DEV Community: Spurwing

Calendar Management API for Healthcare

Spurwing — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 14:44:38 +0000

The way in which healthcare is scheduled is changing. Gone are the days where a patient may have access to a single healthcare center. Online marketplaces have started to appear which allow patients to book the healthcare that they need at the times they need, with the healthcare professionals that have the skills that they need.

Online healthcare marketplaces allow medical practitioners to tell patients exactly when they are available. This can make them highly convenient for patients that may not be able to attend a medical center during their standard working hours or medical practitioners that are looking to pick up work around a slightly more flexible schedule.

Online marketplaces have increased the speed of diagnosis and treatment for many people. Some have been able to attend medical centers at times that are much more convenient to them. This has allowed them to seek far more timely healthcare, which can reduce treatment length or symptoms.

Calendar syncing, where all patients will have instant access to up-to-date availability for their healthcare practitioners has the ability to revolutionize these online healthcare marketplaces.

The Benefit for Patients

Healthcare marketplaces have already boosted the patient's ability to access the treatment that they need. It has allowed them to find healthcare experts that are available at times suited to the patient's schedule. It has allowed patients to no longer feel as if they are tied to a specific medical center or professional in order to have their medical ailments dealt with.

Traditionally, these online medical marketplaces were designed as a way that patients could discover new healthcare experts. However, calendar syncing has started to change that up.

If a team of software engineers incorporates calendar syncing into their online healthcare marketplaces, it will allow patients to quickly find healthcare professionals that have space to fit them into their schedules. There is no need for a patient to get in touch with countless professionals in a bid to see availability. They will be able to find somebody at a glance.

Automated calendar updating means that patients will always be able to see when they have made a booking. The right system will allow them to block book with their healthcare professionals. This is important for ongoing care.

The result will be a patient that can get the help they need whenever they need it. Completely headache-free, and tailored to their schedule. With a healthcare marketplace that utilizes systems built around the Spurwing's Scheduling API, patients will finally be able to take control of their appointments.

Benefits for healthcare practitioners

A lot of healthcare practitioners are starting to turn to online healthcare marketplaces. There are several reasons for this.

The first is that it enables them to take control of their schedule. A lot of healthcare professionals no longer want to be tied down to the non-stop working environment. They want to build their work around their life. They don't want to build their life around their work. The right healthcare marketplaces will enable them to set their working hours and ensure that they only work when they want to work.

Healthcare marketplaces can also introduce healthcare practitioners to a greater number of patients. They are essentially a form of marketing. Marketplaces will allow healthcare practitioners to add new patients to their books, or create a separate line of work.

Having calendar sync developed into the healthcare marketplace will enable healthcare practitioners to stay on top of their schedules. It will provide them with a bit more flexibility with their work. They can easily add working hours if they find some spare time. They can easily take working hours away if they are feeling a little bit burned out from their work. All of these changes will be instantly reflected in the healthcare marketplace.

The Benefit for the Marketplace

Since many healthcare marketplaces have yet to introduce calendar syncing, it is an extra unique selling point for the healthcare marketplaces that do. it makes things a little bit more convenient for both patients and healthcare practitioners. This means that they are much more likely to sign-up to the platform. This means that the healthcare marketplace can make more money and extend its reach.

Realtime updates of the calendar system ensure that cancellations are kept to a minimum. It means that healthcare marketplaces do not have to field calls for double-booked appointments because the system didn't update quickly enough. It means that the marketplace needs to employ less support staff to communicate with their site users. It allows the marketplace to keep the system ticking over properly.

Final Word

The incorporation of automatic calendar syncing into a healthcare marketplace can completely revolutionize the platform. It makes the lives of the patient, healthcare professional, and marketplace a lot easier. It ensures that patients can always find appointments for the times they need. It allows healthcare professionals to highlight the hours that they are available and fill up their schedules. It allows marketplaces to extend their reach and make more money.

The scheduling API developed by Spurwing can easily be incorporated into existing healthcare marketplace systems. To find out more about how our API works, get in touch with us today.

How Spurwing Improves Healthcare Through Technology

Spurwing — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 11:25:42 +0000

While technology has transformed almost every industry on the planet in the last few years, nowhere is this transformation quite as obvious or as apparent – or as useful – as in the world of healthcare.

Today’s technological innovations are making it easier for healthcare professionals and facilities to provide the highest quality care and services to their patients in a way that was more challenging to pull off in the past.

These new solutions are making healthcare diagnostic more accurate, the treatment prescription process more effective, and the follow-up procedures more impactful, too. At the same time, the biggest barrier to making the most of these technological advancements is on the scheduling side of things.

If patients (and medical professionals) aren’t able to effectively schedule their healthcare appointments – or follow-up with these appointments – the greatest healthcare innovations in the world won’t make a bit of difference.

That’s where Spurwing comes into play. Engineered from the ground up to be an effective, easy to use, and extensible booking and scheduling API for the healthcare community, Spurwing makes it a whole lot easier for healthcare organizations to schedule and manage appointments moving forward.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg! Here are some other ways that Spurwing is improving the healthcare community with their innovative new technology.

Easy Online Consultations

Telemedicine and virtual consultations have gone from relatively “fringe” aspects of the modern medical community to mainstream faster than anyone could have expected.

Part of that has been caused by the realities of our modern world (especially after 2020 with all of the public health issues the global community has been challenged with), but part of it has to do with the comfort level that patients have with technology these days, too.

