Working Remotely - Everything you should know before starting

In 2016, around 25 per cent of the US workers has worked at a distance in a way The number of remote workers has nearly doubled since 2005. This is a trend that's not going to stop any time soon. Many people believe that the cubicle is an aspect from the past.

•     The Advantages of Working remotely
•     Negatives of Remote Work
•     Where to Locate Remote Work
•     Tips to Increase Productivity when Working from a remote location
•     Remote Work Time Saving Tips
•     Tools to Work Home Remotely
•     Don't Forget About Self-Care

The advantages of working from home

Being physically separated from an uncontrollable boss is just one of many benefits that go hand-in-hand remote work.

Here are a few others to consider:

• Utilize flexible work schedules. Before the internet, new parents did not have an option when it came to their kids at work or having an full-time job. Parents can now spend more time with their children, working at home, with no compromises required. If you don't have kids having the flexibility of flexible working hours means that you are able to sleep in even if you're not the morning person, or work late into the night if it's the way you prefer. Be sure to make the line clearly between the work schedule and your private life!
• It is possible to work from any location. The beauty of the remote work setup is that you can literally work from anywhere: your couch, a coffee shop, poolside, or even from a different part in the world (as as long as you have an internet connection! ).
•     It's not a dress code.    Since you can be anywhere at any time, the attire you put on doesn't really matter, unless you have an important meeting with your client. And even then, as you're wearing a top that looks professional, you're good to go. So yes, one of the perks of working from home is the fact that pants are not required and pajamas are welcomed.

• You'll inevitably acquire new abilities. If you're a remote employee who's working for themselves in the course of your transition, you'll have acquire new knowledge which aren't required to be part of your core skills, like accounting, project management, as well as a bit of legal jargon. In the case of any company that permits you to work from home and remotely, you'll additionally developing new techniques for communication and management abilities to bridge the gap between yourself and the other team members.
• Make savings (and the planet). For many in today's workforce facing a daily, multi-hour commute can make you countdown to Friday the moment Monday rolls around. Time spent in your car or on public transportation can be used to boost productivity, however, it's not going to compensate the time you've lost from family. Wouldn't you like that time back? Not to mention all the money spent on gas, train tickets, and the like!

The disadvantages of working remotely

Each rose comes with a thorn. Remote working seems like a dream come true but it's not without a few issues:

• It's a little difficult to manage interactions with others. If you're someone who likes engaging in conversation at the water cooler, going on lunch dates and meeting up with new acquaintances around the office, working remotely might not be the best choice for you. Although you'll meet and interact with clients most of the meetings are held via videos or calls--not a conference room or coffee shop. To be sure, those living the cubicle life often are a victim of distractions in the kind of constant interruptions but sometimes distractions are preferable to isolation!
• Everything is yours to do. If you're working independently and you'll be charged with getting leads, pitching and closing leads, then doing the actual work, taking care of financial matters, and directing your time, all without the guidance of an employer or the help of a department.
•     There are numerous distractions.    A lot of people dream about the possibility of working remotely, but they can't really see themselves doing it. They do not have the skills to self-manage without letting distractions interfere. If you're not sure you're capable of being your own boss, remote work could spell the way to go in terms of advancing your business.

• You'll probably run into some communications issues. If you're working with an online team, it could comprise people from various countries with different time zones. Getting everyone together and on the same page may be hard. Add to that understanding different cultural contexts (you may act in a way that could be considered to be offensive to different cultures) and issues with communication centered around words and meanings that may be misconstrued.

How to find remote work

No matter if you're self-employed or you'd like to work remotely on behalf of other organizations, the following websites can help connect you to remote opportunities

• AngelList: One of the most effective websites for searching for jobs that are remote, AngelList allows you to search for jobs based on geographical location (choose  the option 'Remote') functions, kind (full time or part-time, internship and so on), and salary. The site is employed for hiring by companies like Facebook, Uber, Tinder, Medium, Coinbase, as well as Crunchbase.
• We Work Remotely : We Work Remotely is one the biggest communities on the internet (with more than 130,000 monthly active users) to find and list jobs that aren't restricted by commutes or a particular geographic region. uses We Work Remotely extensively for finding new employees.
• Jobspresso: Jobspresso allows you to find work jobs at innovative firms like , Zapier, Student Loan Hero and Bustle.
• Hubstaff Talent: Hubstaff is well-known for their time-tracking software but you might not be aware that they have also provide a job market. When you've completed the criteria you want to search for then you'll notice an indication beside the job description that lets you know whether it's remote or not.
• Remotive: Remotive is another excellent job website, utilized by top websites including Buffer, InVision, GitHub as well as Zapier.
• GrowthHackers: GrowthHackers has a wealth of resources to help you grow hacking as well as an employment board. Unlike some of the other sources on their site It's not just about the quantity of jobs available. However, every job listed on GrowthHacker are of high-quality.

