7 tips to make remote work actually work
A remote worker faces many challenges. Here are some tips based on my experience.
I always enjoyed working from home, but doing it frequently is a whole new challenge. The pros and cons have been discussed for quite some time by many people (Digital Nomad Soul, Chris Wallace, …), so, I’m just going to summarize my experience in 7 tips.
1. Choose your work space wisely
At the beginning you might think that all you need is a laptop and an internet connection. Wrong!
If you work from home, don’t even think about working from your bed, couch or dining table. You need a clear separation between work and your life. For some people, it is simply the act of using the work laptop or not. But for me, it’s more about the physical space of where I am. I have a separate office at home. If there’s work to be done, it is done in that room. This creates the feeling of leaving work at the end of the day.
Also, if you consistently work from a poor ergonomic space it will start to hurt pretty soon. Invest in a proper desk, chair, large screen(s) and a couple of other things. This is what I have at home and totally do not regret:
- MARKUS Swivel chair (IKEA) - 150£
- BEKANT Corner desk left (IKEA) - 190£
- 2x AOC 24'’ monitors - 110£ each, I tried an AOC 32'’ and it works nicely too
- NB North Bayou Dual Monitor Arms Desk Mount Stand - 70£, you can just use some boxes or books to raise the screens, but these are the next level
- Get a proper keyboard and mouse. Most people work fine from the laptop keyboard and touchpad, but it was making my wrists hurt.
Overall, it cost me around 700£, but it was money well spent.
If you’re a digital nomad, seriously consider a co-working space. It will give you much better ergonomic conditions and that feeling of leaving the office at the end of the day. Working from a coffee shop might do the trick every now and then, but your body won’t like it. Mine doesn’t.
2. Get a routine
The basic rule is: do everything exactly as you would if you had to go to the office. Do not work on your pajamas. I repeat, do not work on your pajamas. Wake up (in the morning), get dressed (sweatpants are acceptable), get caffeine and have breakfast (not necessarily in this order or just these). Start working, break for lunch and then clock out at the end of the day.
This simple routine will help you prevent from blurring the lines between your workday and your home life.
3. Do not overcompensate!
Contrary to what most people might think, it’s a fact that remote workers are more productive. This is partly driven by the fear of not being seen or the guilt, yes, the guilt of not being in the office. Due to this, we tend to work longer hours and answer to emails at 3 am to show that we are working hard.
Anything outside your working hours is not expected to be answered quickly. Be conscious of that.
4. Become omnipresent
Your colleagues can no longer just get up and walk to your desk, so you need to make an extra effort to be present: give them your phone number, install all collaboration tools your colleagues use (Skype, Hipchat, Slack, …) and regularly make video calls. And keep a close eye on all of them and your email. It’s pretty frustrating when someone really needs your help and you reply to them 5 hours later. Also, if you don’t make this effort, your opinion will slowly start to get devalued and forgotten.
My dream is to have a Double robot at the office.
5. Talk to your colleagues about how they can help you
Just like your colleagues can’t get up and just walk to your desk when they need you, you can’t either. Ask them to be considerate of that and to make an effort to be responsive when you try to reach them. It also greatly helps to have someone at the office that can nudge and chase people for you. Try bribing them with coffee and cookies. It usually works.
Also, ask your colleagues to include a remote call option in every meeting request and to be prepared before the meeting actually starts. Happens way too often to have meetings delayed because the room mic, speaker or video camera is not working properly.
Give and ask your manager and colleagues for feedback frequently. Keep doing what works and address what doesn’t. It’s a learning process, as every team is different.
Your success as a remote worker relies as much on your colleagues as it does on you.
6. Shield yourself from spouses, friends, kids, cats and dogs
Some people, and animals, don’t understand the work part of working from home.
Since you’re going to be staying at home, would you mind taking care of the laundry? Cool, thanks!
This is just an example of something you might hear. It’s our job to educate those around us. We’re not lounging all day looking at cat videos (at least not all the time), so please demand to be treated exactly as you would if you were at an actual office. This might be harder to explain to kids and pets though, so an actual door could help.
7. Socialize and move around
As an introvert, I’m guilty of not following this often, but it’s definitely a must. Some people more, while others less, but everyone needs social interaction and working from home takes a serious impact on your mental well-being. You’ll have to do an extra effort here, as you won’t be meeting your co-workers at the coffee machine. To fight this, try the following:
- Meet friends for lunch or dinner
- Try a co-working space
- Work from a coffee shop every now and then
- Visit the actual company office (if possible)
- Go to the gym (for many reasons)
- Prefer phone and video calls with your colleagues, instead of email and messaging apps
- Attend conferences and meet-ups
Final words
There’s no denying that remote work is actually challenging and it’s not for everyone. Some people simply can’t deal with the isolation for long.
But you can make it work. And is it worth it? No doubt.
Follow my series Notes on Remote Work for more updates on this topic.