The Spurwing Scheduling API makes it easy to implement these kinds of online consultations into any healthcare practice, even if the online consultation platform has to be built “from the ground up”.

Effortless Appointment Booking

Trying to get patients and healthcare providers on the same page scheduling wise can feel a bit like trying to herd cats sometimes.

With the help of tools like the Spurwing Scheduling API, though, the appointment setting and scheduling process is simplified dramatically.

Now not only will healthcare professionals be able to share all of the available times and dates they can make available to their patients (while still protecting the privacy of individual patients under their care), but patients themselves will be able to pick and choose the right schedule and appointment for their needs, too.

Best of all, all of this can be done online – even from a phone or tablet! That’s a lot more freedom and a lot more accessibility than was ever available in the past.

This online scheduling solution (made possible through the Spurwing API) eliminates the need for phone calls that can take up critical staff time, eliminates the need for cross-referencing every time a new appointment needs to be made, and significantly reduces the likelihood of missed appointments by putting patients in the driver seat of picking times and days that work best for them.

It doesn’t get much better than that!

Timely and Automated Reminders

Missed medical appointments are responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars lost money throughout the healthcare industry, raising the prices of healthcare across the board but also causing “logjam” issues with scheduling to overcome those missed appointments later down the line.

Spurwing helps to eliminate those missed appointments (at least as much as possible) by providing platforms for timely and automated reminders and follow-up messages.

Reminders can be set and scheduled to be sent on a weekly basis, a daily basis, or even an hour or two before the scheduled appointment (and any mix of those different timelines, too).

This helps to guarantee higher levels of appointment follow-through, keeping medical organizations better organize but also helping professionals provide better care.

Learn More About Spurwing Today

At the end of the day, it’s critical that healthcare providers are taking full advantage of all available technology to offer the best care possible.

Spurwing (at least on the surface) may not look like a typical technological advance in the world of healthcare, at least until you look at how important the booking, appointment setting, and scheduling side of this industry really is.

For more information about how Spurwing can help, and for specifics about how our Scheduling API can be used and deployed in your healthcare organization, visit our website or schedule a demo call with one of our engineers.

How Technology is Changing the World of Healthcare Management

Spurwing — Sat, 17 Jul 2021 13:49:52 +0000

It is no secret that healthcare practitioners are starting to incorporate more and more technology into the way that they work. Technology has really shaken up the world of healthcare. Not only has it allowed healthcare professionals to become more flexible in the way that they worked, but it has saved them time and money. It has even helped to benefit patients by offering far more timely and efficient treatment.

Here, we want to look at several of the ways that technology has impacted the world of healthcare. Some of these may be things that you already know about, while others may be completely new.

Automated Patient Booking Management

This is one of the more exciting benefits for us here at Spurwing. We have seen various ways that experienced software developers have been able to put our scheduling API to work. One of the most beneficial to patients and healthcare providers is automated patient booking management.

Many healthcare practitioners have started to introduce the ability for patients to be able to see when healthcare practitioners have time slots available online. They then allow patients to book their appointments without interacting with anybody. This allows administrative staff to focus on more jobs than just talking to patients on the phone.

Staff Meeting Scheduling

The world of healthcare is an incredibly busy place. Many software developers have use the Spurwing Scheduling API to develop staff meeting scheduling. By keeping tabs on the availability of all required staff, developers have been able to produce software that schedules meetings to suit the availability of their staff. This means that healthcare centers have been easily able to slot meetings into the working day while producing the minimum amount of disruption for their patients.

Syncing of Patient Notes

In the past, it would have been difficult for a patient to switch doctors. Many records were kept in such a way that it would have been difficult to share them between medical establishments. This means that, in some cases, it would be weeks before the new doctor was able to look at the patient's full medical history. This has now changed.

Many companies are starting to develop systems that allow patient notes to be automatically uploaded, securely, to the Cloud. This means that when a patient moves to a brand new doctor, their medical records can be accessed in a matter of minutes.

This system also has the benefit of keeping a backup of patient notes in case of a system failure. It ensures that a medical center is not out of action for too long.

Virtual Appointments

Recent world events have changed how medical centers work. Many are avoiding seeing patients directly unless there is a pressing need to do so. As a result, many places have started to introduce virtual appointments. Through the power of the internet and video chat, doctors have been able to interact directly with their patients without the patient needing to leave the comfort of their own home.

Not only does this help to slow down the spread of infectious conditions, but it also allows doctors to easily interact with housebound patients, or perhaps keep tabs on patients that may not be in the local area.

Repeat Prescriptions

In the past, writing repeat prescriptions would have taken a healthy chunk of time for any doctor. Nowadays, technology has allowed much of the process to be automated.

Patients can now request repeat prescriptions online. Once the doctor has approved the request, the pharmacy will receive the prescription. The patient will then be able to head to the pharmacy and pick up the prescription. At no point, does the patient need to directly interact with the doctor.

Technology has allowed patients to request repeat prescriptions when they need them. There is no need to get in touch with a doctor at a time that is inconvenient to the patient. This can make dealing with long-term medical requirements much easier.

ChatBots

Chatbots can help to free up time for staff members and often make it a little bit easier for patients to discuss their symptoms.

Many companies have developed diagnostic chatbots. These chatbots will 'listen' to the symptoms of the patient. The chatbot will then be able to provide advice on how the patient should proceed and whether they need to talk to a medical professional. Chatbots can even be tied into an automatic scheduling system, like Spurwing, to allow patients to book appointments for their ailments.

