Remote work – part 1

It is over 3 years since I decided to work remotely. I made this choice willingly, based on some factors that were (and still are) important to me: flexibility, the extent of opportunities and savings (both time and financial). During this time, I have been a vocal advocate for this within my circles. I have been explaining the benefits of this choice and mitigating the downsides. (I am not a hypocrite to say there are no downsides). We are still in the pioneer stage, and the people that work fully remote are early adopters. Nevertheless, the trend is ascending, and between 2005 and 2017, there was a 159% increase in remote work. 

Starting in February 2020, because of the COVID-19 outbreak, remote working has become a solution for fighting the spread of the pandemic. In the weeks to come, this will convert into a necessity and most probably an enforced measure for companies with a large number of employees.

Companies need to prepare from an operational perspective. Besides this, an important role is played by each individual.  Most people find it hard to work productively from home. It will take a paradigm shift as well as techniques to be able to pull it off. The goal of this piece is to share some proven methods from my experience to expedite the ramp-up period for remote working.

Reframe your mindset

First off, we need to understand the fact that working from home in this crisis is not a benefit that we get once a month (like many corporations offer) or a paid vacation. It is an extreme measure taken to limit the exposure risk. It is also an immense opportunity for us as individuals to make a difference. The pandemic is going to influence a global economic crisis. If we take working from home seriously, and we aim not only at maintaining our efficiency levels but also to increase them, we will contribute to limiting the economic effects. You might say that this is an overstatement, but it is in times like these that each individual needs to play their part. If the majority does it, then there will be an impact so:

“ Be the change you want to see in the world!”

Gandhi

Rise to the challenge

Perceive this situation as a challenge, a way to show that you can thrive in times of trouble, not only in a familiar environment. It is not going to be easy; it is a disruptive change, but how about seeing it as an enormous opportunity? Most people work in open-spaces, where there is a lot of back and forth, which unconsciously affects our ability to focus. Working from home can be a godsend for all those tasks that you’ve been putting off. Moreover, the chance of someone walking up to your desk to ask you something or just to say “Hi” is more limited at home. There are those of us that have kids and most of the schools are closed these days. You are going to say that kids are more disturbing than any colleague or background noise. I agree 🙂 However, you needn’t worry, there are solutions for this as well.

Prepare your environment

Identify the quietest spot in your house. The luckiest ones of us have a home office, but at the other end there are the people that live in a 1 room apartment, so getting a separate room for working might be difficult. Use your imagination, people – the kitchen, or even the bathroom can turn into a temporary office if push comes to shove. 

Let’s assume that you have identified your spot. Make sure it looks as much as possible like an office – try to have at hand only things necessary for work and even if it is a small corner, free it up as much as you can. Order is an excellent asset for productivity. If you can emulate your usual desk from the office it is ideal as it will help you get used to the new situation faster. 

Establish rules

Most of us do not live alone and if there are also kids in the equation, chaos is right around the corner. Therefore it is essential to set some ground rules. If there are only adults in the household, things are more comfortable. Either both are working and the only thing needed is a break schedule not to disturb one another, or one is not working and can find quiet activities in order not to disturb the other. When kids come into play, the challenge rises to the next level. If kids are big enough (usually in school), they can do homework, other activities and need to know that the parents’ workspace is off-limits. You might even play a game with them: everybody starts the day with 100 points. Whenever someone breaks the rules, points are taken from the total. Whoever has the most points at the end of a day, wins – either decides the movie the family sees or the next vacation destination, or whatever you feel is motivating enough. You’ll be amazed by what the proper motivation can achieve. Two issues to consider here: 

1. Make sure your working space is as far away as possible from the spot where the child does their activities because kids tend to share a lot while doing something. If they don’t have your ear, most probably, they will not go to the lengths to come to your desk.
2. Take periodic breaks to check on them. This is aimed at both safety and comfort. Furthermore, if they know you are checking on them from time to time, they won’t feel the need to come over all the time.

The more significant hurdle is with small kids. These cannot be left unsupervised, nor are they as understanding as bigger ones.  The most comfortable solution would be to have someone watch them: a nanny or a grandparent. But since these are not available to everyone and we are talking about extreme times, we must inspect other solutions as well. An alternative would be to take turns with your partner. Think about them as shifts: while one is watching the kids for 2 hours, the other one is working and then the other way around. If you are a single parent, you can either apply for leave (paid or unpaid) or work while the kids are sleeping (not ideal but an option nevertheless).

For now, we have tackled external disturbance factors. We should not ignore the internal ones, which might give the biggest headaches. I wrote another article that addresses internal disturbance factors.

I want to hear from you, as well. What is your experience? What do you find challenging? What tips&tricks can you share? 

Since I want to do my part, and I bragged about being a remote work advocate at the beginning of this article :-), I am offering 1 free consulting session in which we can discuss remote work. Claim yours here! 

         
Happy and productive remote work!