Tag Archives: Working from Home

Broadband, Helpful Articles, Helpful Guides, Useful Articles

4 Benefits You Gain From Having Fast Broadband

February 24, 2022 Matt Porter Leave a comment

If you’ve been on your broadband deal for a long time, you might be wondering what it is exactly that you’re missing out on by not having a new and fast broadband package. There’s plenty to be gained from fast broadband, and it’s becoming the new standard for households that rely on technology often. If you’re not using your TV or the internet in your home, then you’ve little to gain from upgrading your broadband, but for those who are often online – a fast broadband package has every benefit for you to gain.

4 Benefits You Gain From Having Fast Broadband
**Easier working from home**

In the past few years, we’ve seen more and more people working from home, and it’s becoming quite common practice for many previously office jobs. Of course, there are still those that would prefer to attend the workplace, but working from home has proven more than comfortable for many people. Without fast broadband, working from home can take even more time than it needs to. Being hindered by slow internet speeds is not something you want, and if you spend a lot of time browsing, downloading, and uploading while you’re working – you’re going to feel the effects of a slow internet speed.

Great for the family

Households with more than one person can be quite straining on your internet allowance, and without a fast internet package, you’re not going to be getting the full potential of your broadband. Having too many people on a slow internet speed and bandwidth is going to cause everyone else’s in the house to be slow too. Homes with a lot of phones, computers, consoles, or TVs can be very intensive, and even apps like Netflix can disrupt the internet causing everything to lag and slow down. If you often experience buffering or pauses mid-way through what you’re watching on TV, this is why.

More technology

Homes with slow broadband packages can’t support many pieces of tech that are connected to the internet. Because of this, you might be put off buying newer pieces of technology. The slowness and waiting around that you get from older packages can be tedious, and no one would want more of that for even more money. If you want to see some of the best deals available, you should check out this full fibre 500 broadband package – a broadband deal that won’t ever let you down.

Never miss out

When you’re trying to catch things live, it can be difficult to get a steady stream as a result of slow broadband. For those of you who enjoy watching live sports games, then this is something that you should be concerned about. Having your TV slow down for even a few moments can cause you to miss something crucial, which isn’t necessary to deal with.

Even if your package is old, most providers often update their packages with the prices. That means that you’re not always going to have to pay more for an updated deal. Old deals tend to remain at their price until you change it to a newer one.

digital nomad, remote working

Is it Actually Easy to Become a Digital Nomad?

September 29, 2021 Matt Porter Leave a comment

Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the globe, a lot of people were looking into becoming digital nomads. These are people who work remotely (whether it be freelancing or working for a company) and just travel around the world while they do it. There was a sort of beauty to it. People were incorporating slow travel, continuing the career, all while getting to change up their setting and way of life whenever they chose to. Since the world is slowly going back to normal, countries are opening back up, and travel is becoming easily accessible, the idea is becoming popular once more. But is it truly easy to jump in and become a digital nomad? What are the risks? You can find out all of that here!

Is it Actually Easy to Become a Digital Nomad?

How does a digital nomad get work?

So, digital nomads will find work in a variety of ways. Some may be content creators and continuously create content while they travel. They can work for a company remotely, and their company allows them to travel freely. When this is the case, it does allow for a lot of security and there is a safety net to it. Looking into it infrastructure jobs could be a way to get started when looking for a reliable company that offers remote work.

Another way that digital nomads find work can be through passive income ( selling courses, eBooks, printables, or anything else), crypto, and day traders, but they can also own their own business. This can be something such as a freelancer, or someone who owns their company. Honestly, there are so many ways that digital nomads can sustainably make their income.

How do digital nomads travel?

Just like with obtaining income, travelling can also be various. There’s this idea that digital nomads are constantly travelling and they do their work at the side of a pool in a resort. There could be some truth to it, but for the most part, it’s just hyper glamorization. Digital nomads can live in different ways, and they’re usually not travelling all the time unless they’re making passive income or they’re content creators.

