For some, it is the future of work — or even the present of work. As with the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, plenty of offices are being shut down across the country. Meanwhile, for many, it is really hard to keep productive and motivated without a dedicated office environment. At Ashley, we are a proudly international team and work mostly remote. As with anything, we find there are some downsides and good parts about remote working. We enjoy the flexibility it allows everyone to be productive at their own peak times and spending less time commuting but at the same time we miss spending time with our co-workers. Nevertheless, we’ve been remote working for a while so our tips have those of you starting on this journey covered!
1- Plan your time and stick to a schedule.
Organizing your time and work load when you are not in an office environment can be tedious. Surely, at office, you had a dedicated time frame for lunch break and you socialized with your co-workers over afternoon coffee break but now that you enjoy a greater freedom, managing your time is key. Like Spider Man’s uncle Ben said “With greater freedom comes great responsibility”. That said, you should establish some personal norms and decide on how will your daily routine look like. It’s important to define when you will start and stop working and when you will take breaks.
How? Write down a weekly to-do list on Monday morning and list all tasks based on priority. Then, arrange them into time blocks. Make sure you allocate some time for lunch or other small breaks. Decide on a time to start and stop. And please don’t forget to eat!
2- Over-communicate with your co-workers.
One of the hardest part about remote working is not seeing your co-workers regularly. This is a great time to learn how to be impeccable with your words.
You’ll realize how much can be done with well-explained, clear briefs and emails, without requiring a meeting. In fact, as you may aware, Amazon even banned meetings as they realized it was wasting time. That’s why it’s important to overcommunicate, as written text may not be as clear as facial/physical communication. Project management tools at this time are your best friends. Slack, Trello, Asana, Github and many other platforms allow your team to be on top of how tasks are evolving. But sometimes remote working may feel lonely and being by yourself all day is not the healthiest. I love my co-workers and I’m happy to see them every 1–2 days on Zoom, even for a short call!
How? Schedule conference calls every 1–2 days (yes, we know you put a nice blouse on but you have joggers on the bottom). Keep in touch with your co-workers through different platforms.
3- Make sure you get your body moving. Go for a walk.
Although you may want to avoid public spaces at this time due to coronavirus, don’t remain at home. Sitting still for long periods of time can be highly prejudicial for the body. Your body needs to move. This will help you feel better, more grounded and increase your productivity levels too.
How? Include some exercise in your daily routine, practice yoga or go for a good 20 minute walk around the block.
And of course, if you feel lonely while remote working or in need of some motivation, you can always talk to Ashley. Our app Ashley is available to download for free on App Store and Google Play.
Happy remote working!
