Moving to a Remote Work Environment

Full disclosure, this started out as an email to our team around protocols for working remotely concerning the health of our population. It started to get a little long, so I decided to turn it into an article. I hope you find it useful. -John

If/when you move to a remote work environment or if you are finding yourself already in one, take a look at the article from Forbes (link below). 

The first two years of Life that Counts was spent in remote work environments. At the time, we did not have the revenue for office space, so it was out of necessity for our team to adapt accordingly. 

Over the years, I’ve seen others both succeed and fail at the discipline, independence, attention to task management, and self-starting prowess that it takes to be an effective team member helping to pull the load and add to the creative process on team projects and individual assignments. 

It’s our foundation of not having a designated work space which has led me to want to rely on a ROWE (Results Only Work Environment) for the process and flow of our team. 

Now, since having office space (where I currently am composing this email), I’ve come to truly enjoy the dynamic and effectiveness which happens when you put a group of like-minded and focused individuals together in the same space. So, to be completely candid, I’m more than a little sad at the possibility of moving away from a collective environment (the office) for us to accomplish our work together as a team. 

Nonetheless, if push comes to shove, we will adapt accordingly for the health and well-being of you and your families. 

A word on that before I move into sharing some tips I’ve learned along the way: 

If you interact on a daily basis with family members and others who are more advanced in years, I want to strongly reccomend you develop a more thorough plan your personal health, hygiene, and safety protocols for hand washing, the frequency at which you change clothes, bath, and consider minimizing your public interactions all together through social distancing.  

Things that I’ve found to be helpful through the years: 

1- Clear expectations are king

Don’t blindly accept assignments. Work with the person making the assignment until you have: 

A) Clarity: Know what a win for the assignment looks like. 

B) Time frame: Know when the assignment is due and establish a plan for what happens if you cannot deliver on time.

C) Resources: Winning in anything requires the correct tools and resources to do the job. If there’s something you need to do the job or perform an assignment (this can also mean skillset, so new training or time for learning may be required), ask for it.

2- Timely communication is essential

We use three primary modes for communication while in a remote work environment. Those modes are: text, Zoom video, and email. 

Text is like me or one of your colleagues walking down the hall and darting into your office unannounced with something to discuss. Texts are generally unplanned notifications which hit your work day. They need to be answered as quickly as quickly and as concisely as possible. 

On this point, and I’ll hit on it more later, don’t read between the lines on any form of written communication. You cannot read a person's body language or feel the tone of their words through written/typed content. IF I SEND AN EMAIL IN ALL CAPS, IT DOESN’T NECESSARILY MEAN you’re being yelled at, it may just mean I hit the pesky caps lock key with my pinky instead of hitting the letter “a.”

 Zoom video meetings are like the conference table. At my conference table, everyone is encouraged to add to the discussion, there’s order (we don’t talk over one another), and we all pay attention zeroing out the distractions. 

It’s just rude to be powering through a task when you’re meeting with your teammates. Be engaged, join the dialogue, take notes, write down your thoughts or questions, contribute accordingly when it’s your turn or when you’re called on to do so.

Email is a place for more formal conversation. I do not use a web-browser for email. Use mail or some other client based app for your email. I keep my email open on one of my screens at most all times when I am not engaged in deep work. When I am engaged in deep work which requires my full attention, I do not check email until after I have reached a stopping point in my work flow.

On this, there have been a lot of wonderful resources published on flow state, work flow, and accomplishing deep work. You can find any of them by googling those key words; YouTube is a great source for those topics, as well.

While not listed in the top three, phone calls can be an essential tool for clarity. If a text comes through with poor grammar, missing words, or some other typo, a simple 30 second phone call can usually straighten up a lot of messes in our workflow communication. 

3- Dedicated work space and work time

I’ve found that, if I really don’t want to accomplish anything, it’s simple: plop down on the recliner, pull out the laptop, and turn on Hulu. For me, the recliner doesn’t cut it. 10 minutes in, I’m usually asleep. For me, if I’m going to sit, I need to be sitting upright in a straight back chair, like a kitchen or desk chair. I prefer to stand when knocking out task like email and most zoom calls, so the bar in the kitchen comes in handy for this, similar to my standing desk at the office. At 6’3”, the higher I can get the laptop, the better I am. 

Carve out a space in your home that is designated as your work space. This keeps you organized and sets up healthy boundaries for everyone involved, from your family to your colleagues. 

I’ve added work time to this because it’s akin to work space. I launched, built, and grew Life that Counts with two early adolescent boys. While I never sequestered myself to a room away from the family for work, they knew when I was working and how frequently (or not) interruptions were accepted. If you’re working, those around you should know that you need your space. 

Oh, one more thing on this - don’t tell your wife or significant other that it’s only going to take 10 more minutes when you’re in the middle of a several hour long project!

I’ll wrap this thing up with what I think the big idea is: 

At the end of the day, you’re expected to accomplish your work. In a remote work environment, you simply cannot string too much time along where you are unproductive. This is a chance for you to demonstrate to your team that you are trustworthy, competent, adaptive, and growth oriented - all of which are required to work in today’s remote work environments. 

For more on this, I found a great article by Forbes on "What You Need to Know to Start Working from Home."

To Love!

John

for more, visit lifethatcounts.org or connect with me on instagram