My Journey into Mastering Remote Working

 Here are four tips to integrate into your remote working routines from a reflection of my first three years of working remotely.

Do not forget to have lunch and do not have it in front of your computer.

1. Set up a routine to increase your productivity, but don’t forget to be mindful of your personal time. Anything you can do to delimit work-time from you-time can be of enormous help, from having a separate room for work (if possible) to changing (don’t laugh) into proper clothes for work before the day starts.

1. take breaks by walking away from your desk or going outside for a walk to brush off that ‘locked inside’ feeling. It may sound odd but staying inside for three days without being outside is easier than you think.

1. burnout sounds frightening but is real and not something people only write about. Log off work purposefully. Do not hesitate to set Slack to ‘do not disturb’ status and turn notifications off on your phone when possible. Close your laptop and put it out of your sight. Another room, if available, might do the trick. Certain days in a co-working space can also help to get out of what can otherwise feel like a daily grind. Additionally, when working remotely, self-motivation becomes key. Set yourself goals for each day and follow them strictly to get a sense of achievement at the end. Productivity tricks such as to-do lists or journals can help.

1. get a good headset for calls. The microphones of a laptop are decent but not good enough to hear you clearly at all times. Hearing your voice muffled is not the best experience for the other side.

1. move to a quiet place for work if possible, especially during calls. During calls, background noise from a cafe or a clicking keyboard can be highly distracting for both sides. It is always recommended to mute yourself whenever you are not speaking without a noise canceling microphone. However, for writing, an alternate setting can be very supporting, while for focused, deep work, quieter spaces can often help me.

1. get a setup you feel comfortable in. This can be a desk or a couch but make an effort to ensure you work with a healthy posture. Set up good lighting, possibly also for a webcam. It ensures you do not look tired in calls. Keep in mind that this is often the only personal impression others get for a long time, especially when doing interviews. Also, a secondary monitor or even a monitor arm is often a worthy investment you will not regret.

1. Define how much overlap in working hours is required for all sides. Judging by my experience, I often saw that 3-4 hours of overlap are needed to be able to have a bundle of shorter discussions or longer meetings.

1. Do not shy away from a quick video call for clarification when you notice that Slack or other forms of written communication get too noisy. It often helps address topics with a higher level of empathy, restart the conversation and return to a more constructive conversation.

1. Keep an eye on the implicit ‘tone of voice’ of written and verbal communication. Written communication often misses non-verbal clues and can lead to misunderstandings, especially when talking to people from many different cultures and backgrounds. Being able to read people’s facial expressions and gestures often helps to understand people’s viewpoints better. As a result, scheduling a call often helps to clear the air whenever you sense that written communication is not productive anymore.

Reflect on what works best for you when working remotely.

You will be surprised how easily work can creep into previously private moments in your life. You can quickly check your emails from the couch, read Slack over dinner, or start coding again at 11 pm. Here are four tips to keep this at bay:

This may sound obvious, but the right equipment is half the fun in remote work. Without a proper setup, you will fail to be as productive as you could be. A decent setup is not only for you but also for your colleagues. I am fortunate enough to have a good enough setup in place now.

When temporarily working from home, it might feel adequate to work from the couch or dinner table. However, when transitioning to working fully remotely, it is recommended to:

Working remotely often creates a more flexible work schedule for all parties involved. While this can be highly liberating, we should be aware of each other’s needs for time overlaps and synchronous work at times. As such, it is recommended to:

For me, personally, remote work enabled great flexibility. Flexibility which also brought its challenges to me

It made my mornings and evenings longer by not having to commute. It, however, also increased the need for personal accountability on my end which I failed at in the beginning. An empty office signals that a workday has ended. A home office setup rarely does as it is always available. The flexibility also allows supporting my family more than a static office setting could. I can leave my desk for a short break to see my daughter or pick her up from daycare while I can easily continue working after. I can also take a break during the day when I feel unproductive, clear my head and continue working on a problem later during the day.

After learning and adapting to the challenges involved in working remotely successfully, I can’t imagine going back and working from an office day by day again. After overcoming the initial challenges the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks for me personally.