How to work remotely

How can you stay productive, creative, inspired, and live up to all of the expectations that you’ve set for yourself within this new lifestyle?

Before the pandemic, the world spent 5% of their working time at home. By spring 2020 the figure was 60%. The shift has gone better than expected. People are working longer hours, but they report higher levels of happiness and productivity. As lockdowns lift, working from home is likely to stay.

But here is the Challenge. If Working remotely is now the future of work, How can we harness its power? What is the Blueprint to 10x results without being confined in a building? In this article, we will look intricately at how to work remotely. Consider this a detailed guide to excelling in the future of work.

The key to working efficiently begins with relationship building. No matter how “lone-ranger” you are in working, you can not do everything all by yourself. You will have to work with people. Yes even at home. So here are the key tips on how to work remotely

Start by building rapport

Building a solid rapport with your coworkers, managers, or employees is a fantastic foundation for a productive work environment. Good team dynamics are crucial to any workplace, they create an atmosphere of trust, support, and collaboration conducive to success.

But discussing team rapport is easy — actually establishing it isn’t. Building rapport demands commitment from everyone. Some team members may have more time on their hands to invest in it than others. But being busy is no excuse to let relationships with coworkers fall by the wayside.

Reveal Your Human Side to Make Others Feel Comfortable

We’re all human. We all have thoughts, feelings, fears, passions, and interests. We all want to feel like we matter and that others respect us. But some people can lose sight of this when working remotely. The drive for success may create environments that make it easy to forget that they’re part of a team working towards common goals.

Listen to What Others Say and Empathize With Them

Active listening is vital when working remotely. How is this different from “normal” listening? You make an effort to listen with complete attention rather than simply nodding now and then to signify you are listening while your mind wanders.

Praise the Work of Others Publicly and Privately

You can genuinely praise the work of others to build rapport via the following means: Public acknowledgment of achievements via a certificate, award, or shoutout. Working remotely does not stop items from being sent over

Privately recognize great contributions or work of colleagues, bosses or team members

Promotion or extra responsibility as a sign of trust

Positive feedback through reviews or evaluations

Monetary rewards including a pay rise or cash prize

Figure out your working style

At the start of your remote work journey, it’s a great idea to figure out the environment that you need to work successfully. For example, do you like being surrounded by white noise? A café may be the best choice for you. Work well in silence? Or just work in a dedicated space at home where you won’t be disturbed. Find what works for you and stick to it.

Communicate more than usual

To be honest, Working remotely, creates an “out of sight, out of mind” mindset and team members can easily fall out of touch with each other but communication binds everything and everyone together. Assume that people don’t know what you’re thinking.

And you’ll find the more you communicate with others, the more they will reciprocate. Ask questions, tell the team what you’re doing, be responsive, and get over that you think you’re bugging them too much. The more you communicate, the shorter the physical distance between you appears.

Build Trust

Building trust is very different from building rapport. Building trust requires that you go the extra mile. Not just talk but actual commitment. You can do this by being active in conversations, providing your feedback, leading initiatives, and not just delivering your work on time, but delivering it early. Also, Be more likable and validate others by listening to them and suspending your ego. Put aside your wish to contribute to the conversation when listening and ask short, open questions like how, when, and why.

Set Expectations

It’s up to you to make sure your team knows how to work best with you. Set your expectations and be clear on what makes you excel at your work. Regularly share progress. Ask questions every day. It affects the outcome of your work.

Invest in reliable tech

Any remote worker will tell you that access to consistent WiFi is integral to their success, but there’s more to a successful setup than an internet connection. Along with having the ability to make video calls without losing connection, you should consider what tools and tech you’ll need to do your job well. For example, many remote workers invest in a great pair of noise-canceling headphones so that they can take their work anywhere — regardless of background noise levels.

Invest in self-care

When the line between “work” and “home” starts to blur, you might find yourself stuck to your computer screen for a longer period of time. even with remote work, you can find yourself working longer hours than the freedom to work at a pace. Make sure to take time off to relax, and spend time with friends and family. You can also take remote games with team members to build rapport.

Conclusion

The benefits of remote work can stretch into your life outside of work as well. With increased flexibility, you can take time to make sure you’re not missing life’s important moments. As a remote worker, you can take care of your kids without worrying about leaving the office during standard business hours, you can decide to work from any location around the world and you can even book that doctor’s appointment you’ve been putting off because it didn’t work with your schedule.