My experience of working remotely for the last one month!
Last month I got a chance to be a remote worker. It wasn’t something that I’d planned to do but rather something I discovered along the way. Sahiba Sethi had to go to her hometown for some work and that’s what made me so interested in remote work. I decided to work from home.
Before I share my learnings, let’s talk a little about remote work.
The best part of being a remote worker is the flexibility you get with it.
Technically a remote worker is someone who works outside of their specified office. It means that the person could be working from anywhere in the world. You could be sitting in a cafe in Paris or the beach in Bali or some restaurant in New Delhi or even in the comfort of your home and still be working. Sounds super exciting. Right?
But along with that comes the huge responsibility of being disciplined enough to finish your to-dos on time. With so many distractions, staying focused is immensly important. So how do you do that?
Here’s what I learnt from my hands on experience of being a remote worker:
Choose the right spot to work from
You need to think of some place where you would be comfortable working from. Supppose you plan to work from home, make sure you have a proper table & chair to sit and work. Why this is important is because suppose you sit on your bed — you’re bound to become lazy.
Incase you decide to step out and work from a coffee shop, ensure that you select a place that isn’t too noisy. If you keep this in mind you’ll stay away from the distractions.
My favorite place to work from when at home is the dining table. Its really quiet there and there’s a lot of natural light. Even when I work from the cafe, I prefer going to the nearby Barista which has this huge window which brings in a lot of light. I really feel working in spaces that have an expanse and great natural lighting has a very positive impact on the mind.
Make a time table & To do for each day
Start your day with a proper plan in mind. Make sure you jot down all your to-dos in your note book or smartphone. We’re all doing so many things that sometimes it becomes impossible to remember everything and there’s no harm in writing down your work. In fact its very important to organise your work better. When you have a clear picture of what you have to achieve in a day, you become better equipt to do it.
If you schedule your day and plan in advance, you can achieve a lot in the 24 hours you have. Be it your work, your health or your hobbies.
Communicate with your team
Okay… so this is one of the most important points you need to keep in mind. As a remote worker it is essential that you communicate well with your team.
Make sure you’re available on the phone or on instant messaging during your work hours. You could even discuss what you’re to-dos are for the day with your team. This helps you achieve more as a team and cross check if there’s something important that could have missed out.
While I was working away from office I made sure that I spoke to my team on call atleast twice a day. One was as soon as we started the work while the other was when we wrapped up our day. We did get on a few unplanned calls incase something important came up.
Stay Focused
Divide your work into 15 minute tasks. This way not only do you meet your targets, you are also able to take small breaks. Some tasks may require more time. But the crux is that when give time slots to your tasks, you are able to focus better and be more efficient.
Don’t Procrastinate
Just because there isn’t anyone from your team around, don’t postpone your tasks. We often think that this can be done later and keep postponing things. It creates a lot of pressure in the end. If there is a task that you are postponing, fool your mind and complete it first. Just go ahead and get over with it.
Meditate
This is something that I really believe in. Meditation really helps you stay focused and achieve so much more. When the mind is calmer it automatically becomes happy. And when you’re happy, you enjoy everything. Even difficult tasks seem doable to you.
One should practise meditation for 15–20 minutes everyday. (I’ll share my experience of meditation in another blog soon. I’ve been practising it for some years now and it has tremendous advantages)
Switch off & Take a day off
Another issue that a remote worker can face is not knowing when to switch off. Since you’re working from anywhere sometimes it becomes difficult to segregate your work life and personal life. I realised this when one day during the remote work time my mom told me to shut down my laptop at the dinner table. I was so engrossed in my work that I didn’t notice my family had all come up for dinner and I was still working.
As a remote worker, you need to have the concept of work life balance in your daily routine. Take some time out for your family, health and your recreation.
Also don’t forget to take a day off once a week!
That’s it for now. After this experience, I plan to become a proper remote worker soon. Hope to share more soon.
If you have any more ideas and suggestions related to remote working, do share them below in the comments section!! 😀
