WFH | Tips for Working Remotely
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Hopefully by now you know I’m not here to bullsh*t you. I’ve only been working remotely full time since December 2019 (yes, that’s correct, exactly three months prior to the world realizing remote work is doable and favorable for some). So here are some tips that I and others have found useful.
- The vibe
- The ramble
- TL;DR
THE VIBE
This article is probably not a new one for most of you. However, my spin on these tips is with the underlying belief that working remote is great (for some personality types) but working on the move is exhausting.
Zander stated it perfectly in his Linkedin Post:
Additionally, I think it should be clarified that working remote sounds ideal for some people, but once you work remote, you may realize it’s actually not as great as you were hoping it would be.
Now that we’re on the same page, let’s carry on.
THE RAMBLE
What potentially gets lost when you work remote? Community, Separation, Onboarding to name a few.
COMMUNITY | Connect with groups outside of work that interest you. This helps you meet new people since there is no weekly office space.
Before we’d go out for happy hour, holiday parties, events, etc. where we could meet new people. Working remote means you have to spend more energy seeking out a community. This can be a challenge for some personality types; “Know thyself”.
SEPARATION | Separate yourself mentally from home and work. This one you’ll hear a lot, but it should come with an asterisk. Separation without dissociation: Share your work life with your personal life, you just don’t bring home your work (1).
Before we’d have a physical separation of work and home, and even then some people would cross the line bringing work home, even when they were out of the office. This line is even easier to cross when working remotely.
ONBOARDING | If you’ve never started a new job at a remote company, onboarding can be a challenge.
Before there would be literal hands on onboarding processes. Some need that in person training and to be an inclusive workplace, employers may see that need and provide it when necessary.
What do we gain working remote?
That all depends on your personality type. We can read all the news articles and statistics out there, but when it comes down to facts, that’s entirely up to you.
Some traits that make remote life enjoyable: self motivated, independent, introvert, flexible, organized.
*Please note, this doesn’t mean the opposite of these traits can’t enjoy working remote or work well together
So here are some ideas:
- Set a routine; this can change from week to week, month to month, whenever you reevaluate and say it’s time for a change.
- Fitness break; in addition to meal and mental breaks, add in a fitness break (2).
- Create a work and break space; maybe it’s your couch or a porch.
- Time management methods; such as the Pomodoro method (easy to use for added breaks).
TL;DR
- Brace yourself, working on the move is exhausting
- Get connected with people outside of work and family to build a sense of community
- Routines can be reevaluated and changed
- Both fitness and mental breaks are vital
- “Know thyself”
- Watch Severance
Footnotes
(1) Think of Apple TV’s Severance when processing this; you want to remember work enough to be able to talk about its pros and outweigh its cons in your personal life. As well as being able to share that part of your life with people in your personal life without bringing the literal work with you.
(2) No, I do not think you should add a fitness break because of the bias that I work in the fitness industry, Calm Business has a well sourced article you should read.
