New to Remote Work? Here’s Two Simple Tips

Working remotely is a joy—but it also requires the proper mindset and strategies, too.

Here are two considerations to make as you build confidence working remotely, and as you embrace the new freedom and responsibility that come with your new lifestyle change.

1. If family members will be in your workspace, establish expectations so they still recognize you are at work.

Remote work does not mean you are necessarily working from home. Hopefully, the ideal location(s) for you to work from have been decided or planned out by now. But for those who set up an office at-home, if your kids, spouse, or any loved one is also at home during the same hours you are working, you can avoid unnecessary distractions by making sure they know you are actually at work.

Establish clear expectations from the beginning about when you are in your office, even if that office is not entirely closed off to the rest of the family/house during the day.

Let them know that even though you might be physically near them, you’re still at work.

By having a conversation with family members or loved ones about the new nature of your work, you can establish early-on boundaries that they will learn to understand (and respect) as the norm.

2. Find your new morning routine.

You had a morning routine before that likely helped you kick-start your day and manage your time, so why wouldn’t you now? It is true that in many ways, there is increased freedom in a remote workplace culture. But this freedom is also matched with accountability and responsibility—which are by-products of discipline. For that reason, it’s a good idea to set up your necessary amount of structure to so you can succeed and produce as a remote worker.

For some, it might be working on one aspect of the business per day of the week. For others, they must choose blocks of time to dedicate to projects.

Find your new way, whatever it is. And perhaps instead of your morning coffee run on the way in to work, it’s coffee in your own kitchen as you read the latest headlines on your iPad. Or maybe it’s a routine morning run with the extra time you have since you no longer commute to work each day. Or perhaps you now have more time for prayer, since you have no commute.

While remote workers will certainly say how we enjoy the flexibility and freedom we’re afforded, we’re also human, and routines can prime our bodies to do our best work each day.