Chatbots, when employed properly, can reduce the number of patients that head to medical centers when they do not need to do so e.g. conditions that will likely go away with a bit of bed rest. They also help to ensure that receptionists, nurses, and doctors have more time to speak to the people that genuinely need their help.

Translation

While this technology is still in its infancy because translation systems are still not perfect, there are a lot of ways that this technology can go.

Many medical centers are starting to use translation technology to make things easier for their patients to understand. This means that there is no miscommunication, and a lower need to employ staff purely for translation purposes.

As translation technology improves, expect it to become a staple part of how any medical center operations.

Final Word

Technology has taken over the world of healthcare, and this is a good thing. Efficient systems mean that professionals have more time to treat their patients. Efficiency means that patients get the care that they need when they need it. The best part is that many of the greatest technologies in healthcare management have only been introduced in the last few years. This means that we still have a lot of rapid technological advancement to look forward to. We are excited to see where the industry is heading.

Scheduling API for Patient Prescription Reminders

Spurwing — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 13:43:25 +0000

Patients mistiming their prescriptions are all too common. Discover three of the best solutions for keeping patients up to date with prescription reminders.

For most patients, medication is going to be at the heart of their treatment plan. If they take the medication, they get better. If they don't, then treatment becomes slower and less effective. The difficulty for many doctors and caregivers is ensuring that patients take the medication in the first place.

Through no fault of their own, it isn't uncommon to find patients taking their medication at the wrong time or missing a dose or two. When they are sick it can be incredibly difficult to keep track of things. With some medications, this may be fine. For other medications, regular and timely dosing is critical.

Thankfully, in the digital age, missed or poorly-timed doses should be a thing of the past. With the right technology, medical practitioners will be able to keep their patients reminded of when they should be taking their medication. This can lead to shortened treatment plans and healthier patients.

Patient Scheduling Systems

Patient scheduling systems, or patient management systems as they are more likely to be called, exist to help caregivers and doctors keep tabs on thier patient's progress. They are used for tracking treatment plans. They are used for tracking appointments. They can be used for tracking prescriptions.

A lot of medical practitioners are starting to see benefits in keeping their patients connected up to the patient scheduling system. While many places will use their systems as a way to keep patients informed of upcoming appointments, with the right tech there is absolutely no reason why they cannot be used to inform patients when they need to take their medication.

The scheduling API provided by Spurwing can be used in a multitude of different ways. A team of savvy engineers can use our codebase and infrastructure to craft a custom patient scheduling system that can provide patients with information on exactly when they need to take their medication. This means no lengthy calls for medical center support staff to walk a patient through their treatment plan. Everything can be found at a glance through the patient scheduling system.

Healthcare Apps

It seems that there is barely a smartphone out there that hasn't been loaded up with a few healthcare apps. People have apps to remind them when to drink water. People have apps to remind them of when they need to exercise. People have period trackers. People have symptom trackers. A lot of medical centers have even developed their own tracker apps to help patients gain an insight into their day-to-day life. It helps make treatment so much easier.

Healthcare tracking apps on smart devices are the perfect solution for sending out automated medication reminders. Push notifications will instantly tell a patient when they need to take their next dose. There is no need for them to be going through mounds of information or getting in touch with their doctor.

A custom-developed tracking app may even allow doctors to update medication for the patient remotely. So, if a patient has to change up their dose for whatever reason, the app will automatically change how it sends reminders.

All a medical establishment needs is a good Scheduling API to provide the backend code for their system, coupled with a team of engineers that can create a software solution designed for their patients.

Smart Speakers

This is somewhat of an extension of the whole patient healthcare app idea.

A smart speaker, such as Google Home or the Amazon Echo, can be used to send audio reminders to patients when they need to take their medication. Since more and more people are now starting to incorporate these smart systems into their homes, it is a highly effective solution. It can even work for those patients that are not all that familiar with smartphones. They may not even own one.

When a patient has taken their medication, they can inform the smart speaker and they won't get informed until the time of their next dose rolls around.

With solutions like Spurwing at the backend, the development of systems like this with the right engineers will be trivial. They will have the scheduling system provided. All the software engineers need to do is code the front-end system for the patients. We can also provide you with Text-to-Speech solutions as an alternative to Google's, Amazon's and similar products.

Final Word

In the increasingly digital world, there is no reason why a patient should ever mistime their prescriptions. There is no reason why they should ever miss a dose. There is no reason why their treatment should repeatedly face timing setbacks.

Technology is now at the point where medical establishments can easily craft solutions where they can provide patients with up-to-date scheduling information for their medication. With the right solutions developed, patients can be informed automatically when they need to take their medication. This means better treatment plans and fewer calls that a medical center needs to field to inform patients of prescription timings.

Want to develop a prescription reminding solution? Spurwing provides the Scheduling API and infrastructure that developers need to incorporate patient prescription reminders into their software. Find out more about how we can help by getting in touch with us today.

Effective Management of Remote & Distributed Software Engineers

Spurwing — Mon, 05 Jul 2021 10:07:11 +0000

Over 90% of software development jobs can be accomplished remotely. In this post we go over the best practices of making it possible.

In the wake of the pandemic, more and more software developers started to work from home. Many companies found that this approach was so effective that many teams are now running distributed development i.e. having employees located in different places.

