Smart Home – Having an extra hour of sleep, being spared the arduous morning traffic, and not having to constantly be on the watch for a manager or co-worker lurking around can be the dream work arrangement for many. Yet, as good as it may sound on paper, working from home isn’t always a bed of roses.

With the lines between home and work blurred, many have found working from home to come with its own host of challenges. Citing longer working hours and family interference as some of them, working from home requires some adapting. So what can you as a smart homeowner do to tackle this?

Here are 5 smart home ideas to help you overcome the challenges of working from home:

1. Use RGB Lights & Google Home reminders to prompt when you should take a break

While a common concern that managers may have over a work from home arrangement is the potential for their employees to skive, more often than not, remote workers find themselves working longer hours than their office counterparts. Without a physical separation between one’s work and home space, and colleagues to signal that is time for lunch, it can be difficult to remember when one should take a break, or when the day even ends.

Our Solution
To prevent being stuck in the endless cycle of checking off a new work task, set audio and visual prompts with RGB light strips and Google Home to define your work times and break times. For instance:

• Set the lights to blue when it’s time to work. Blue is a soothing colour that helps to aid concentration and enhance wakefulness. Brilliant for getting you into the zone for tasks that require maximum focus.
• Set the lights to green when it’s time for a lunch, water or tea break. A harmonizing colour, green creates a sense of calm and reassurance – the same way a break should make you feel.
• Set the lights to warm or yellow when it’s time to end work. Soft yellow helps to make you feel relaxed and cosy after a day of working, which can be crucial in helping wind down at the end of a long day.

With such a smart lighting setup, you can now not only pick the perfect ambience to enhance your productivity and relaxation at the heart of your own home, but also ensure that you get the rest you deserve to prevent any dreaded burn out.

2. Set up a signal to let others know when you’re in focus mode

Unless you’re staying all by yourself, working from home likely means having to deal with fellow tenants, roommates, and family members. Unlike co-workers and colleagues who often have the same work agenda as you and understand when you are busy, fellow home residents may not have the same understanding of ‘work time’, especially when they’re of the age of 5.

Our Solution
Via Google Home, set up a signal that reminds the household when you’re in focus mode and should not be disturbed. A possible set up:

• Having the hallway lights turn on when you say the words, “Hey Google, I’m in focus mode”. With a common understanding between every member of the household that having the lights turned on is an indicator of important work in progress, this can help to reduce the likelihood of an unwanted interruption when you’re in the midst of teleconferencing your team.

Similar voice commands can also be used beyond this work from home season to facilitate leaving for work or welcoming you back home. Rather than having to manually switch on or off relevant appliances, with voice commands, you can now be like ironman and have your own virtual butler ensure that you step in or out of your home just the way you want it. The epitome of smart living.

3. Receive deliveries even when you’re in a conference call with a Smart Door Lock

Have a pending lunch delivery that’s about to arrive but still stuck in a conference call? Receiving deliveries (big or small) nowadays is extremely common given the social distancing regulations, and having them take place when you’re in the midst of an e-meeting can be rather disruptive – and maybe even embarrassing.

Our Solution
Combat the interruptions from your home delivery with a smart door lock that is fully controllable by you.

• Remotely unlock the door from just your smart home app. With a multi-way unlock Smart Door Lock, it is now possible to allow your deliveryman to enter your home without having to physically answer the door. Link your security system to a Video Doorbell for the ability to verify the identity of your deliveryman from your phone, for that added level of security.

Whether you’re working from home or at your office, smart door locks (especially in combination with other smart security devices) offer greater convenience and peace of mind when it comes to home access. Beyond making your days of wondering if you had brought your keys a thing of the past, know who and when someone has entered your home, so that any necessary action can be taken before it’s too late.

4. Install Contact & Motion Sensors to generate reminders for a healthier lifestyle

Office work can breed a host of bad habits. Stress-snacking and remaining sedentary for long hours on end are certain habits many of us easily fall prey to, especially given the ease of doing so at home (the fridge, anyone?).

Our Solution
Get prompted by your smart home system to lead a healthier lifestyle with the installation of Contact and Motion Sensors around your home and on crucial home appliances:

• Install a Smart Contact Sensor on the fridge door. Wish there was someone who could dissuade you from that 3pm evening snack? With this configuration, you can now receive a voice reminder to snack only on healthier food options when your smart home system detects the fridge door being opened during non-meal hours.
• Install a Smart Motion Sensor in your work from home room. The same way motion sensor lights are trained to turn off when no motion is detected in the vicinity, have your smart home system send a voice reminder to ‘get moving’ when they fail to detect any motion from you for a stipulated duration.

Sometimes, all we need is a little nudge to get us on the right track. With a well-connected and configured smart home system, get all the prompts and motivation you need to start on that ideal lifestyle you may have previously pushed aside at work. No excuses this time!

5. Transform your bedroom into a smart room that wakes you up

Not having to report to a supervisor or boss at work can take the pressure off for many people. If you’re one of those relying on the adrenaline rush from not being late for work to wake up, a reliable wake up solution may just be what you need.

Our Solution
Implement an automated morning routine that wakes you up gradually with the help of your smart home system:

• Have the air conditioner turn off before your desired wake up time. Waking up to a cool environment plays a huge part in our reluctance to leave the bed. Make your smart home system (like Koble’s) automatically raise the temperature of your room so that your body registers the change and you will gradually wake up.
• Illuminate your bedroom by having your curtains automatically drawn to let the sunlight in. Getting a strong dose of sunlight is crucial in helping your brain snap out of its sleepy state. Hence, what better way to wake up than to the sight of bright daylight? Make the set-up full proof for rainy days by linking your system with smart LED lights that turn on at your desired wake up time.
• Play your favourite tunes to get you pumped up. Instead of adrenaline from the fear of running late for work, gain adrenaline from your favourite tunes instead.

A good morning routine plays a huge role in starting your day right. Through investing in a thoughtful and reliable smart home, enjoy an elevated standard of living by making jarring morning calls and repeated alarm snoozes a thing of the past – even after the circuit breaker ends.

Ultimately….

Working from home can be extremely rewarding – greater productivity with flexible working hours, and being able to work under the same roof as your loved ones. So why not unlock the benefits of being able to work from home with our proposed smart home solutions?

Smart home benefits aren’t just applicable for this work from home period, and in fact, go a long way in delivering unprecedented comfort, convenience and security. For more ideas on how a smart home system like Koble’s can improve life for you and your family, contact us for a smart home virtual demo or more details on how we can help!

Koble’s Smart Home System

At Koble, we have a wide range of smart home products that can be integrated into your home, and controlled via one single app for the ultimate smart home experience. On top of that, we offer free consultation services if you’re interested in learning more about how to upgrade your home, or what our smart home technology can do for you. The preferred smart home brand by SG designers and a trusted partner of the Singapore Land Authority, reach out to us today for The Smarter Life You Deserve!

Smart Home Singapore - Looking for Smart Home Products or Solutions? Read our Smart Home Singapore Review. All our Smart Home clients love our user-friendly Koble App, which enables them to centrally control their home appliances anytime, anywhere. We offer Smart Home Bundles to meet your every need.

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