My two-cent into remote working part A
Many people at this moment had to become remote workers and learn how to do it on the fly, perhaps they use to do one or two days remote, but full time is really hard, as it changes the dynamic of many things in our lives, and it disrupts a routine many have had for years!.
So here a few tips (and most are obvious, so apologies in advance) to maintain your work-life balance while working remotely full time for the first time.
Write your tasks
This is the most basic, and also most powerful of all. As tasks piled up, we tend to get overwhelmed by them and stress levels reach the sky. So chill and list, even if you have a project management software in place, it's always helpful to write them down and place them in your desk, or wall where you can see them.
Sort Your Task
When you have them in front of your eyes, then sort them and create a group of tasks that can be done define by time to complete and overall KPI/OKR, if you don't have KPI or OKR, that's not your fault, so you may have to create your own.
Day to Day
At the start of the day, write individual and group tasks you want/need/must complete that day, and if possible split it into two (before lunch, after lunch).
New Tasks
List them into first step and repeat.
Urgent Tasks
This is normally caused by other people not doing a good job at organising their tasks, so chill, and add it to you “Day to Day” with plenty of space, any task left for that day can be done on the next day.
Trouble Shooting
Although we probably all do this to some degree, if you are disciplined about it you will see the benefits within the first week.
You will do to many, or not enough task while you calibrate your sensitivities depending on how different is the remote working output.
DONT PANIC. Remote working efficiently is one of the best things you can master. You may be able one day to work remotely from a beach somewhere in the Caribean and be able to have your family enjoying a different lifestyle.
Whats to look up for
If you feel like your getting a lot of work done in less time, therefore closing the laptop earlier, be careful this is a sand trap and in most cases, you miss some stuff, so do a list!
If you are working over lunch and after hours and don't seem to be able to stop, set your alarm form every hour or two, stand up walk around think about what you're doing, and do a list!
If you work tonnes of hours and never seem to get on top of things, you may be jumping from task to task and taking into new tasks before you finish you previous one, in that case, you guest it do a list!
It's very important you have a work-life balance, don't feel pressured by others that seem to work huge hours, I can promise you they are better ways. If you find it's hard to make the list, just start with “Day to Day” tasks then. If you find hard to prioritise ask a colleague or team leader to help you score them.
If you need anything just reach out, I’ve always promoted remote working, my previous business had over 20 team members all over the world. I’ve managed a project with over 50 remote workers, and in previous gigs, I was part of a team of over 140 remote workers.
I’ve set up processes for it, create different communications strategies and the biggest bang for buck it’s always been ………..do a list!