Most digital nomads will stick with something specific and will rely on that. Here is an example: the whole idea of “van life” is becoming very popular. While there are questions of how much does it cost to hire a van, usually digital nomads who work in vans will drive somewhere and stay for several days while they get their work done. Sometimes it stays far longer than several days in one location. Other nomads will stay in an Airbnb for close to a month, they’ll work and in their free time just enjoy the area. They’ll do this before they move on to somewhere else in the world.

Are there any risks when trying to become a digital nomad?

The short answer is, it all depends. You need to have enough money in your bank account in case anything happens such as an unexpected medical bill, hidden fees, or an emergency that happens back at home so you need to take a flight there. In short, anything can happen so you always have to keep your finances in check. It’s important to use budgeting tools to help you out with this.

The lack of good Wi-Fi and the constant difference in time zones can make it difficult to operate a business, make clients happy, or even do your job all around. If the work you do requires little to no deadlines or communication with clients or coworkers then it could be something to consider. In short, these risks can be avoided especially if you know where to find good wifi and where your body can adjust to the difference in time zones.

Can being a digital nomad affect the search for a job?

This answer will also depend. If you’re planning on travelling constantly, some companies will not like that as they want stability for their employees. However, it can also just depend on the company culture. Some companies are entirely remote and all of their employees work remotely too. There are company cultures out there that completely encourage travel while working, but you may need to do some deep searching to find those.

What are the downsides to being a digital nomad?

When it comes to being a digital nomad, it’s unfortunately not all sunshine and rainbows. There are some downsides. One of the biggest downsides is that it can’t last forever. The COVID-19 pandemic proved that as many countries have to go into lockdown, this included forcing visitors to leave, and having hospitality-oriented businesses close their doors until told otherwise.

4G, Cat, Cat S62 Pro, Covid-19, Gadget Man, Home Working, Matt Porter, Thermal Imaging

Cat S62 Pro Smartphone Reveals Potential Fire Risks from Working from Home

November 17, 2020 Matt Porter Leave a comment

The possible electrical dangers faced by Britain’s army of home workers are today revealed with the help of mobile thermal imaging technology.

For millions of us, our homes are now our offices, but very few of us are aware of potential electrical safety hazards in our home-office setups or how to ensure we safely accommodate the equipment we use every day.

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These images, captured with the new Cat S62 Pro thermal imaging smartphone, show the fire risks that poorly thought-through domestic office setups can cause.

Bullitt Group, the makers of the Cat S62 Pro, have partnered with Electrical Safety First to highlight the issue and offer tips and advice on how to make your home office set up safer.

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The gallery of images, captured in a home working environment, shows the varying levels of heat invisible to the naked eye that is produced by different electrical setups and devices. The images show common habits including:

Charging laptops and phones on flammable surfaces
Stacking equipment due to lack of space
Daisy-chaining extension leads because you’ve got more to plug in than usual
Overloaded sockets
Routers covered with office materials / or boxed in
Extension cables covered with household items

Working from home is now commonplace but little thought is given to the set-up of our temporary work desks, many just working wherever there is space.

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New research commissioned by Bullitt Group, shows electrical safety checks by employers have dropped by nearly half (a decrease of 46%) since lockdown.

The research, compiled by Censuswide using a 2k sample of people working at home due to COVID, also shows:

Many home workers surveyed (41%) operate in cramped workspaces and things often get piled on top of extension units
Over a third don’t have enough plug sockets (36%)
Over a third say that have to daisy chain extension cables to get the length they need (35%)
There is a high level of complacency around electrical safety with more than half (56%) of respondents saying they are not worried about electrical dangers
When asked about where they currently work, more than a third (36%) say they often move their laptop and charger around as they work in different spots
Almost a third (30%) have never considered the dangers of working in some domestic spaces
23% are sharing electrical sockets for work with other domestic items
21% do not have a dedicated workspace at home and 19% feel the quality of work is affected by not having a dedicated workspace

Working closely with Electrical Safety First, Bullitt Group has come up with some simple guidelines to make the home office environment safer.