If you are new to the world of managing distributed software engineers, then you do need to be aware that the management side of things is going to be quite challenging. It is going to be different from managing employees in an office. This is why we want to share with you a few tips and tricks that can really help to boost management and ensure that your software engineers can deliver the results that you need.

Tips & Tricks for Effectively Managing International and Distributed Software Engineers

We won't lie to you. Managing your distributed software engineers is going to be tough. You could hire the best engineers in the world, but having people scattered all over still makes things a little bit more difficult. We are hoping that the following tips can help you out.

Hire the Best Staff

Not everybody is suited to remote work. Because distributed software development makes individual oversight of employees quite difficult, management does need to ensure that they hire the best staff. Preferably, they would hire somebody with experience in remote development. However, anybody that clearly shows the ability to work independently would work.

Set Expectations

It is ever so important that management consistently states what their expectations are. These need to be realistic expectations. Distributed software development is much more laid-back than traditional software development. It provides employees with the ability to work at their own pace. This does help them to become a little bit more productive. However, employers will still need to ensure that work is complete in a timely manner. Expectations could be as simple as regularly attending meetings, or producing a certain amount of code or bug fixes each week. Each employee should be driving that business forward.

Communicate Regularly

Regular communication is important for running distributed development. This allows management to communicate their expectations. It allows staff to communicate any issues that they may have, or even seek help from other employees.

You shouldn't always have communication related to business, though. Many of the companies that have distributed development will spend a lot of time cultivating social relationships. It helps employees to become happier, particularly since they will not be interacting with people daily. Regular communication boosts morale.

Change to a Results-Focused Business

Distributed software development doesn't work if you are following the traditional 9 to 5. Instead, ditch the idea of working hours. Communicate to your employees the results that you need from them. Focus on results. As long as your team is delivering the results that you want, and in the time-frame that you expect, then try not to interfere with them. The last thing you want is over-management when it comes to distributed software development. At that point, you may as well just have everybody in an office.

The Best Software for Managing Distributed Software Engineers

The key to being able to manage your distributed software engineers effectively is to use the right software. The correct software will enable your engineers to communicate and share their work no matter how far they are apart.

While there are countless pieces of software that you can use for your business, there are five pieces that we believe are going to be absolutely essential. Have these implemented in your business and we are sure that productivity will shoot up.

Slack & Discord

Slack & Discord are great for communication between your staff. Much of the conversation will happen in chat rooms. Although, you can also set up video calls and presentations. The reason why we love Discord over competing software is the fact that it is just so simple to use. It also makes searching through old conversations a little bit easier. This can make it far, far simpler to manage your engineers. Some features can even be used offline.

GitHub

Your software engineers will likely already be using GitHub. However, we are pointing it out. This is because we, honestly, cannot see distributed software engineers being able to thrive without it. in fact, even engineers based in the same location would struggle without GitHub. This platform will enable you to share source code, among other things.

Google Suite

Google Suite is a cloud-based suite of office applications. This includes a word processor, spreadsheets, databases, etc. Software engineers can use Google Suite to produce product documentation, managing workflow, etc. All documents can be shared and edited by anybody with a link to the document. It is far easier than shopping Word Documents around.

Trello

Trello is a fantastic way to managing tasks for your software engineers. Think of this as a highly interactive to-do list. It can really help to improve workflow.

Zoom

The thing with distributed software development is that it can be quite a lonely job. The number of tools out there means that a great deal of the work can be accomplished without physically interacting with somebody. The lack of socialization can lead to the team losing a bit of their morale. As a result, a lot of management teams for distributed software engineers will use Zoom to catch up with their staff. It can be a great way for people to socialize, and you may even be able to discuss issues that can't really be discussed using any other means.

Sure, many companies could probably get by without using video meetings. However, it isn't something that we really recommend.

Final Words

Distributed software development is a great option for any company involved in software development. It allows employees to maintain a good work-life balance, which is always fantastic for morale. However, do bear in mind that managing a business like this is not going to be easy. It requires a mixture of good management, good employees, and good software. Several major software development companies around the world are using distributed software development. It does work. However, it may take a small while for companies to refine their processes.

Brought to you by Spurwing. Helping your organization embrace Work From Home Tools and Systems. Build Scheduling & Time Management solutions with our Scheduling API.

Remote Work Tools and Systems for Small to Large Enterprises

Spurwing — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 12:05:34 +0000

The ascendancy of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the game for the world of business (not to mention the world in general).

As such, businesses need to stay on top of the latest innovations in remote work management and efficiency. Although the transition to allowing work from home (or more work from home) can be daunting, it’s the wave of the future since greater than one-third of full-time workers will likely do remote work in the next ten years, according to builtin.com.

Leading the way in terms of effective remote-work policies will help set you apart as an employer, attracting more employees and boosting the morale of your current ones. The problem, of course, is that a great deal of managers and executives don't know where to start in terms of building out an effective work-from-home system.

To help, we’ll look at some of the best tools and systems for remote work in small and large enterprises, including ProofHub, Trello, GitHub, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Drive, Toggl, and 10to8.

This article is going to look more closely at these tools, plus cover some important factors to keep in mind when choosing remote work tools for your business

Important criteria for remote work tools

By keeping the following criteria in mind, you're more likely to pick the remote work tools that work best for you and your company.