Productivity Tips for Working Remotely

Being a remote worker means you have to manage many different aspects. The following tips will help you to find this harmony and help you design your optimal (productive) scenario:

Have a Dedicated Workspace and Working Hours

Flexible working hours can lead to excuses and distractions when it comes to actually getting work done, so it's essential to create a semblance of a routine, as soon as possible. If you don't, you'll always find yourself tempted to take on other things, and before you realize it, the entire day is over!

You don't necessarily need the space of a home office to succeed with working remotely. A room or space that your roommates and family members aren't disturbed by you (and ideal, with the possibility of closing the door!) suffices. A lot of remote workers feel it beneficial to have a workspace that is dedicated. It is helpful in making a clear distinction between when you're in this area, you mean business--and when you're out of it, you're not working!

If working at home isn't an option, you can discover the most suitable place to work outside of the comfort of your own home. It could be a coffee shop, library, or coworking space (to name just a few possibilities).

If you enjoy working in peace, work in the library can make a wonderful alternative. It's not a good match for those who are constantly having to make calls. Consider the nature of your work space outside the home and try to figure out a fit in terms of your "normal" everyday routine.

Removing distractions

Distractions can be the most significant obstacle to productivity, specifically when remote workers are involved. Even though it's a bit old-fashioned, a Salary.com study discovered that the average employee is lost for two hours each day due to distractions. These productivity losses cost companies $544 billion annually. We can probably assume that these numbers have steadily increasing since that time, given the fact that ever-increasing distracting factors are introduced to our lives.

The first step to overcoming the distractions that you are facing is to perform an audit of your time to understand the areas where you could be wasting your time. It is possible to use a time tracking tool like RescueTime to keep track of your time on particular websites and specific categories.

Once you've identified the ways you spend your time, it's possible to be proactive in regaining it by making a list of tasks you have to complete on a daily basis by dividing your time into blocks, like reading emails. Speaking of emails, according to the McKinsey Global Institute the average person spends 13 hours on email each week on average, which equates to 28 percent of their work week!

When planning your time block, be realistic about the time that you devote for different projects. Try to estimate your participation in various tasks and projects, to make room for interruptions and unplanned events. If you are able to finish your project within a shorter timeframe than you had planned, then you have extra time for chores, errands, or relax!

Do the smaller Stuff Later

When you're working It's easy to be distracted by small, non-urgent things that come up. If it really isn't urgent, don't be tempted to take action now.

Why? It takes most people about 25 minutes to get their focus back after being distracted. When something arises, you can be quick to acknowledge it, when necessary, as well as the date you expect to complete. This "trains" the people you contact to know that you're a busy person, can't drop everything immediately, and that they must take their time.

Get rid of distractions

Apart from issues with concentration and focusing, it is also important to eliminate distractions and distracting circumstances in your workplace.

If you find that you often check your emails or social media updates You can make use of apps like StayFocusd to limit your access to certain websites. If you're the type who's always checking their phones it's best to train yourself to turn it off and place it away from where you can concentrate on your job. If Facebook is a big problem for you, consider the Facebook News Feed Eliminator Extension for Chrome.

On a final note, strive to keep your workspace clean so that you won't be tempted to tidy up your workspace in order to delay your work.

Hire the Right People

Thanks to the hyperconnected world we live in, it can be easy to find fellow virtual workers to help your cause--at any price point. If you're trying to reduce costs it's possible to consider using the possibility of hiring virtual workers from countries with a lower cost of living--the downside is that you'll have to deal the challenges of communication and culture in addition to different times zones. When dealing with those accepting low rates, understand that there are times when the quality of work additionally sacrificed.

Toggl recommends hiring employees who meet these three criteria:

• They've had a long history of self-management. Good self-managers can motivate themselves and work with minimal supervision.
• They have a good support system. Remote work can be lonely. Try to hire teammates who've proven they're willing to take on the challenge as well as having support at home.
• They possess good writing skills. As a lot of communication among team members from remote locations are text-based, you'll want to collaborate with those that can write clearly.