Key tips include:

Avoid overloading sockets
Do not leave phones or laptops plugged in to charge overnight and don’t charge on a bed – always charge on a hard, flat, non-flammable surface
Don’t “daisy chain” extension leads. If your cable doesn’t reach, don’t plug it into another adaptor. Move your workspace closer to the socket or use a longer lead
Regularly check electrical cords and extension cords for damage
Only use extension cords on a temporary basis
Do not plug a space heater or fan into an extension cord or power strip
Do not run cords under rugs/carpets, doors, or windows
Make sure cords do not become tripping hazards
Keep papers and other potential combustibles at least 1m away from space heaters and other heat sources
Make sure you use the right wattage for lamps/lighting
Only use chargers provided with the product and buy any replacements from reputable retailers you know and trust
Keep your work area tidy and keep drinks away from electrical items
Make sure your home has smoke alarms. Test them monthly and replace the unit every 10 years or as directed by the manufacturer

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“When the country first locked down, homeworking was seen as a temporary situation. Now it’s looking more long term, it’s important that both employers and employees are fully aware of the risks and how to mitigate them,” said Nathan Vautier, CEO at Bullitt Group.

“The thermal imaging technology built into the S62 Pro is a quick and simple way to see a world that’s invisible to the naked eye and can improve safety in any working environment. Tradesmen have used our thermal phones to spot electrical faults and issues for some years, but this is also a genuinely useful tool for anyone who wants to improve safety and monitor what’s going on with electrical equipment in their homes,” continued Vautier.

A spokesman for Electrical Safety First said: “There is simply not enough awareness out there about the possible dangers of poorly set up home office environments. Thermal technology is certainly one way to monitor electrical equipment for overheating issues and the images that Cat phones have created here show very clearly just what is going on and highlight some of the common dangers we regularly warn people against.”

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Other survey results:

Before lockdown, 40% of respondents’ companies had a procedure in place to regularly check electrical items. This has now dropped to just 22% since working from home began
Almost a third (31%) feel their employer should be doing more to provide safety and other guidance about home working
Only 19% have received safety advice/guidance from their employer concerning their home working set up
Almost half (45%) don’t know when work specific electrical items were last safety checked

The Cat S62 Pro smartphone has an MSRP of £599 and is available to buy from Rugged Mobiles

Gadget Man, Keyboard, Mouse, Peripherals, Press Release

Working From Home Accessories from Trust

October 30, 2020 Matt Porter Leave a comment

Working from home has become the new normal, which is why Trust is happy to introduce a new range of affordable keyboards and mice. Whether looking for a basic keyboard and mouse set, a wireless keyboard and mouse set with extra silent keys and buttons, or an advanced mouse that will give complete control, Trust delivers. With the Taro, Ymo and Ozaa, working from home just became easier and more affordable.

The Taro has everything expected from a keyboard and mouse set: a full-size layout, a comfortable keystroke and a mouse that can be used by both left and right handed users.

The Taro has a full-size QWERTY layout with all the functionality users have come to expect from a reliable keyboard. Thanks to the soft keystroke, the Taro will allow workers to type quietly and comfortably for hours without disturbing colleagues or family members and the adjustable feet provide that extra level of comfort.

No need to worry about any accidental spills; the Taro handles it with ease so unlimited coffees still an option!

The Trust Taro is available in two variants:

With the ambidextrous mouse – available from Amazon for £16.99

Keyboard only – available from Amazon for £12.99

Ymo: the strong, silent type

For those looking for flexibility, then the wireless Ymo is just what is needed. It is completely wireless and only requires one USB micro receiver for both the keyboard and mouse. It keeps the desk clean from cables and has some additional functions that will make any workday a bit easier. This includes the silent keys which are 50% quieter than conventional keyboards and the multimedia and office keys that provide shortcuts to music or the calculator. The accompanied mouse uses silent buttons and has a comfortable grip and just like the Primo, the Ymo is spill resistant too so the coffees can keep flowing.

