Top remote working tips for beginners
Remote working can be made easy if you have a set of rules to follow. To help you out, I’m listing some of the most important things that will help you make this process smoother and easier.
1. Over-communicate 📢
No matter what you do and no matter where you are, communication is the key. But when you’re working remotely, it becomes even more important. When you’re working remotely, you can’t walk up to your colleague and talk to clear up any miscommunication or misunderstandings and that is why is very crucial to make sure you communicate everything. This includes but isn’t limited to
- The hours you’ll be available.
- Away from the laptop time.
- Time-zones, if your team is in a different time-zone.
- Proper documents and a complete explanation of what you’re working on and what should be expected.
- Time to time updates on your work.
Here are a few things that you should do
- Take some time out for weekly 1-on-1 meetings using video calls even if it is just to catch up on what’s happening.
- Schedule regular calls, have team conference calls (hangouts) so that everyone is in sync.
- List down your tasks you that you can communicate with clarity.
- Don’t be afraid or reluctant of making calls when you have a question and be accommodating and ‘nice’ when someone calls you.
- Track your work-progress so that you have the pointers to talk about in the team conference call. (Or whenever needed)
- For teams, it is necessary to share on-going and completed task EOD. You can use special Slack channels for this or do it traditionally via emails.
2. Keep your mobile hotspot ready 📱
Having a good internet connection is necessary for calls, video calls and for communicating anything and everything. A strong wi-fi signal is must but what is also important is that you have a backup. Be ready with your mobile hotshot in case your wi-fi acts up.
A few years ago, we were doing a webinar and I was going to host it remotely. All of a sudden my wi-fi gave up. I got an SMS from my internet company that there was a problem and that the wi-fi will be up in an hour. That is when I had to rely on my phone and I’m glad that I had it all set up and ready to go.
Think about emergencies.
3. Have a dedicated working space 🖥
Working remotely doesn’t mean that you should work from your bed. Do a little work and make some space just for you to sit and work.
- Clean and declutter your working space.
- Invest in a good workstation. A table and a chair and socket for your charger should be enough.
- Don’t work from your bed. Treat your bed as a holy space that you use only for sleeping.
- Make sure you are away from the television or other distractions.
- If you’re going to take or make calls, make sure the background isn’t very noisy.
Having a designated spot will help you stay more focused, organised and ready 💪
4. Buddy up
If you’re working alone, you need a friend to talk to. They may not be right next to you but you can talk to one of your colleagues or a friend who is also working remotely. This would mostly be the talks that don’t involve work. This will help you take a short break so that you don’t get mentally drained.
5. Communicate expectations with whoever is home with you
If you live with your family or have roommates, give them a better clarity on when you’ll be available and what is your schedule like. This away they’ll know when not to disturb you and you’d be able to work without being disturbed.
6. Take regular breaks
You cannot work constantly. It not only makes you less productive but it also increases your tendency to procrastinate and can drain you mentally.
Here are a few things that you can do
- Take a walk.
- Stretch. You can use guided stretches by Calm.
- Do some yoga poses.
- Play with your pet.
- Have tea/ coffee.
- Do some simple breathing exercises.
- Practice self-care.
- Close your eyes for a few minutes.
7. Get started early or find your power hours
The good thing about remote working is that you don’t need to travel. This makes it easier for you to start early. If you start working early, you will save a lot of time in the evening to do things that you love. Alternatively, finding your power hours will help you complete your tasks faster than usual.
8. Work in sprints
Structure your day to work in sprints and commit yourself to finish the tasks accordingly. Working in sprints means tracking and reviewing your work and distributing it into chunks of time. This will help you feel more accomplished at the end of the day.
9. Have a to-don’t list handy
To keep yourself motivated and to stop yourself when you get distracted, you need a to-don’t list. Look at this list once every day so you're subconsciously prepared.
Things to add to your to-don’t list
- Don’t procrastinate.
- Don’t get distracted by people around you, TV or any other mode of entertainment.
- Don’t open Netflix.
- Don’t sleep off.
- Don’t work from bed.
- Don’t do other unnecessary tasks to avoid your main task.
10. Know when to log-off
When you’re working remotely, sometimes it is very easy to lose track of time and that is why setting an alarm for the time to log-off is necessary.
Important things to do before you log off
- Update your team members on the day’s task.
- Close all the work-related windows on your browser.
- Inform your team that you’re done for the day and won’t be available anymore.
So, these are some ways to make remote working a little simpler. Apart from this, make sure you drink enough water and stretch often. When you feel loneliness creeping in, talk to your teammates or a friend.
Got more remote work tips? Share 👇
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