The first association with the term “remote work” is dream-like: working while lying in a hammock by the sea. We take it as a holiday, rather than usual daily responsibilities at an office. But when you start your remote job, you soon figure out that your table, a chair (or a hammock) and your laptop become your work place for a full busy day. It’s like an office, with the added benefit that you don’t have to wake up early to commute. You also have the chance to escape the soul-crushing winter and work from any warm location you desire. Because what matters in the long run is the result.
While you can easily maintain high-quality work and be a professional at your office desk, it takes some extra skills, to be a good remote employee. As Atwix is a distributed company, and I personally work remotely, it is essential to know how to be a good remote worker. So, what does it take to be an effective remote worker? In order to reach high-quality results, a self-organization, efficiency, energy management, and pleasure from your work should always be your friends. Below, I’ll try to describe a couple of my own tips that help me in my daily remote life.
Daily work schedule
A great misconception is that a remote work can be started a minute before a daily meeting. Truth is, that even before a meeting you must tune yourself into work and have a plan at least for the first half of the day. Morning exercises, a cup of coffee, a hearty breakfast, reading a book, or just 10 minutes of fresh air can help you wake up and gear up for the day.
It is also a good habit to set your timer to rest or do a little workout for 5-10 minutes every hour. This helps you maintain your energy, gives a rest for your eyes and some extra boost of focus. This is very useful, even when you are too busy, to prevent fatigue. A big plus of working from home is that you can relax singing along to your favorite song on the radio or dance a bit, which cannot be always done in an office.
An evening walk or outdoor activities at the end of your working day can help you shed accumulated stress. After dinner, some planning can also help you stay focused the next day and stick to your schedule.
Energy management
Why is it important to prioritize energy management over time? Sometimes we are able to manage our time, but more often it isn’t on our side. The time is limited, but we can always produce personal energy. You just need to find your own way of harvesting energy and improving your efficiency (like I’ve mentioned above, I sing).
Also some of us are more energetic in the morning, when others are in the evening. It is necessary to consider and use it for your own good, especially if your job allows. For example, try working on big and complicated tasks in the morning, when your energy level is at its peak. But even when you are required to work with such tasks not at your most productive time, you may want to learn how to accumulate personal energy and relax.
Communication
Communication in remote work is a thread connecting you with your colleagues from other cities / countries. It helps you avoid the feeling of loneliness and shows your immediate participation in work process. Chatting about work, life, and other topics helps foster a sense of connection.
Avoid bad manners. For example, this can be when you unexpectedly disappear from an active conversation for an indefinite time. Therefore it is always good to forewarn about your unavailability and define its timeframes. Do not be afraid of over-communication, especially when you have some work-related questions. In messages, letters, try to be clear, cause working remotely deprives you of an ability to easily tapping on a shoulder and talking to your colleague.
Visual contact is also crucial, especially for your colleagues, to remind them that they’re working with a real person, not just a chat avatar.
These three simple tips really affect remote work. They are also quite linked. For example, training a habit of daily scheduling, we can better accumulate working energy, and vice versa; knowing the time and periods of our productivity peaks, we set up the best working schedule. And communication helps you be close with the your team, even when you’re hundred miles away. Also it builds strong relationships and helps your deliver great results.
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