The Trust Ymo is available from Amazon for an RRP of £22.99

Ozaa: the premium mouse

For even more comfort and functionality, the Trust Ozaa is the ideal wireless mouse for home or office working. It has an ergonomic design, which reduces strain on the wrist, and two silent buttons that will allow for hard work with minimal noise. Thanks to its second scroll wheel, going through complex documents is much easier, and it even has a rechargeable battery so no need to buy any disposable batteries saving money and great for the environment too.

With the Primo, Ody and Ozaa, Trust is again proving to be a reliable partner for companies and consumers. These new products, were created as a smart, affordable solution as many more are increasingly working from home and need a comfortable and clutter free space to work.

The Trust Ozaa is available from Amazon for an RRP of £44.99

(We may earn a commission from the links to Amazon).

There are many tools and accessories that are so valuable when you work from home, whether you’re running a business or working for a corporate company. You should also remember that there are also a whole host of online tools and services that can help you to better your working life altogether. For example, you may have worries about previous damaging content about yourself online if you have worked your way up to a managerial role. In truth, everyone has the right to be forgotten online and there are ways to remove inappropriate content from the internet if you don’t want it to be circulated again. If you ever feel concerned about progressing your career or bettering your working life due to anything that happened in your past, there will always be methods to fix it.

Software, Workflow, Working from Home

Is Your Productivity Tanking While You Work From Home?

June 9, 2020 Matt Porter Leave a comment

A lot of us have been working from home during the COVID-19 crisis, and a lot of us have been finding it comes with its own set of challenges. For some, those challenges are all a matter of mindset or environment. You might be finding it difficult to get used to the fact your coworkers aren’t nearby or have trouble dealing with family and work at the same time. However, a lot of people initially find that it can be a challenge to get as much done from home as they might get in a better catered professional environment. Here, we’re going to look at five technological solutions that can ensure you’re a more productive and efficient worker.

Know what you’re doing

First of all, if you’re not certain where to start with your workday, then it’s time to take a strategic look at all of your current deadlines, responsibilities, and projects. Take the time to list out everything you might have to do. Then you can use tools like the https://appfluence.com/productivity/prioritization-matrix/ to see which you should do first. This tool lets you take your to-do list and quickly measure it by which tasks are most crucial and which are most urgent. As such, you won’t be stuck wondering what you should be doing at the start of the day. Five minutes can help you quickly layout the tasks you will be taking care of for the day.

Know when you’re doing it

Once you’ve effectively prioritised your tasks and you know what you’re doing for the day, then it’s all about knowing when you should do it. Workflow management software can help you set aside blocks of time so that you know when you’re going to be working on one thing and when it’s time to move onto the next. It ensures you don’t get stuck on one task for ages but rather you give everything the time that it needs and deserves.

Automate and streamline what you can

If you have any tasks that you have to do on a regular basis or that threaten to become monotonous, it’s important to find a way to standardize them efficiently. If you’re simply chipping away at them bit by bit, it can reduce your engagement with your work in total, making it harder for you to focus even when you get onto another task. There are plenty of tools designed specifically to automate your work, such as https://www.templafy.com/document-automation-software/ that can help you quickly format and standardize documents before you send them off. Look at your most regularly performed processes and see what you can do to automate them.

Make sure you can get what you need from your team

Of course, you’re not going to be doing all of your work, yourself. Most people are going to need to rely on their team at some point and, to that end, quick and effective communication is possible. A decent team collaboration app such as is going to be the basis of many a remote team’s communications. It gives you a centralised space to check your messages, talk about projects, or request help when you need it. If it’s not centralised, then it becomes all too easy to lose track of. After all, people have different communication preferences, be it by using IMs, sending emails, calling directly or otherwise. By centralising it, you get everyone using the same tools and following the same standards, reducing the chances of missed messages and miscommunication.

Get rid of any type of distraction

When it comes to distractions, there are two main types: external and internal. For the external, such as outside noise, you need to make sure you secure the work environment and ask that your family (or whoever you live with) respects your need for privacy and alone time when working. For internal distraction, you need to know what you’re most prone to be distracted by and to block it off. When it comes to working on digital technology, it’s usually the internet. However, there are plenty of tools like https://selfcontrolapp.com/ that you can use to set permissions, blocking your access to websites and social media within work hours. You can even block them entirely on your work device if that would make you feel more comfortable.

