Remote Work Tips

This year we’ve already seen a number of crises that have resulted in the team needing to work remotely. I’m thinking about natural disasters like the Taal volcano eruption, or the escalating response to COVID-19. Working remotely has moved from a luxury that enables productivity without the lengthy commute, to a tool that can keep people safe as well as keeping productivity up. 

If working from home is an option it's important to be setup for success, so here are my top tips for working remotely. 

The Rig

Your remote work-space needs to be separate from your personal living space. Working from the lounge might seem tempting but you don’t want to be distracted by TV or anyone else in this shared living space. It’s crucial to have a retreat where you can get in ‘the zone’ of productivity and focus on work. Setting up a home office also helps mentally separating work from your personal life, meaning you’re closer to the fleeting work-life balance that flexible work promises. 

In addition to your workspace, the rig shouldn’t be a 13-inch laptop. You should invest in a couple of decent monitors. Spreadsheets look better on 4K UHD screens, and you're 20-30% more productive with dual screens. 

Communication

Working remotely can be very isolating, the thing I usually miss about working at HQ is the team dynamics and simply going to lunch with colleagues. When working remotely you should take advantage of the abundant collaboration apps at your disposal. Use Slack, Workplace Chat, MS Teams etc.. to stay connected.

It’s also important to really focus on those effective communication skills as things communicated via chat can sometimes get lost in translation and are often riddled with exformation. 

Early on in your flexible work journey, expect to run into geographical problems that a VPN won’t fix. There will be teething issues and it’s important to call these out early so your team manager can take steps to resolve them. Take accountability and set clear expectations for what you need to get the job done. 

Get Structured

Lastly, it’s time to get more structured than ever, and it's an opportunity for you to align your most productive hours with your work efforts. As long as your work is getting completed on time and is to a high standard it shouldn't matter if it gets done between the normal 9:00 to 5:00 workday. Getting structured also means setting limits. Without the commute many of us will be saving hours each day, and it's very easy to invest this extra time into writing just a couple more lines of code, or finishing the last few pages of a report. Without setting limits it becomes easy to push an 8 hour workday to 10 or 14 hours. Don't get burnt out, stick to a schedule.