone)
• Adobe Scan (for scanning documents from any smartphone)
• Toggl (for tracking your working hours)

3. Make sure your technology is set-up for the best performance

Router location
Is your router in a central spot where there are no barriers to the signal?
Avoid locations where a thick wall or table is blocking reception so that your speed is not impacted.

How old is your hardware?
The age of your router and the devices (desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones) you’re using to access the Internet can impact the speeds you’re able to achieve.

4. Schedule/arrange big uploads and downloads for overnight

Are there large documents, videos or other files you know you’ll need access to at some point, but just not today?

If you’re on satellite, you might want to consider scheduling, or arranging for them to download overnight so you’re making use of your off-peak data.

The same applies to uploads.

Typically, on home broadband, the speeds for uploads are slower than downloads so, if you know you have big files to share for an upcoming meeting, try to give yourself the time to upload them overnight.

5. Support your own productivity

While not necessarily about maximising your internet usage, these tips will just make working from home a little easier for you.

Get noise-cancelling headphones
Working from home can come with a lot of distractions, especially if other people in your house are now also working from home or in self-quarantine.

Noise-cancelling headphones can help you block out the world and focus on the job at hand.

Make sure you have a tidy and ergonomic space
A good chair and desk space with clean surroundings will make you feel more like you’re in the office. It will help your focus and encourage your productivity. You’ll also just feel a lot nicer about having to work while at home.