The above tech tools should hopefully help you get much more engaged and better organized with the work you do from home. Sometimes, the solution isn’t technological, however, so you need to take a better look at your work environment, too.

Anti-Virus, Apps, BBC Radio Suffolk, Blog Post, Coronavirus, Covid-19, Cyber Security, Education, Gadget Man, Internet Security, Interview, James Hazell, Matt Porter, Radio, Radio Interview, Security, Streaming, Technology, The Gadget Man

The Gadget Man – Episode 162 – Working From Home During the Coronavirus / Covid-19 Crisis

Audio March 20, 2020 Matt Porter Leave a comment

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Such are the strange times we live in, many of us now face working from home for the first time along with caring for our children.

I have worked from home extensively over the past 20 years and I thought I would try and share some tips on how I have been able to work effectively in a home environment.

This morning I spoke to James Hazell at BBC Radio Suffolk about the trials and tribulations about working from home. Listen in to the stream to hear what I had to say and especially the advice at the end.

Stay Safe and Healthy

If you have been given a laptop to use at home, then there is a danger that you may find yourself sitting in an armchair trying to work and you will soon find this isn’t going to work well.

Set up a work environment in a spare room or even your bedroom where you can away from disturbances and distractions as best as possible.
Find a comfortable chair and if possible sit near a window so you can get fresh air while you are working.
Set up your computer, so that is a semi-permanent environment and will allow you to separate work from home and give you a place to ‘go to work’
Get dressed, you don’t go to your place of work in your pyjamas, so again, getting dressed gets your prepared for work.
Take plenty of breaks. If you have children at home, you will need to be able to give them attention. If you can set specific times during the day to stop work, get up and walk around and make yourself a drink.
Try to begin and end your work-day as you would if you were going to your place of work. Let your employer know that these are your work times. Setting these boundaries will mean that you aren’t on-call 24/7.
Most home-working requires an internet connection. Over the coming months, our communications links are going to be under a great deal of strain. The video streaming services are going to be used extensively and this will put a great deal of pressure on internet connection speeds. Home internet is very different to work internet due to what’s called ‘contention ratios’, so you should be prepared for slower than normal connection speeds.
Ask your employer to provide you with a mobile device that can be used as a ‘tether’. This means that should traditional broadband experience issues, you can fall back onto connecting to the internet by connecting via a ‘personal mobile hotspot’.
Make sure all of your internet-connected devices are up to date. This means ensuring anti-virus is updated where applicable and any operating systems updates on your computers, set-top boxes, TV’s, IpCams etc are updated
Keep all of your battery-powered devices charged up, but don’t leave mobile phones plugged in all of the time as the batteries don’t work as effectively if they all continuously charged.
Use a trusted VPN connection to secure your broadband connection further. I recommend Ivacy VPN. Using a VPN or Virtual Private Network secures your connection.

Finally, regardless of whether you are working at home or not, you WILL find the number of scam calls you receive will increase, mainly because you will find yourself at home so much more. NEVER give out any personal bank details over the phone including PIN numbers or passwords. Ignore all automated calls and just hang up. These people care little for the health or financial wellbeing of their victims. If in doubt, speak to a trusted friend or member of your family before taking any action that will cost you money.

Stay Well and see you soon!

Matt
www.thegadgetman.org.uk

BBC Radio Suffolk, Streaming, Technology, The Gadget Man, Wireless broadband

Gadget Man – Episode 97 – Working From Home

Audio February 24, 2017 Matt Porter Leave a comment

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Fantastic to be back on BBC Radio Suffolk this week, even more special that I was invited to James Hazell’s home for a very special outside broadcast, where we talked about effectively working from home and I got to play Star Trek Pinball!!

Thanks to James and Isaac for the invitation, fabulous fun!

Listen, Like, Subscribe and Share!!!

Matt Porter, The Gadget Man – AI, Technology News and Reviews