I’m a remote worker & this is how I do it.

“Oh! You work from home that must be so nice.” My answer to that is always, “Nope.”

Even if it’s not your full-time thing, most of us have worked remotely. We work at home after hours, in cafes, airport terminals, and even emergency room waiting rooms. Working remotely is hardly foreign. We all know what it’s like—it’s work.

I’ve been a remote worker at my company for almost 9 years, and here is how I do it.

I Separate My Work Life From my Home Life

I roll out of bed, take a shower and dress for work. Not a coat and tie that would be weird, but I’m also not sitting around in ratty sweatpants. I even commute. Almost every morning I go to a neighborhood cafe and grab a coffee before I start my day. I’ve done it this way for years. It works for me. Now, I’m in work mode.

I Have a Dedicated Home Office

If you search the Web for images of remote workers, 9 times out of 10, it has someone sitting at a kitchen table hunched over a laptop, or worse, sitting on their couch covered with a blanket, clasping a cup of tea, smiling at a laptop screen. 

That’s not a remote worker, that’s someone taking a day to work from home.

I have a dedicated work space. I have two PCs and two huge monitors. I have my Herman Miller Aeron Chair and an adjustable standing desk that I wish I used more. It’s my perfect workspace because I designed it.

I Communicate a Lot

I use a Webcam. I think we all hate the way we look on camera. I had to get past that. When you work remotely, you have to be available and open to all forms of communication. I use my Webcam during meetings when I can. It’s another way to connect with my coworkers at a more personal level. I like to put one of my bulldogs on camera or show off one of my ironic t-shirts. Plus, when we do meet, they can recognize me. 

At my company, we even have our own in-house instant messenger. I am logged on to that and available during working hours. When I’m on messenger, it means I’m in the office.

I Collaborate

In-person collaboration is just so old fashioned. Those open office spaces that are all the rage actually kill productivity. They’re too open. Workers don't talk, they email each other from across the room. Our entire lives are on screen; that's how we do everything now. Collaboration is no different. I can share my screen and my work with teams in Atlanta, Seattle, and Mumbai all at the same time. You don't need to be in an open office space, hearing a coworker argue with their spouse on the phone, to pull that off, you can do that anywhere.

I Deliver

This is key: I deliver. I have assignments and deadlines. I attend a slew of meetings, have one-on-ones to bounce around ideas and send work off to my editor to fix. (When she catches stuff, I like to tell her I do it on purpose. You know, so she feels needed. She knows I’m lying, but it’s our game now. We always play it.) 

If you're a remote worker, you just get it done and done on time.

The Future

Many startups are now forgoing office space altogether. They have 100%-distributed workforces. That’s because they know that talent is spread equally across the world and those typical big-tech cities and their big-tech employers have created a housing crisis and left the local talent pool depleted.

If smart companies are going to grow, they are going to embrace the digital transformation not just for their customers, but for their workers as well. I’ve been a remote worker for a long time now, it works, and it can work for you too.