Join Our List
We are putting the finishing touches on Vineforce! Fill out the form below, and we'll let you know when it's ready.
We are putting the finishing touches on Vineforce! Fill out the form below, and we'll let you know when it's ready.
In the previous articles, we provided evidence that remote work is more effective than widespread belief and explored some must-have tools that help its efficacy.
But before you press the gas, here are five crucial tips to ensure that working from anywhere works for you and your team, resulting in being more organized and productive. These tips are sure to give you a head start in managing yourself well and if you manage a remote team also and get everyone on your team up to speed from anywhere.
Before many businesses worldwide made the drastic move to go remote, talking to or engaging with a colleague was almost effortless in the office. There were few barriers between having daily scrums or 1:1 check-in meetings face-to-face.
When working remotely, communication should be a top priority for any team to overcome, not being a few feet away from their team members. When the proper channels for communication are in place, the process of engaging regularly can be seamless.
Weekly check-ins and team-building exercises are two main ways to maintain communication. Use these opportunities to over-communicate. This cannot be stressed enough. Be transparent and open about goals, uncertainties, and any issues you may face. Your team cannot read minds, so effective communication is crucial.
When communication is on point, clear goals can be set. When people have clear, reachable goals, they are better able to see their way through them with much progress.
Outline the results you want to see for departments and individuals involved. In addition, encourage your staff to set clear goals for themselves, whether daily, weekly, or monthly.
Then with those goals, map out a schedule to achieve them. Ensure the plans of the members of your team sync in such a way that accommodates proper overlapping so that different time zones are considered.
Whether or not your team has control over how they set their schedules, bear in mind slots for when everyone is available at the same time and other thoughtful gestures like setting statuses to away or active so all can see.
Take time during your workday for breaks, especially when the lines between work and personal life blur or you become stressed. In these moments, prioritize self-care.
Research proves that breaks help reduce stress when working, which means you will be more productive. These breaks may look like taking a bite to eat (which sounds simple, but far too many people tend to skip lunch for work), taking a quick walk or run, or simply taking time out to nap or sit in silence.
With the flexibility that working from home or anywhere affords, you can now address those critical areas of your life you have been neglecting for so long by doing things they require because they initially did not fit into your schedule. For example, that doctor's appointment, that spa treatment you had longed for ages, or simply that mini-weekend family vacation you had planned for some time.
Resist the urge to respond to work-related messages or notifications outside work hours and practice unplugging when work is up.
A psychologically safe work culture or space is one where everyone can speak up without the risk of punishment or humiliation. As it suggests, it is cultivating a 'safe atmosphere' for everyone on your team to be vulnerable and open about ideas, opinions, and feelings without second-guessing whether they should communicate them.
Leaders of remote teams should be responsible for exemplifying a psychologically safe workspace through simple ways such as: being emphatic, being a kind leader, and not just a 'boss' and inviting questions no matter how simple it is to be asked, to name a few.
When a culture like this is established, employees feel safe to share unorthodox ideas and solutions and are more willing to take risks that could benefit everyone on their team.
In addition, strong bonds of trust are established among members of your team when everyone practices being open, honest, and understanding. This way, they can lend a helping hand without thinking and support each other better.
Unbelievably, your space dramatically affects the level of work you produce. You may fail to get much done if it is cluttered with distractions. But if you intentionally curate your space in such a way to help you stay focused on your tasks at hand, then expect noteworthy results.
If you are working directly from home, be intentional in separating your workspaces from family spaces. Avoid doing things like working from your bed and do so from a mock office setup such as a desk and chair.
Communicate with family members you share space with about rules for when it is ok to talk to you or request your presence for whatever reasons. Let them know your work schedule so they will not unnecessarily distract you.
"When I started working remotely, I was an independent consultant and did not have a team yet. Back then, staying awake during my day was a huge challenge. I had no team to interact with, so it was just me. No personal boundaries or work schedules were established, so I just produced any quantity of work. Whenever I felt bored, I would sleep.
I soon realized I was not very productive and worked on tasks randomly. So, I tried multiple strategies for writing down tasks and reminders. After a while, I realized nothing was wrong with taking a nap during the day as long as I had a clear work schedule.
So, there was a need to have something to help me plan my day, and later, when I acquired a team, the same was necessary for them, too, in addition to being able to see what everyone was doing in one place and help them be productive as well. This was the impetus for creating Vineforce; to be able to plan and manage my day.”
Use these essential core tips as a compass to get you smooth sailing on your journey of remote work. When communication is one of the top priorities on your team, setting clear goals and having a safe culture will automatically follow, as communication is the backbone of these.
While setting up boundaries to guard your workspaces against overlapping with personal life helps, it goes hand in hand with knowing when to unplug from work to safeguard care for self.