Pricing – Quite simply, is this an affordable option for your company’s budget? You will likely need a number of tools or systems, and the costs can add up quickly. The best remote work tools will provide great value while still being affordable.
Ease of use – The last thing you want is a management system that makes your life harder rather than easier, or leaves you bogged down with constant emails from confused employees. Make sure that the remote work tools you’re considering have simple and intuitively designed interfaces.
Effectiveness – Again, the whole point of a remote work tool or system is that it simplifies things for your company. As such, an ineffective tool might even be worse than no tool at all. You’ll want to do your due diligence to ensure that you’re not wasting your money on a lackluster service.
Integrations – It wouldn’t make a lot of sense to consider a new management system that doesn’t allow for streamlined integrations with the other platforms you’re already using. Integrations are top-of-mind now for developers so most of the best remote working tools will offer a wide range of useful integrations.

Work-from-home tools

Now, we're going to examine some work-from-home tools that will be sure to boost your company’s productivity and morale.

Project management tools

ProofHub streamlines all your different groups and projects. Essentially every facet of managing your projects are to be found with ProofHub, helping your company run more efficiently.
Trello is a popular project management tool since it offers a variety of important applications for remote work. It uses "boards" (projects) and "cards" (tasks) to make things simple for everybody.
GitHub is a code-hosting platform, allowing your team members to develop code and collaborate from anywhere with ease.

Communication tools

Slack is a popular tool for remote work communication, making it easy to create and assign dedicated channels. Plus, it allows colleagues to message each other through direct message.
Microsoft Teams – You get the reliability you’d expect from Microsoft with Teams. It’s handy for collaboration with individual messaging, group chatting, and video calling.
Zoom became a household name thanks to the pandemic and remains a solid option for remote working. Its reliability and scalability are hard to beat.

Storage tools

Google Drive – One of the most popular remote storage options, Google Drive makes it a breeze to share files with your colleagues and is relatively affordable.

Time-tracking tools

Toggl – This app wins high marks in the time-management category, letting you easily track your team’s hours and loaded with handy features.

Meeting and scheduling

10to8 – Not simply for setting up appointments, 10to8 lets you run virtual meetings and easily take your remote work management to the next level.

Remote access tools

TeamViewer and AnyDesk make helping customers and working with colleagues remotely a breeze, offering a reliable and intuitive platform.

Overcoming loneliness

Since the pandemic, many workers have struggled with the loneliness of remote work. Using the above tools can help overcome this, so it’s important to keep the communication factor in mind.

It can also help increase employee camaraderie to arrange a “social hour” so your team members can kick back and discuss something other than work.

Wrapping up

Remote work is here to stay, behooving companies to build out hybrid remote work systems that will attract employees and keep current employees happy. Using these tools will go a long way in streamlining this process and ensuring that your company continues to thrive.

Brought to you by Spurwing. Helping your organization embrace Work From Home Tools and Systems. Build Scheduling & Time Management solutions with our Scheduling API.

Empower and Motivate your Remote Software Developers

Spurwing — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 08:24:30 +0000

Working from home and working remotely as a software developer can be an adjustment for even the most independent person. If you're used to a commute and then going to a physical office, starting a new rhythm can be tough to start.

Successful remote working, when you feel motivated and empowered, is mainly within your mindset, with a few minor tricks you can implement to make the whole experience smoother. They include respecting your space, your time, and taking care of yourself.

1. Dedicate a Space Specifically for Work

Even if your workspace changes every day, having a dedicated space for work can put you in the zone. It's always tempting to work from bed, but working where you sleep is not a good idea. You're better off setting up your workspace in an ergonomically friendly place.

Take your workspace seriously and don't watch Netflix, mindlessly scroll on your phone, or eat at your desk. Those are the perfect opportunities to take a break, stretch your legs, or grab another cup of coffee before you get back to your next task.

When you set up your space to your tastes, it becomes a motivating place to work.

2. Keep a Schedule

When you're working from home or remotely, you're not following the same pattern as office-dwellers. Their workday is a little more structured because they only work while they're in the office. However, when working remotely, it's easy to let work expand to more than full-time.

Wake up at the same time every day, keep the same routines, and set boundaries with yourself. Work-life balance is essential, so it's important to know when to shut off the computer and step away from work. Put the fun things, like hobbies and side projects, into your schedule to make a commitment to yourself to enjoy your free time.

When you keep a schedule, you can beat overwhelming stress. You'll have planned out the work you need to do and can feel empowered and in control.

3. Talk to Other People

Working remotely can be really isolating. You don't have access to your peers and colleagues the way you would in a traditional office setting, so it's necessary to make time to connect with others.

Talking to people in real life gives you a feeling of connection. Even if you don't have time or energy for a social visit, just checking in with a friend can help fill your social meter. If you're also on a remote island while working remotely, talking virtually is a good option.

Whether you want to have a casual conversation with a friend or talk to other remote software developers to share experiences, social connection is important in any form.

4. Take Breaks

It's easy to lose track of time while you're working remotely. There are no colleagues to urge you to take breaks with them, so it's up to you to remember to take breaks and recharge.

Take short breaks every couple of hours and use the time to grab a snack, stretch, or spend some time with your pet.

If you're lucky enough to be working outside, just take some time off your computer to enjoy it. If you're inside, taking a short walk outside can give you some fresh air and sunlight to beat the afternoon slump. It's the perfect motivation to carry you through the rest of the day.

