Tips for remote work

Remote work is all the rage these days. Especially after the Covid pandemic and companies embracing a lot of video technology and security applications that make working from home very possible, there are a lot of positions now which allow for someone to do their job to the fullest extent and never walk out the front door. And it's fantastic! There are less cars on the road, more time to spend with your family or handling life, and you'll have more time for hobbies or getting active.

Three out of my last four jobs involved working from home. In 2020, the customer success manager position I had was quickly forced to go 100% remote when Covid hit. Then in 2021, I started another customer service job that was 100% remote from the beginning (and I was in a different country with a 13-14 hour timezone difference). Most recently I started a developer position which is about 60% remote. I've figured out through these experiences (especially with the time zone difference) that there are ways to do remote work well and there are ways to not do it well.

As such, I wanted to pass along six tips I have for remote work to help it go well for you. Working from home is a fantastic perk to have for the job that can come with a lot of benefits, but it does come with some responsibility on your part in order to be a good thing, and it does carry some extra challenges.

1. Make sure your internet is good. This is basic, and I don't think it will be an issue for most people these days, but I still have to list this. You have to have good internet - enough to have video calls while potentially sharing your screen and/or multitasking. Your company will probably set you up with a laptop with enough hardware resources to do this, but it will be up to you to have good enough internet service.

2. Be visible and involved at your company. Use Slack, Teams, Workplace by Facebook - whatever your company uses for communication and instant messaging, and be active there. This is crucial! I could probably write up a whole post just on this tip, but this is one of the most important things when you work remote. Being visible in your company opens up more doors with promotions and leadership opportunities, develops better working relationships with your colleagues, and can help satisfy the social itch which you may not have at the house (unless you live with others who are also at home all the time). You don't have to be in the social space every day, but checking in and posting a few times a week is good.
   
   Yes, it's possible for you to be a complete recluse, never sign into your company's communication tool, and rely on your brilliant work to turn heads and lead to promotion or that next job elsewhere. I have coworkers right now who do this. I wish you the best of luck - that's the harder path. Be involved, be visible.

3. Communicate a lot. You'll have to communicate more when working from home than when you are in the office. Most communication at home will be asynchronous. You lose context with asynchronous communication, and you do not get instant feedback or communication back most of the time. If you are on a group project working with other team members, let them know when you are going to be away for an extended period of time (e.g. lunch), and hopefully they'll do the same for you. It's a good way to help manage expectations. No, you do not need to let everyone know every time you go to the restroom or feed the dog - but usually I'll let my team know if I'll be away longer than 15 minutes. Think of it as doing a service to others, they'll know not to expect anything from you for the next X minutes.
   
   It takes awhile to feel out what's best and expected on your team. You don't need to ping them every 5 minutes with updates (please don't!), but the point of communicating more when working at home is to not leave your team in the dark guessing on where you are and what you've done. This doesn't help you, them, your company, or your customer. When you start remote work, ask your manager what is expected and how to best communicate with your team - then do exactly that.

4. Go touch grass. A big mistake I've made before is never leaving the house to go for a walk outside. Get out! Get away from the screen for awhile. Ping your team, tell them you're going on a walk and will be out of pocket, then lock your PC and go enjoy a nice walk. This will help clear your mind, boost creativity, and get you some steps in for the day. If you're like me and don't have a gym membership of any type, this will be good for you physically as well.

5. Minimize distractions. There are more distractions at your home. That's reality. You have pets, other family members, your own personal computer with Twitch, video games, chores that might be calling your name, and more. A nice part about being in the office is that a lot of these distractions are removed for a time period. At home, they are right there and they're calling your name! This is something I have to work on every day - minimize these distractions. Turn on some lofi music instead, and keep these distractions for your lunch break or when you reach a stopping point in your project and need to move around. Personally, I like to vacuum during the work day, but I'll do it when I've been at my desk for awhile and need to move around.

6. Turn off that computer at closing time (if you can). A big downside from working from home can be the blurring of the line between personal and work life. Managers may call you at 7pm and think you can quickly open your PC to review a document, or maybe you'll remember something you forgot to do and before you know it, you're working again after hours. I will say this now - most jobs are not that crucial. Whatever it is, it can be handled tomorrow. Once 5pm or 5:30pm hits, turn off your computer and get away from work. Treat it exactly like the office - you leave work at a certain time and you are not there again until the next weekday. This can also be the same for the company Slack channels. Yes, I'm a big proponent of using it to your advantage (see #2 above), but you don't have to be on Slack after hours either.
   
   There are some instances where you'll need to be on call, just like the office, or you'll need to work late to make sure your next product release is pushed successfully. But most of the time, most jobs are not that crucial and that email can be answered tomorrow. Enforce boundaries and keep that work/life balance.

In closing, hopefully these tips help! I firmly believe that if you learn to do most or all of these successfully, your WFH experience is going to be really good for you. You'll build a good reputation for yourself quicker, stay productive and do good work, and be healthy. From one remote worker to another - I wish you luck.