Remote Working Part 2 – The art of working smarter
The top reason men and women fail to adjust to operating remotely is they don’t see the essential requirement of good organisation and rigid self management.
I have been working remotely for nearly 8 yrs since I first found Quickbooks online an ‘on demand’ small business accounting software web application and was mesmerised by the fact that if you can do accounting on the net then why shouldn’t it be possible to do other important types of work remotely?
Whilst working remotely has significant advantages there are numerous traps that people easily fall into which lead to issues that result in reduced work output and reduced morale. The most cited reason for decreases in productivity in remote employees is interruption and it is a confirmed and well publicised fact that it can take a person up to twenty minutes to establish their original output level after experiencing a disruption.
Studies also show that persons who are consistently subjected to disturbances are more likely to be susceptible to decreased memory capability and are prone to developing mental health trouble in old age. We live in an over communicated environment and it is important that you are aware of the problems this causes before you start working remotely. Whilst operating remotely you have to do everything possible to reduce the threat of being disrupted.
Here’s how I do it:
1, Get a consistent schedule, communicate it to absolutely everyone and stick to it!
Good examples are a regular time of day when you look at or send e-mail and make or take telephone calls. Before I began working remotely I used to receive nearly 200 e-mails in 24 hours. Now I think I am unfortunate if I receive in excess of 4. To start over with my electronic mail experience I modified my e-mail address and vigorously took precautions to shield the details being passed on to anyone. I then made sure everyone who I gave my e-mail address to, to use it wisely and sparingly. I also set up an auto-responder that swiftly told anyone sending me mail my schedule for reading mail and if an item required my urgent attention to mark it as ‘Urgent’.
2. Get rid of alerts.
Disable every feature that can send you a perceptible alert. This includes mobile and
conventional telephones and forms of alerts from electronic mail such as on screen pop ups, audible warnings, display changes to your inbox folder and of course facing a window. Get a door on your study and put up a ‘do not disturb’ sign on it.
In ‘Remote Working Part 3 – What should be in your tool box’ I will reveal my favourite tools and software.
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