FUNDAMENTALS OF WORKING REMOTELY News Daily Articles

In order to effectively work remotely, there are certain guidelines everyone needs to bear in mind. At Gaper, we like to call it the 3, 2, 1 method.

Like our VP of Marketing puts it – “3, 2, 1, let’s get it done!”

A lot of times, we get hung up on what to do and don’t pay much attention to what NOT to do. Those are equally important to know and follow (or not).

Read on to learn the 3 things to do, 2 things to NEVER do and 1 thing to ALWAYS remember.

Fundamentals of working remotely – 3 things to do

3) First and foremost, get up and get ready to “go to office”. You heard that right! Let’s not be slackers and remain in slacks the whole day long. Let’s be energized with a good morning shower and a hearty breakfast. This gets the system going.

Working remotely does not mean that we should let ourselves go. Psychology says that if you intentionally get ready, your brain wires itself to get into the “work mode”.

2) Make a task schedule and make it work for you. Whether it is a checklist or whatever task management tool you choose to take up, ensure it tailors your work ethic. After all, the tools need to ease your pain point, not exacerbate it.

Check out some management tools here.

You can always use a combination as at Gaper, we use Notion.so and Trello to manage and [1] keep an eye on each other throughout the week. This keeps us regimented and answerable to anything that is still left undone at the end of the week.

1) Use the Pomodoro Technique. For those of you who are perfectionist procrastinators, this one is definitely for you! At the end of the day, you need to enjoy your work, not slave at it.

The pomodoro technique gets you into the flow of working on your tasks with strategic breaks and gives you enough time to re-energize yourself for the next task at hand.

Fundamentals of working remotely – 2 things to NEVER do

2) Never underestimate the power of over communicating when working remotely. What you may assume may not be reciprocated by your team. Pick up the phone, have a quick call or shoot out a small message, just to remain constantly engaged with your team. Whether it starts off about asking about the weather. Communicate, communicate, communicate!

1) Never feel shy asking for help when you are unable to work remotely. It is true. While the future of work is remote, it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. And it certainly is not a tea everyone can drink all the time. With this pressure of doing the best in a remote environment, it is ok to admit that you’ve burnt out and you need some downtime. A lot of companies were thrust into the remote realm almost overnight. So it goes without saying that they went into this blindly. It was a learning curve for the whole world. Not being able to handle it, is not a one of scenario, but a reality for a lot of people. Secondly, working remotely, and working during a pandemic, are not one and the same thing. A lot of companies have realized this and are constantly working on ensuring how to retain their employees’ wellbeing as well as productivity.

Fundamentals of working remotely – 1 thing to ALWAYS remember

Hit the ground running! Literally and figuratively. If you set the pace right for yourself, your momentum is what will keep you going.

Oft times, we let things go and start feeling overwhelmed with all the tasks piling around us. Which is mostly something of our own creation.

Prioritizing tasks and using tools to help you navigate, automatically gives you the mental capability of sorting and time analyzing tasks out. It is all about not stopping (as opposed to just starting). The “Just Starting” mental state only gives you more excuses to “start” at a certain point. Whereas, never stopping, does not give you the privilege to begin with.