Develop a Task Management System

In order to establish a well-organized workflow, it's important to establish systems. This is particularly important when working with remote teams. If you are attempting to welcome new members be sure to ensure that your onboarding process involves a brief introduction to your system and the way they work.

Systems are a structure to aid your team in making the process more effective.

Task Management Systems to Consider

There are a variety of strategies to assign tasks priority, however we'll only focus on the top three of the most popular models:

ABC Method

ABC method ABC method is a simple priority setting technique where you list tasks on your list in terms of:

• The  for the most critical assignments: ones that require immediate attention and can are liable to major consequences should they not be completed on time.
• B for the jobs that are crucial however, they can have minor penalties if they are not finished on time. They can make someone angry if they're not finished on time, but they isn't an issue of life and death, as with A assignments.
• C to perform tasks that would be great to finish, however no consequences are attributed to not completing the tasks. These are, in essence, tasks that can wait.

If you are assigned more than one task to complete for B, A, or C, you can number them 1, 2 or 3 (and so on) in order of their priorities. Imagine it as a strict procedure that you begin the A-1 project immediately, and you don't go on with a new job until you've finished.

Eat the Frog Method

A less-complicated version of the ABC technique, this one will encourage you to complete the thing you are least excited to do (usually the most important and burdensome job during the day). This isn't easy, but it's the strict adhering to this approach can help you through the hard stuff!

The Four-Square Method

It was popularized through Stephen Covey in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, this method divides all tasks on your to-do list into four quadrants.

• The first four-quarters is reserved for critical and urgent work (top priority)
• The second quadrant is reserved for jobs that are crucial but aren't urgent.
• The third quadrant is reserved for tasks that are urgent but not essential.
• The fourth quarter is reserved to be used for projects that aren't crucial or important.

The assignments that are in the first quadrant comprise those you actually do while the tasks of the next quadrant comprise those you choose when and how to accomplish The tasks within the third quadrant are the ones that you DISCONTINUE to do, while the ones that are in the fourth quarter of your work space will be those that you DISCONTINUE (or think about in the future at another time).

If these three system of managing tasks may not be the right fit to your specific work environment Consider these alternative methods for prioritizing you can consider.

IMPORTANT: DO NOT MULTITASK.

People think that multitasking is useful but according to findings by an neuroscientist from MIT multitasking causes it more likely that you'll fail, which can affect productivity, and it impedes creative thinking. Multitasking makes your brain expend more energy when it moves between tasks. In contrast, innovative thinking comes from prolonged periods of focus.

45 minutes of focused work on one thing is universally superior to 1.5 hours working on multiple tasks. Start a task (no distractions) and finish it and then move onto another task.

--- Emma Bostian (@EmmaBostian) 3 January 2019

If you're constantly shifting between thoughts, your brain has to retrace its steps to keep track of all the specifics of the different projects you're working on. Give yourself the benefit of the doubt and focus on only one project at a!

Remote Work Time Saving Tips

Time is money and it is also the most effective resource for remote workers. Use these tips for saving time to be more effective:

• It is possible to delegate or outsource. Everybody needs help at times. If you're working with an assistant or even a remote team you'll need to delegate certain things, or parts of tasks (like researching to write a blog), to get things moving along. This process begins by choosing which tasks to delegate. These are usually the non-urgent assignments (like B or C tasks in the ABC technique), especially when they're working on training. Allow plenty of time for the team member to finish tasks so that you can go over the findings as well as add your own ideas prior to when anything has to be completed.
• Do not attend meeting. They are generally time-wasting and you should avoid them as much as you can. If you must have a meeting to work with a person, plan the meeting yourself and limit it to at most thirty minutes (15 minutes should be your preferred time!). Set a schedule and make sure that all parties have a plan so that you are able to bounce ideas off each other from the get-go.
• Use shortcuts. For emails, you can use the templates or shortcuts like TextExpander that expands the words of your most commonly employed phrases, after entering relevant text shortcuts. Utilize programs to help create or remember passwords (like 1Password or LastPass) so you don't need to commit the data to your memory (or even worse, keep the information insecurely).
• Unsubscribefrom unneeded emails, for example messages from brands that you do not care about, which only add to the items that need sorting out your email inbox.

Be sure to take a look at these genius productivity strategies.

Work from home remotely with tools

Zapier says that the three ingredients for a productive remote work configuration are teamwork tools, process, and. Since you can't actually control other people, focus on controlling your tools and process.

These are the most used tools to work remotely:

Accounting and Invoicing QuickBooks

QuickBooks connects with your bank accounts, so that you are able to easily keep track of your business costs. It is also possible to utilize Quickbooks to create invoices, and pay employees using the Payroll function.

