A friend of mine recently landed a new job working remote and he reached out to me for advice and some tips on how to be successful working remote.
While there are a lot of articles out there offering tips for working remote, if we are being honest with each other, most are marketing fluff designed to drive clicks so I’ll give it to you real — plus I’ll always make time to help my friends out.
Having worked remote for the majority of my professional career and for the last several years diligently building a fully remote company, I’ve made a lot of mistakes and have learned a thing or two along the way.
With that obligatory intro out the way….here is what I have learned:
Routine
Create a daily routine for yourself. It’s important to create a mental separation between work and home.
Confession: I’m horrible at this but recognize the importance of it and continually work to refine/stick to a healthy routine.
When I first started (SEE ALSO: It still happens about once a month), I no longer had the daily commute to an office burden so the daily routine of getting up, taking a shower, getting dressed, having breakfast, etc. was no longer a strict requirement.
What I found was that work and personal time started to have no real separation, I would just roll out of bed, grab a cup of coffee, and get to work. I loved the flexibility but found my focus and creativity really suffered.
Here is the routine that I am working on perfecting:
Rise: Shower and get dressed, no more working in my PJs.
Prepare: I make a cup of coffee and then either read a Harvard Business Review Article or listen to a daily news briefing on my Amazon Echo. The key is to do this somewhere other than where you do your work.
Morning Work Prep: Review email inbox. Create a list of items to complete for the day.
Work: Do work. Turn off all notifications.
Lunch: Usually something I make at home but force myself to eat away from my computer. Your mind needs the mental break.
Work: More work.Turn off all notifications.
Afternoon Break: I usually take a 30 minute break in the afternoon. 3 days a week, the break is a 2 mile run on the treadmill, the other 2 days is a 30 minute nap. Create a 30 minute break that works for you and is consistent.
Work: Finalize tasks, reorganize tasks that weren’t completed, prepare for tomorrow.
Close Shop: Physically shut the door to my office and walk away.
Communication
Over communicate. Unfortunately, there is a deep-seated believe that if you are in the office, you are getting work done, if you are at home, you are most likely doing laundry, running errands, and basically not getting work done.
To combat this, plan on over communicating.
Hold your own weekly standup. When I first started working remote, every Friday I would send my boss a weekly email that contained an executive summary of what I got done during the week, what obstacles I have in my way, and what I plan on doing the next week. As an employer, I love this, it makes me feel much more connected to my team, helps me identify and remove barriers, and overall be a better manager and mentor.
Set expectations. When you get requests via phone, email, slack, et al., avoid being a firefighter, you don’t have to constantly jump in and solve problems. Just because you are remote, not everything is an emergency, in fact few things are. It’s ok to take your time so you can properly respond, however it is imperative that you properly set expectations on when people will hear back from you.
“Hey Brett, I got your email. It will take me a few days to pull the data so I can properly answer your question. I expect to have the answer for you this Friday.”
If you are going to miss a date you set, then communicate early that you need to adjust when you will be able to deliver. It’s common sense stuff but the fact that you are remote amplifies your need to be better than your in-office colleagues — sorry, it’s true.
Insist on 1:1s: Set aside time every week for 15–20 minute 1:1 time with your direct manager and other key members of your team. If you are out of sight, you are often out of mind, so if your manager doesn’t suggest a weekly 1:1 with you, proactively put it on the calendar and explain why it’s so import that this time be set aside each week.
Let people see your face. If possible, turn on your webcam as often as you can during meetings, you want to be seen as something more than just a voice. Find opportunities to connect more with people.
Go into the office. Again, be proactive here. Don’t wait to be asked, just go. Find opportunities to go into the office, maybe for a big presentation, a new project kickoff, a quarterly review with you team. You can build strong relationships remote but there is nothing quite like being together in person. Make this time happen and make it count!
Get Out of the House
There are times where I’ll sit back and think ‘man, it’s been like 5 days since I’ve left the house.’ This seems to be a common theme with my work-from-home friends so often we invent reasons to get out of the house.
Find a group of remote workers that you can grab lunch with. If you have access to a co-working location, look into working there a couple days week. Hitting up a local coffee shop and working for an hour or two is sometimes all it takes.
You don’t need to overly schedule this but do look for opportunities to get out more, it’s easy to just stay in your home office but after a while, your mind and body crave a break in the scenery.
My Setup
So now that you know my routine, how I like to communicate, and the need to get out of the house to connect with other humans, here is what my home office setup is like.
Office Space. I am lucky to have an entire room in my home that is 100% dedicated to being my remote office. I’ve worked hard to create the feel of a professional office. If you don’t have a separate room, find a corner that works well but avoid making your bed, kitchen table, living room couch, etc. your primary work space. Do take advantage of being mobile but have a dedicated space where you get the bulk of your work done.
Furniture: I’m a strong believer that design drives creativity and results. If you don’t feel good about how your office feels, chances are you aren’t going to create your best work. Don’t go cheap here, get a quality desk that makes you feel good, invest in a high quality chair (trust me, this one is not-negotiable), decorate your office with items that give it the feel you are looking for. This is your space, make it truly yours. Finally, ask your company about a home office setup reimbursement, a lot of companies are offering a set amount of money for new employees to build out their home office.
Computer: I run a MacBook Pro with lots of RAM. In fact, I don’t own a desktop. As a remote employee, we are mobile, might as well embrace it. My MacBook stays docked most of the time — I use a Magic Mouse, wireless Apple Keyboard, and two Dell 27 Ultra HD 4k LED Monitors for extra workspace.
Audio/Video: Logitech HD1080p webcam for video conferencing. Blue Yeti mic and desk mount for recording videos. Apple AirPods for phone calls and conference calls, I like to walk around when I’m on the phone, you’ll probably be on the phone a lot, get something that is comfortable for you.
Software: Slack to stay connected to my team. Workflowy for my daily todo list. Alfred to simplify recurring tasks. Wallcat because having a new beautiful view on my desktop every morning is strangely something that I look forward to.
Ambiance: Sonos One which is typically streaming jazz or chill EDM. A few live plants. An aromatherapy diffuser that I add either lime or orange oil to — the smell is so calming and helps me focus.
I’m sure I could write an entire book on the remote employee but hopefully this gets you started. The most important thing to remember is that being a remote employee gives you freedom, invest the time and energy to making your remote work valuable so you can enjoy all of the freedoms and flexibility that being location independent can offer.
Enjoy the journey.
[author] Jason Thompson [author_image timthumb=’on’]http://i2.wp.com/33sticks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/jason_250x250.jpg?zoom=2&w=1080[/author_image] [author_info]Jason is the co-founder and CEO of 33 Sticks. In addition to being an amateur chef and bass player, he can also eat large amounts of sushi. As an analytics and optimization expert, he brings over 15 years of data experience, going back to being part of the original team at Omniture. [/author_info] [/author]