5 Tips For Working Remotely

The way business works is changing. We no longer want to be restricted to the same office and the same 9-5 schedule day in day out. We want a flexible work-life balance that allows us to spend more time with family, or perhaps more time looking after ourselves. There’s no harm in that, however remote life can be tricky to get used to.

 

I myself spend half my week working remotely for Simtek and the other half as a live sound engineer. This allows for a great deal more flexibility than when I was working full time from an office. However, it can be lonely and some days I can get very easily distracted. It really depends what kind of person you are as to whether it will work for you. Luckily, I have the best of both worlds, as come the end of the week I get to leave the house and socialize in a gig environment. I think if it wasn’t for this I would feel pretty caged.

 

However, I know some people whom do work in a remote environment full time and love it. It’s important to set some ground rules though, especially  when you only have yourself as motivation.

Stick To A Schedule

I’m putting this one at the top because for me it is the most important. I know what I said about remote working offering more flexibility but to get work done you still need some sort of routine. Otherwise, your mind doesn’t know when it needs to be in work mode and when it doesn’t.

 

Find a schedule that works for you. I find that I work best when I stick to a rough 9-5 routine. However, sometimes this can go completely out the window, especially if I’ve been engineering late the night before.

Sticking to as much of a routine as possible will ensure you don’t do too much (or not enough) work. Try to give yourself a switch off time, for example don’t answer emails right before bed - this is very important for productivity and sanity!

Eliminate Distractions

Create a dedicated work environment, this could be a area in your home or a coworking space. I think coworking spaces are great, however there is a huge lack of them in the city where I live in the U.K (we are still pretty behind the times when it comes to remote working) Often all it takes is having others around you working to put you into the right mindset. It can also alleviate the loneliness which often comes with remote working.

If you would still rather work from home (or like me you have little options in the way of coworking spaces) Then be as ridiculous as you need to be to eliminate distractions. Hide your game controller, unplug your T.V, use a site blocker for distracting websites. I had to move my desk to a room that wasn’t right next to the kitchen. I’m a bit of a clean freak and I couldn’t cope seeing the dishes pile up throughout the day, or would find myself constantly doing laundry.

Up Your Communication Skills

It’s often hard enough to get your point across clearly when you’re speaking to someone face to face but when you’re doing it via email or a chat app it’s even more tricky. It may seem obvious but be sure you are making yourself as clear as possible when communicating in this way. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes and ensure what you are saying actually does make sense. I’m sure there has been a time in your life when a text you have sent to someone has been misconstrued, imagine that but to your work colleagues or a boss!

It could be worth setting up a time weekly or monthly to chat via call or video. This will not only create a sense of community but allow things to be discussed more freely.

Get A Good Wifi Connection

Trust me it’s worth the extra money. There’s nothing worse than having an unstable connection when you’re on a call or trying to research something. I know it can also sometimes depend on the area in which you live but if you’ve got the option go super-fast!

Use The Cloud

Some people are still a bit unsure on the safety of cloud based software but it is so valuable in a remote environment. Not only does it ensure your work will be available from wherever you log in. It also allows other members of your remote team to see what you’ve been working on and suggest edits. At Simtek we use it a lot to share ideas, it’s so much more streamlined than sending documents back and forth to each other. It also allows for collaboration and again, communication between the team.

Conclusion

Whether you’re new to remote working or thinking of taking your business in a new direction. I hope you found this article useful. Here at Simtek we are fully remote and it allows for a much more flexible - but no less collaborative environment. Personally I think it’s the future and many US businesses are now working in this way. I hope that more U.K based companies will soon start to embrace this approach as well. Remote working isn’t for everyone but if you get the opportunity to try it - then I say go for it!