5. Reward Yourself

Working remotely or from home can be distracting. Things are always chaotic around you, and there may be things going on that may pull you out of work mode. A trick to keep yourself motivated is to implement a reward system.

Make a little pact with yourself that if you finish your work on time and get the critical things done, you get a Netflix episode as a reward. If you prefer multiple mini-rewards throughout the day, tell yourself that you can have your favorite treat if you finish your project.

Turn distractions into motivation to complete your work faster and more productively. If you're looking forward to something at the end, it will motivate you to keep going.

Final Thoughts

Working remotely feels radically different than working in an office. There is a different environment, people, and there's unspoken accountability. When you're working remotely, you're likely only accountable to yourself. As long as your work gets finished, how you get there only affects you.

So, it's important to get healthy work habits to make you feel empowered and keep up your motivation, so you don't get burnt out. It can be just as difficult as being in an office, just tricky in different ways. Working remotely is an incredible opportunity, and it's up to you to make it what you want.

Brought to you by Spurwing, our Scheduling API Makes Adding Scheduling Quick, Reliable and Scalable.

Highly Effective Work-from-Home Policies for Managers and Executives

Spurwing — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 08:40:41 +0000

It's still a bit early to understand all of the many ways that the pandemic has affected our lives. One thing is certain, however, and that's the fact that working from home isn't going anywhere.

According to builtin.com, more than one-third of employees (full-time) are likely to work from home in the next decade.

The problem, however, is that remote work is so new for many managers and executives that they're unsure how to establish effective work-from-home policies. Left to their own devices, some employees may struggle with remote work and this could bring your company down significantly.

Some work from home best practices include defining purpose, setting clear expectations, defining scope, outlining processes, setting a schedule, and ensuring technological support.

This article will cover these practices more in-depth as well as some helpful work from home tools. So, let's dive right in!

Work from home best practices

Developing a clear, concise, and effective work-from-home policy isn't necessarily the easiest task, particularly for managers and executives with little experience when it comes to remote work.

The following best practices will help keep your work-from-home policy on point, ensuring that your employees can thrive while working remotely and thus keeping your company on track to succeed.

Defining purpose – What are the core values of your company? They should be reflected in your remote-work policy. This gives you a chance as well to reaffirm what matters most to the company. Make sure that you communicate the value that the policy brings to your employees.
Setting clear expectations – Many employers fear that work from home will lower productivity, while many employees believe that they'll actually be more productive. In any case, you'll want to ensure that expectations are crystal clear so that there is no unnecessary drama that arises.
Defining scope – Your work-from-home policy needs to specify which positions at your company are permitted to work from home. Doing this will help limit remote work requests from ineligible employees and thus prevent unnecessary frustration.
Outlining processes – How will employees submit requests to transition partly or entirely to working from home? Do they need to simply run it by a manager? Do they need to follow a formal procedure? Break down what needs to happen clearly and concisely to avoid future headaches for everyone.
Setting a schedule – Will working from home be restricted to certain days? Will there be "work from home Wednesdays"? Or might Fridays be optional for coming into the office? Consider what's best for your company and make sure you include the details in your policy. This should also include expected hours or whether that will be on an individual basis.
Ensuring technological support – Not all employees may possess the same technological savvy and a home office space equipped for working effectively from home. To ensure that there's no loss to productivity, list basic tech requirements and support options for employees who wish to work remotely.

Work-from-home tools

Here's a brief overview of some work-from-home tools that can help boost your company's productivity and camaraderie.

ProofHub

This management software will help streamline your various remote projects and groups. Pretty much every aspect of project management you can think of is covered here, making your life much easier.

Wrike

Wrike offers similar features as ProofHub, with the goal of boosting work from home productivity through streamlined management. There are nice features like a tool that allows you to easily mark up images and leave comments for easy collaboration.

Trello

Trello has gained a lot in popularity due to its ease of use for a wide range of remote work applications. You can create a "board" for any given project and add and assign "cards" for the tasks that need to be accomplished.

GitHub

GitHub is a well-known code hosting platform. If your company depends on code, GitHub makes it super easy to collaborate and develop together, no matter where your employees are.

Discord / Slack / Microsoft Teams / Zoom

You'll likely want to utilize one of these services so that employee communication remains streamlined, as this is one of the most important facets of running a successful company.

Defeating solitude

Working from home may be a dream for many employees, but others might find it lonely. This is why it's essential to have management and communication tools like those outlined above to ensure employees still feel connected.

You can also aim to boost employee camaraderie by scheduling "social hours" where employees can hang out and chat about non-work-related stuff.

Wrapping up

Remote work is too popular and convenient in many scenarios to go away. Instead of fearing this transition, you can lean into it and help boost employee morale, your attractiveness as an employer, and overall productivity.

Setting an open and effective work from home policy, however, is critical to achieving this, so make sure that you put ample time and thought into your policy with the above information in mind.

Brought to you by Spurwing, our Scheduling API Makes Adding Scheduling Quick, Reliable and Scalable.

Should Software Engineers Work Remotely?

Spurwing — Sat, 26 Jun 2021 17:57:23 +0000

Before we can answer this question, we must first answer another question: Can software engineers work remotely? The simple answer is yes. Software engineers can usually work remotely thanks to all of the available tools that allow them to remain productive off-site.

The answer to the question of SHOULD software engineers work remotely is a little more complicated and may need to be addressed on an individual basis.

