My Remote Working Tips From a Year of Remote

In the past, I've worked remotely for extended periods of time. I wrote these tips for my colleagues, many of whom are working remotely for the first time. I thought I'd share them here as well. Working remotely is not easy and definitely not as fun as people may think, but it can be very productive. Flexible working arrangements can benefit both employers and employees and build resiliency into businesses. I hope that during this challenging time, various industries can develop the infrastructure and practices for supporting remote work.

1. First, let’s acknowledge it’s a stressful time, but countries have successfully shown that we can flatten the curve if we work together. I’m limiting my time scrolling the news or chatting with people about it excessively – I have been guilty of this. The day will go by a lot faster, more productively, and less anxiety-filled. 
2. Keep the area where you work clean and clutter free as much as possible. It will start to bother you a lot, soon. 
3. Have a routine to bookend the start, midpoint break, and end of day. Going out for a 10-20 minute walk if you are able at each interval is really helpful. You’ll also have gotten 60 minutes of walking and sunlight in for the day. Be amicable in dividing up these times if you are at home with a spouse/doing double duty with childcare so everyone stays sane together for a long period of time. Change out of your pajamas too. Don’t have to get dressed up, this is where athleisure (haha) is great and gets you into a healthier work mode. Psychological cues help immensely.
4. Worth starting every meeting with webcams on to say hello, at least first. Keep them on as long as bandwidth allows. I think this is important for team camaraderie and mental health since it’s possible we'll be isolated for a longer time than we'd expected.
5. It’s a different kind of work to stay focused remote for long periods of time. In the office you do get a certain energy from everyone working that helps you focus you don’t get at home. Personally, I try to not have too many windows and tabs open on my screen at once, leave my phone in a different room, and only check it at certain internals. I work in small sprints uninterrupted by chat or e-mails. The Pomodoro Technique works great for me.
6. Don’t get overambitious about getting home chores done concurrently or else assume your workday might take longer than usual. It’s nice to be able to take care of laundry at home, but be aware it will break your flow. 
7. Acknowledge the situation is different from the office with pros and cons, then optimize. For example, it's often possible to do more focused work home with the con of losing face-to-face communication. Do what you can to minimize for shortfalls: over-communicate in writing and on calls. Take advantage of pros: being able to work on tasks that take sustained attention.
8. When your day is over, end it. Put your work laptop back in your bag and clear stuff away. This creates a nice psychological break and start for each day and keeps you productive and sane for the longer haul.

I hope everyone stays healthy in this difficult time. I hope our workplaces understand the extraordinary circumstances that we're under and that remote working can be a beneficial opportunity for your organizations. Please support your employees in doing so, and we will support you in the continuity of our businesses.