Many of those working remotely for multinational companies are viewed as independent contractors. When this happens it's a good idea to employ the services of a CPA (Certified Public Accountant). Companies like IC Tax advisors work solely with workers who are facing these types of circumstances. They can handle payroll as well as all relevant tax paperwork can help reduce your stress come tax time.

Cloud Storage: Google Drive

Communication: Skype and Slack

It is easy to rack up costs when you need to conduct frequent international or local calls. The remote worker's answer to this issue is Skype that permits unlimited video or audio phone calls (and also conference calls)--as long as you have an internet connection that is stable.

Jan Hofen, founder and the CEO of Planio is a proponent of text-based tools to facilitate communication, specifically if you work with colleagues who live in different nations. It's not possible to keep calling for help every time there's a need! Using text-based communication tools helps clarify things since you get the chance to think through everything you have to communicate, after which you can read and revise your messages for clarity.

Payment: Paypal

Project Management Asana

Time Monitoring: Harvest

Harvest is a complete administrative solution that allows you to monitor time and charge clients. The program also works with applications such as Asana as well as Quickbooks. If you are part of a remote workforce and feel like you need to keep an eye on them from time to time, you can use Hubstaff to take screen shots of the screens to ensure that they're on track.

Time Zone Sanity: everytimezone.com and there

In terms of working from home, it usually requires juggling various timezones along with bloggers, colleagues, and developers. In lieu of having to get your head around all the different timezones, bookmark a tool which does the time zone conversion for you such as everytimezone.com. Or, go one step further and utilize a tool that lets you input the times of the people you collaborate with to make it easy to access, for instance there.pm.

Make sure you take care of yourself

If you're passionate about what you're working on or chasing an important deadline You'll be engaged in work. Not taking care of yourself is one of the fastest ways to exhaust yourself.

Here are a few important suggestions for self-care practices and developing a lasting remote work environment

• Keep in mind your reason. Keep in mind the main reason why you began working from home. Was it for the chance to spend time with your family? to have more time to travel? Check if you're on track with your target. If not, you'll need to rethink your work habits or hire assistance to cut down on your workload.
• Take regular breaks. Many think that breaks are detrimental when you could be doing a lot of tasks during those breaks. However, taking breaks have been proven to improve efficiency through reducing decision exhaustion, enhancing creativity and improving learning. If you're worried about wasting time, why not take an effective break and complete things like load your laundry in a single load or wash dishes or vacuum? Getting up from time to the right time is vital for health!
• Eat properly and exercise. When you're exhausted from working, it's tempting to go the simple way and get takeaway. However, one advantage that working from home has is the opportunity to prepare healthy food and also owning your own time, you have time of your day to do a workout. You need to care for yourself as you're the only thing available (and because reactive healthcare is cost-effective). Investing in a stand-up workstation or exercise ball can be an additional way of breaking up the monotony of sitting for hours on end.
• End your day with a wind-down at the end of the day. Even if there aren't any fixed working schedule or someone who tells that you should go home after your day, doesn't necessarily mean that you have to keep doing work until your body is ready to give up. Set healthy boundaries. The work will be always present when you get up each day. But remember that your job won't take you seriously So, take advantage of this opportunity to be with beloved ones.
• Professional development. Apart from ensuring that your body is at its best and your mind sharp, it's also essential to nourish your mind. Make sure you invest in learning further and classes (even online courses) or attend conference. It's never too late to discover something new.
• Give yourself a treat. It's hard work, and it's appropriate to reward yourself for a job accomplished each and every once in a while. This could be as easy as something small (like an indulgence in chocolate you've been craving) or an extravagant gift (like an excursion you've always wanted to go on). It does not even have to be costly--perhaps a night out with friends is just enough. Be sure to not keep it as a routine as the reward comes after the results. Delayed gratification can help build willpower and can even provide you with the motivation to complete the task with the least amount of time.

Final Thoughts All You Need to be aware of prior to working remotely

There are a lot of benefits to working remotely but it's not without its challenges. If you're capable of managing your time properly, like a boss, you can make the most of this chance to reach its full potential.

   What are your best tips for working remotely? Please share them via the comments!

Maddy Osman

Maddy Osman creates engaging content using SEO top practices for marketing agency leaders and thought-leaders who have their hands full with clients and projects. Find out more about her method and her experience on her blog, The Blogsmith and read her latest articles via Twitter: @MaddyOsman.

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