4 Tips for Working Remotely, Successfully

Now it’s not uncommon to run a business from a different time zone, and manage a full team remotely. While there are still challenges to this approach, we now have access to the resources and tools to make it an increasingly seamless process.

Transparency will get you everywhere.  When you’re working remotely, keeping employees motivated or making your value evident is a big challenge. Providing additional benefits (i.e. healthcare, retirement contributions, lunch stipend, etc.) is one option for an employer. But the real incentive that employees are looking for, is a promising career path. The only way to achieve this is to be completely transparent about the company’s milestones and obstacles, or consistently updating the team about the larger picture. If you’re an employee working remotely, staying fully communicative about your work is essential. Without the closeness of daily interaction, this mutual understanding is more important than anything else.

Be the disciplinarian. It’s always a challenge to maintain a routine when you’re working independently, especially when faced with adjusting to a new city or country. In order to normalize your work schedule in a way that suits your new environment and your team back home, it’s important to first settle into a work rhythm that makes you feel safe in every sense of the word.

Without any bias, a comfortable workspace is absolutely crucial. While working from a coffee shop may seem practical in the beginning, the stress of functional necessities such as having to find a seat near an electrical outlet for your laptop, or connecting to reliable WIFI, will undoubtedly affect productivity in the long run. Various constraints may make it difficult for an independent professional to commit towards traditional office space. Memberships offered by many co-work spaces helps to solve this dilemma as individuals are provided with a professional setting while still maintaining the mobility and flexibility which is apart of the core values of many new businesses.

Join the nomadic club. Moving to a new place is difficult for anyone. In addition to the pressure of having to do well at your job, many people who work remotely find that they require quite a bit of support in the early stages. To adjust to working remotely in a new city, it is fairly important to join a community. Finding a group of digital nomads apart from your friends helps you to connect with others on a professional level. This gives you a sense of communal experience when your team is far away. If you happen to be a programmer, searching for networking opportunities with fellow programmers would be a great way to increase the scope and breadth of your business.

Keep your hardware close, and software closer. The word ‘digital’ in the term ‘digital nomad’ exists for a reason. When you’re geographically separated from your team, technology is your best friend. Without the support of a team and any permanent arrangements, it’s important to take advantage of the countless tools out there that help you to manage working remotely. Remember to keep everything in cloud storage and back-up your files religiously! When trying out new communication and productivity tools, we suggest that you always test the free trial version first even if it was recommended to you. Every person and company is different, and the key is to explore your own way of doing things.