Managing remote teams requires a lot of flexibility when it comes to scheduling. You might have to learn how to use a new set of tools, embrace asynchronous communication, and get creative with problem-solving. how to work from home successfully We hold regular video calls for informal discussions, all-hands meetings and to celebrate personal achievements. The feedback from team members is that this makes them feel more connected and invested.
Leaving the house and working among people might help you feel less lonely and fulfill some of your social needs. A study by Science Direct showed that feeling lonely at home and having a lack of social life are two of the biggest challenges of working from home. Meanwhile, the lack of a suitable space to work at home was another highly-quoted challenge by those surveyed.
Communicate about nothing
When your personal and professional lives intertwine at home, external interruptions during work hours are inevitable—understandably so. That said, you can also take steps to limit distractions as much as possible. Decide which communication medium would be best in a given situation. For example, if questions or issues can be addressed in an email or chat message, there’s no need to set up a meeting. Last, but by no means least, stay informed about local labor laws and regulations in the states and countries where your team members are based. Adhering to global compliance standards is essential for legal and ethical considerations.
Having a chai latte and a slice of carrot cake can help take the sting out of a difficult working day. Companies with a partial or fully remote workforce are often progressive, agile and innovative organizations. Think of fully remote companies like Automattic, Zapier or hybrid companies such as Basecamp.
Plan Occasional In-Person Meetings With Team Members
But if you want to be more productive, taking the time to put on ‘work clothes’ can be a huge psychological boost. You wake up whenever you feel like it, grab a snack, watch the latest episode of your favorite show first, AND THEN, you start working. Until recently, remote work, for most people, seemed like all sunshines and rainbows. Are you, like me, guilty of sometimes sitting on your sofa, hunched over your laptop, working for hours lost in the vacuum of time? That’s a recipe for long-term physical ailments such as muscle strains, and lower back injuries. Picking the right computer monitor or laptop, supportive chair and maybe even a laptop stand can make a huge difference.
- Whether it is about keeping your teams on the same page, or committing to deadlines and celebrating success, you and your team and clients can do it all under one roof, using one work management system.
- Not only that, allowing employees the flexibility to work from home, from time to time or on a more permanent basis, provides them with a greater opportunity for a healthy work-life balance.
- That’s why it’s important to set a strict structure to your day, especially when you’re first starting out.
Propose a work date – choose one day of the week to work together at a cafe, for example. And, if your internet gets shaky at times (or you like to work at cafes), you can always buy a good mobile 3G or 4G internet connection to be on the safe side. That way, even if your WiFi gets cut off at an important moment, your mobile’s hotspot connection will be able to save the day.
Use collaboration tools
Distractions are something you will often have to deal with when working remotely or working from home. Remember that if you’re having difficulty with motivation, it might be because of other factors such as distractions, job design or support systems. This can be one of the trickiest remote working challenges and is one we’d suggest being open about and communicating to your managers where possible. Every role – whether you’re a developer or marketing guru – has its own set of tools, requirements, and proficiencies you need to become familiar with in order to be effective. The flexibility and time-saving benefits that working remotely can bring also has benefits for work-life balance. The time saved on commuting can enable time to be spent on wellness, with your family or simply resting!
If you’re going to be freelancing from home, you’ll probably end up creating a ton of invoices. For remote freelancers as well as enterprises, Zoom offers a LOT of remote video call options. If you’re serious about video and conference calls – Zoom is the way to go.