10 tips to survive remote working
Contrary to popular belief remote working isn’t watching Netflix all day, or working from your bed. Remote working can come in may shapes and sizes, such as global teams working across different time zones, home workers, people working in co-working spaces, fully remote companies or a mix of remote and office based team members. Either way, here are ten tips to help you navigate the waters of remote working.
1. Invest in a decent set of earphones,mic and camera
You’ll be surprised just how much time you can spend wearing your earphones, they’ll start to become a part of your wardrobe. Ensure they’re comfortable and have a good mic, relying on your laptops mic whilst you’re working in Costa just won’t cut it and a separate mic is just another thing to carry with you. Whilst a lot of inbuilt cameras are great, you may want to close your laptop lid or perhaps you have your laptop at the side of your desk and the lighting isn’t very good. A separate camera allows you to move it to a more suitable position.
Recommendations
Earphones and mic:Corsair Gaming Earphones
Webcam: Logitech HD camera
2. Look for co-working spaces
You may find a day a week or a full time desk helps with remote working. Having a dedicated desk to call your own, may help you get into a working mindset. Some places will let you rent a desk for a day or some may offer monthly contracts, be sure to give a few places a trial day to get a real sense of what the place is like and the members. If you don’t live near any co working spaces, why not try a local coffee shop for a morning or two, or the local library?
3. Commute to work
Leaving the house to go to work can help you feel like you’ve arrived at work. You may find it useful to go to the gym before, or take a walk around the block or perhaps to a coffee shop nearby. At the end of the work day try and repeat the routine by physically leaving ‘your office’ to go home.
4. Stationary Cupboard
Being remote means no stationary cupboard, or IT team to ask for a lead or some batteries. You may only need something every 6 months, but it’s worth setting yourself up with a miniature stationary cupboard, and if you can, ask for a budget to buy these things.
What to keep in your stationary cupboard
1. Pens and pencils
2. Rubber
3. Sharpen
4. Post it notes
5. Note pads
6. Batteries
7. Stapler
8. HDMI lead
9. USB stick
10. Light bulb (for your lamp)
11.USB-C adapter
12.Presentation clicker
5. Learn when to message and when to video
You may already be used to online messaging tools like Slack, but have you ever used it with someone you’ve never actually met? You don’t know what their personality is, how they look, sound or what their body language is like when they speak. If you’re unsure about a message they sent you, don’t assume the worst, ask them for a video call. You’ll soon start to get to know them better. Also, remember that goes the other way too, so perhaps use emojis, even if you’re not a huge fan, sometimes they can make all the difference.
6. Read the intranet
Take your time to read any intranet or documentation that is available. It will help you understand different acronyms used in meetings and on Slack. People can’t see your blank face when certain words get mentioned, and may not remember to actually tell you what it means. It’s also useful to keep the intranet updated, so if you think something is missing add it, or update what is there.
7. Don’t beat yourself up
Sometimes you aren’t as productive as you want to be, sometimes you’ll feel like you don’t have anything to show. It’s OK. Take a moment to realise and understand that you would have had days like that in an office too. It’s not because you’re remote and didn’t do anything all day, it’s because your day hasn’t quite panned out how you thought.
8. Go to company events
If your company hosts events make an effort to go to them. It’s good to catch up with colleagues who you work with regularly, but also to see ones who you don’t. That face to face interaction can help you get through some of the days where remote working maybe isn’t as good. It could even be something to look forward to.
9. Do Not Disturb
If you’re in the middle of something don’t feel the need to respond to that message straight away. Being remote doesn’t mean you have to be hyper responsive to everything that comes in. If you have a piece of work you want to concentrate on don’t be afraid to enable Do Not Disturb on your communication channels, or to drop a message to your team to just say you’ll be offline for a little while as you want time to focus.
10. Go to a meeting
You wouldn’t have a one-to-one or a meeting at your desk, you’d go to a different room. So perhaps try to replicate that. When you have a meeting go to a different area, like the sofa, or a comfy chair or breakout space, grab a drink before it starts too, like you would if you were in the office. This can put you in the right mindset for the meeting and give your day more structure.
There are no right and wrongs in remote working, it’s about finding something that works for you.
