Remote Working: 4 Tips For Your First Time Doing It

This week might be the first time you have had to work remotely for more than the occasional sick day or house maintenance day. I've been leading remote working teams and working remotely myself regularly for well over 10 years now. Here are a couple of helpful tips for you as the worker and the leader that you can use this week and beyond.

1. Create a designated workspace.

I know the couch looks comfortable or working from bed would be fun, but it will not put you in the optimal position to work effectively. Your brain and your body are used to sitting at a desk and both will struggle with 8 to 9 hour long stents on a comfy couch. Your posture will suffer and your body will hurt in a few day’s time. It's also good to be able to step away from the work area and save your entertainment and rest areas for just that. If you don't have a desk or office, setup at a dining room table and make it feel like a desk - pens, notepaper, coffee cups, etc. Make sure your fun space is sacred and not used for work.

2. Set reminders to move.

If you don't already have a smart watch constantly nagging you to get up every hour and move around, you will want to set a reminder. Working at home with no distractions of coworkers, the need to walk a distance to a bathroom or breakroom, or even the walk from the car to your desk -- you will be missing out on valuable movement time that your body needs to stay healthy. You will be surprised at how little you move when you work from home if you aren't intentional about it.

3. Set consistent work times and protect your working hours.

It is important to set boundaries with your family. When you are working at home, help your family understand that you are not available for play time, household chores or errands. Just like at the office, you won't be productive if you are being pulled away constantly. This is going to be the hardest thing you are going to deal with while being remote. To balance out the needs of those in your household, take your regular hourly breaks for 5 minutes to help with whatever they need. They can help to keep you moving a little bit from #2. In my case, this makes it so that Daddy will always be available to you once per hour for whatever it is you need. I also spend most, if not all, of my lunch hour with my kids and wife – a nice break from the stresses of my day job. The most important rule for your day is this: When your normal workday is over, be sure to "leave the office" and "go home" for the day. Turn off your laptop and be present at home.

4. Manage up. Manage fears.

Let's be real for a moment. If you are not used to working remotely, your boss likely isn't either. If you think one of your coworkers is watching Netflix all day and not working, your boss probably thinks the same about you. Don't take offense to this, you are all new to the remote working thing. You should have KPIs and deliverables that you are expected to meet each week. If not, now is a good time to write them down and set expectations. Working in an office can make leaders and employees lazy about defining measurable KPIs. It is easy to see that Mike comes to work every day and does stuff at his desk -- he is working hard. However, with no clear view of the person, when they come in, when they leave, what they are doing, people tend to think the worst in their coworkers. Again, I'll caveat it with this, it is only a problem if you are not used to working remotely or leading a team this way. It is important to also set up human touchpoints with your team to "check in" with each other. Use this time to connect through video collaboration tools or through simple phone calls. You will be surprised at how much interpersonal connections you lose while working remotely. Take the time to seek them out and make it a priority every day.

Do you have some remote working tips you would like to share? I would love to hear them!