In the last article, I’ve shared 4 tips on how to be a happy and productive remote worker. I hope they’ve been helping you thriving as a young remote worker.
Let’s continue to reveal more tips!
5. Be well equipped & tech-savvy
Remote work happens in the digital space, so being able to employ technology to do your job is extremely important.
- Obtain and learn to use the equipment/tools needed like a pro
- Keep on top of updates and new trends
- Create an environment conducive to work:
- Set up routines & small “rituals” transitioning in and out. It’s important to tell your brain and body that you’re going to work now/ or stop working. Small rituals like making a cup of coffee, putting on certain clothes, starting to use a certain keyboard or mouse can help with that.
- How do you work best? In a quiet? With music? White noise? Figure these out and use them to your advantage!
- Chair. It’s extremely important to have a good posture when you’re working. It’ll save you lots of neck and back pain, and medical expenses later on. Trust me, and get a decent chair.
- External monitors and laptop stands can help your posture and eyes, too, so consider getting them when you can.
6. Use meetings wisely
Many of us have experienced “Zoom fatigue” and concluded we should shorten the time spent in meetings online, which are often more tiring than real-life meetings.
- Schedule meetings with goals and an agenda – don’t call meetings for no reason!
- Send all relevant info beforehand – this will minimize the time spent in meetings and make it efficient and productive for the whole team
- Be engaged and proactive during meetings – it’s easy to hide behind a screen and simply listen. Make sure you add value and contribute positively to the meetings you’re taking part in.
7. Set and communicate boundaries
When you work remotely, it’s easy for the lines between work and life to blur, and to fall into an “always-on” mindset. That quickly leads to burnout, though, so it is definitely to be avoided.
Make sure you agree with your team or clients on work times. And mark yourself as away on your calendar, email, Slack and other tools when you aren’t working, so your collaborators know when to expect an answer.
8. Be agile & flexible
Last but not least, to thrive in remote work (and the future of work in general), you must be ready to learn, unlearn and relearn.
You should be open to change and handle it well when it happens.
Conclusion
In the end, once again, remote work means more control and autonomy, but also more responsibility. It’s a new, more proactive, more disciplined, more flexible and free way of working. So let’s make it work for us!
At Remote Skills Academy, we want to help people transition to remote work as smooth as possible. We have a collection of free resources for remote worker that you can download in this link.
Selamat belajar & selamat bekerja!
Writer: Lavinia Iosub.
Lavinia is a future of work enthusiast and the founder of Remote Skills Academy and Managing Partner at Livit International, a service provider and support ecosystem for start-ups. She has worked, studied and lived in 8 countries on 4 continents, and has visited 35+ more. Lavinia has been working remotely or partially remotely for over 10 years in various capacities: as a team member, freelancer, contractor and entrepreneur.