Yes, companies can save time and money if they hire software engineers to work remotely. Remote employment also allows companies to hire experienced engineers from around the world. The downsides to working remotely are the lack of face-to-face human contact and the challenge of work-life balance.

In this article, we are going to address some of the helpful tools, tips, and tricks that will help companies and individual software engineers decide if working remotely is the best option.

Efficient and Productive Work from Home Policies

One of the first things an employer needs to consider before hiring engineers that work remotely is the company-wide work-from-home policies. These policies exist to lay out the company’s expectations and requirements of all employees working remotely.

Whether employees are contracted for hourly work or they receive a regular monthly salary, the expectation and guidelines that should be included in the policies are similar but may be adjusted based on a company’s needs or things like time zone differences.

Some of the main things to consider including in the policies are:

Working Hours

It is best to have employees scheduled to work the same or similar working hours to those that would be worked if they were coming to the office. This will help to create a healthy divide between work and home life as well.

Time zone differences may mean that working hours are at different times than the company office employees, but the idea of working 9-5, or 8 hours a day would be a wise policy to enforce for the health and productivity of the employee.

Attendance Expectations

Along with the working hours, outlining a way to track attendance so that the employee and the company are aware of how and when the employee should be available for collaborative work or meetings is also important.

Tips and Tricks for the Best Remote Work Practices

When a company decides to hire or allow current employees to work remotely, it is best to provide them with assistance in adjusting to working from home. Providing a list of the best practices for working remotely will be a great step in working toward productive and efficient remote work.

Some of the best remote work practices include:

Having a designated workspace that is separate from other areas of life, including meals, family time, sleeping, and leisure time.
Dress for work, even if there are no virtual meetings to attend.
Plan meals and snacks in advance to avoid the temptation of constantly going to the fridge just to look.
Set a work schedule and keep it to help avoid unwanted mixing between work and life outside of work.
Don’t forget to move. With limited space, no water cooler to gather around, or break room to waste time in, it can be tempting to stay in the “office” and keep working until it is done, but everyone needs a break. Take at least a ten-minute break every hour to walk around, stretch, go to the bathroom, grab some coffee, and just get moving.

Useful Tools for Working from Home

For software engineers to be productive remotely, they must have the proper tools they need to get the job done. The main tools they will need are programs for time tracking, communicating, collaborating with their fellow engineers, and managing projects.
Here are some of the top recommended programs:

Time Management

Clockify & Focusboost

Appointment Scheduling

Spurwing

Communicating

Hangouts, Zoom, Teams, Skype
Discord & Slack

Collaborating

Whimsical & Miro
Office Suite Online

Managing Projects

Asana & Redmine

Concerns About Working from Home

The two biggest concerns that most people have about working from home are loneliness and work-life balance.

One of the biggest benefits of working in an office is regular face-to-face contact with other adults. When working from home, this may not happen as often and can cause employees to struggle with a regular feeling of loneliness.

When a person eats, sleeps, relaxes, works out, and works all in the same space, it can be difficult to find a balance between life and work. Setting boundaries, making a schedule, and having a designated workspace are key to finding this balance.

Conclusion

If a software engineer prefers working remotely or is in a position where working remotely is the best option, the engineer should work from home. To ensure productivity, employers should make sure the software engineers are well equipped with programs, policies and expectations, and helpful tips that will help them succeed.

Brought to you by Spurwing, our Scheduling API Makes Adding Scheduling Quick, Reliable and Scalable.

Interview Scheduling Solutions with Spurwing API

Spurwing — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 21:41:04 +0000

The Covid-19 pandemic has turned the job market inside out. It's now easier, and in some cases more profitable, for people to stay at home and look for a job. So the faster you can bring great talent onto your team, the better.

Speed and organization are necessary to keep a good applicant from slipping through the cracks. How are you going to meet that standard if your company receives hundreds of applications a day?
You can tighten the hiring process by integrating Spurwing's time management and scheduling API with an Applicant Tracking System (ATS).

An applicant tracking system is software used by human resources that acts as a database for job applicants. They're one of those hot little items that are becoming the norm for today's HR teams. They allow companies of all sizes to organize, search, and communicate with large groups of applicants.

If it's your job to bring good people on board your company, it's the applicant tracking system's job to make good people easy to be found. Otherwise, your full-time job will be reading resumes and applications.

An ATS can perform low-level functions like organizing applications and resumes by level of skill and specialty, or it can even be taken to the level of auto-rejecting applications with certain elements.

All applicant tracking systems store resume information in ways that make the candidates easy to filter and search by keyword. Important details on a resume can be missed due to human error. An ATS misses nothing and will capture key information and make it easy to access at a later time.

Hiring managers and recruiters can attach digital notes to each candidate or Star rate ones that catch their attention. The ATS stores resumes so that it's possible to contact a candidate for another position with the company later on.

Once you integrate your applicant tracking system with Spurwing's API, you'll be able to access and keep track of the availability of people holding the interviews. Nothing kills a future career like no-shows. And sometimes those things happen on account of poor scheduling.

Spurwing's API will maximize the likelihood that the interviewer and candidate both will be meeting at a time that is optimal for either side.

Automated reminders will keep both parties aware of where to be and at what time, no matter how busy their day gets.

Once the ATS has presented you with someone that looks promising, Spurwing makes it easy to hold the interview. Where necessary, Spurwing can implement state-of-the-art video conferencing applications including Zoom, Skype, and Join.me into into the API.
This helps make the interview more accessible and streamlined. Keeping an appointment for an interview is a simple as a few keystrokes.

If your company is already in the habit of using an applicant tracking system, then Spurwing will integrate with it smoothly.
If an ATS has not yet been set up for your team, then a new solution can be developed with the help of the Spurwing team.

Join thousands of businesses that have adopted Spurwing and schedule a 30-minute intro call with one of our engineers today. Continue reading about Spurwing Scheduling API.

Time And Calendar Management APIs to Save The Day

Spurwing — Sat, 05 Jun 2021 22:18:49 +0000

Nowadays people’s business and personal lives are fully booked with appointments, meetings, events, and so much more. It’s nearly impossible to keep up with everything without the help of some type of calendar or time management tool.

However, time and calendar management APIs have been designed to make life easier, much easier! They work effectively for both small and big businesses, along with helping even the smaller family get where they need to be on time, every time.

If you are using multiple calendars to manage all your time, you need an API that can integrate those platforms into one easy-to-use calendar that shows all your appointments. This is the best way to maximize productivity and help you breathe easier.

Business Vs. Personal Calendars

Whether you are the CEO of a successful franchise or the Mother to three adorable kids, using a time and calendar management API can be the most resourceful tool you’ll ever get your hands on. It can literally save the day when an important event needs to be attended to.

You’ll no longer need to worry about forgetting future commitments or that dinner engagement with some old school buddies. You can rely on your API to remind you and keep you on task every day, all year long!

For example, Spurwing’s scheduling API can be used to help build scheduling ; time management solutions for small or big companies, and it can also assist smaller teams within a larger company.
But that’s not the only usage it’s suitable for - it also works seamlessly for any size family. It’s incredibly versatile and simple to use! Even small children, the elderly, and people who aren’t tech-savvy can still use and benefit from all the different features.

In fact, time and calendar management APIs can go beyond work-related tasks. Some of the best features that can be included are:

To-Do or Shopping Lists
Adding ; Managing Your Photos
Reminders for Important Appointments
Journaling ; Blogs

You can easily set reminders for special events like birthdays, celebrations, or anniversaries. You can manage your vacations and all of your travel bookings simply by using one API. Keeping tabs on all of your upcoming trips has never been easier!

Adding Personal Touches

If you want to organize your calendar so that everything has its own place, then consider using the color coding feature for each event. This can be helpful to look at when viewing a calendar through any type of devices, such as your smartphone or tablet.

Each event can have a different color option; there are multiple shades to choose from. When scheduling an event, you can easily share your calendar or a single event with other people. It’s also great for parents that want to track school and sporting events for their children!

Conclusion

Everyone can benefit from using a time and management API; it’s not just for the professionals. Families worldwide can take advantage of its many features and keep everything nicely organized without all the hassles.

Join thousands of businesses that have adopted Spurwing and schedule a 30-minute intro call with one of our developers today.

Continue reading about Spurwing - https://www.spurwing.io/

Why Every Rental Business Needs A Scheduling API

Spurwing — Fri, 04 Jun 2021 10:03:04 +0000

If you own a rental business and want to reduce the time spent making appointments and trying to avoid scheduling conflicts, you need to look into getting a scheduling API. It not only makes life easier, but it also can save you unnecessary costs and resources you really can’t afford to lose.

Scheduling APIs for rental companies are the perfect solution for any size project or business. It works behind the scenes to make sure that your calendar is operating at maximum efficiency and prevents you from booking reservations over top of an existing order.

In fact, this type of API is so efficient even a brand new employee could handle making your appointments without making mistakes. It’s really that simple to use!

Benefits of Using Scheduling APIs

There are plenty of benefits when it comes to using a scheduling API. For instance, if you are dealing with customers in different time zones, it will coordinate your calendar to match whatever timezone you are currently working in or with. But, that’s just one of the many advantages people can prosper from when choosing a scheduling API.

It can also send notifications & reminders to your clients and reminders about upcoming rentals. You can also have a feature that automatically sends your customers their booking confirmations.

This type of API is designed to help your rental company work smoothly without worrying about your calendar. Too many small & medium sized business owners spend hours of unnecessary time trying to clean up and organize their schedules. Why not have an API do all the work for you?

What Makes Spurwing A Leader In APIs?

Spurwing’s scheduling API allows people to design, develop, and keep everything organized when they are renting items to other individuals. For example, if you rent party tents, machinery, camera equipment, or even a DJ deck for parties, you need to have complete control over your scheduling.

The Spurwing API calendar is expected to prevent any duplicate reservations from happening while making changes in real-time, which of course allows you or your staff more time to spend helping your customers with the other services you offer.

You’ll have access to all the widgets needed for your website to start allowing your clients to book their appointments within seconds! It’s both user-friendly and easy to use. You no longer need to spend most of your day on the phone or looking for scheduling solutions because Spurwing’s management tools will do everything for you!

It can even integrate with various calendars such as Outlook, Apple, and Google to give you one centralized and simultaneously updated calendar. So whether you use your phone or your laptop to schedule a rental, all your calendars will be updated in real-time!

Conclusion

Using a scheduling API for your rental business is not only smart; it’s the most efficient way to organize your customer’s appointments. You’ll never have to worry about double-booking again or having to apologize to your client for any scheduling errors! Join thousands of businesses that have adopted Spurwing and schedule a 30-minute intro call with one of our developers today.

Continue reading about Spurwing - https://www.spurwing.io/