Three keys to creating a robust remote work approach

Nowadays, remote work can be the answer to finding the absolute stability between personal life intentions and professional goals. Doing it in a genuinely productive way requires a lot of planning and preparation.

In this stake, I’ll tell you all about this global trend and give you some solid advice on how to gain high productivity levels while working from the comfort of your own home.

What the studies say
According to the Future Workforce Report 2018 recently published by Upwork, nearly 63% of companies in the US today have remote workers. Employees aren’t the only ones who benefit from working from home; a company can help just as much by cutting costs, increasing productivity levels, and reducing turnover.

The authors of this study go as far as to say that companies that refuse to support this trend risk losing their best people and turning away tomorrow’s top talent. Furthermore, over half of the hiring managers who responded agree that remote work has become more commonplace than it was three years ago, and in the next ten years, they predict that 38% of their full-time employees will work predominantly remotely.

The Global State of Remote Work released by OWL Labs says that employees who work remote at least once a month are 24% more likely to feel happy and productive in their roles.

And why do people (and especially young professionals) find this idea so appealing? The number one reason might not be what you think: only 14% of respondents identified work/life balance as their primary motivation.

What drives people to want to work remote is that they find this way, they can be more productive and better focused. But, as we said before, this is way easier said than done.

Currently, companies that belong to the software industry have plenty of experience working remotely. In my case, I’ve learned a lot about this subject from my experience working at UruIT, a software development outsourcing company that relies on remote work for delivering its services to its US clients. In this post, I’d like to share some of my learning points on the matter!

Communication is critical for remote work success
When compared to the global average, South America has 81% more fully foreign companies, and people from this region are 67% more likely than the average always to work remote.

taking this information into account’s safe, to say that communication is a crucial element for understanding how remote work operates. And even though communicating in the 21st century doesn’t seem at all complex, there are a few things to take into account.

Even if you’re working from home or traveling solo, don’t do it completely alone. Involve your team, meet as many times as necessary before leaving the office, and stay open to all the opinions and suggestions they give you. The most important thing is that you get the chance to listen to your coworkers’ ideas, doubts, fears and recommendations regarding your remote work.

As for communication tools, there are plenty of tools you can choose from. Zoom and Skype are great options to make video calls without significant inconveniences. They both have the advantage of having a connection that is quite stable and functional for requests that require more than 30 minutes and the participation of more than three people.

Of course, it can become painful to video chat all the time. That’s when Slack becomes a great alternative to keep in touch. However, to make it work, it’s vital to pay attention to notifications and try to respond as soon as possible.

2. Look for the right workspace and technology

It’s essential to find a place to work with an excellent internet connection at all times and have the right equipment to take calls (camera, microphone, and headset).

Even if you switch location from time to time, it’s important to find at least one place that is peaceful and quiet so you can concentrate and avoid distractions.

Another detail to take into account is the use of your laptop. Considering that you will be saving a lot of files, it’s very likely that your machine will begin to slow down, making it difficult for you to move at your regular work pace.

But don’t worry. There’s a pretty simple solution for avoiding this problem: use cloud storage! Dropbox, for example, offers secure cloud storage plans with features like file recovery and version history, so you’ll never accidentally lose a file or project again.

Dropbox offers a rather measly 2GB of free storage, but this can be increased up to 16GB free of charge by linking your Dropbox to social media and referring friends to join the service.

If you’re an Android user, you might find Google Drive to be a natural choice as its already integrated with those devices. And the best part is that it offers up to 15 GB of free storage.

On the other hand, Apple offers only 5GB for free to back up your Mac and iPhone to iCloud. Even if it’s not going to be enough space, compared to its rivals, iCloud’s prices are very reasonable: 50 GB for $0.99 a month.

3. Set your boundaries

Make sure to set standards and boundaries to remain focused. This goes for yourself as well as the people who surround you on a daily basis. Like we said before, maintaining high productivity levels while working remotely can be tricky.

One of the biggest perks of working from home is that you could potentially stay in bed in your pajamas all day. Even if the idea may sound tempting, it’s counterproductive. When you don’t physically get out of bed and change out of the clothes that you’ve slept in, it’s harder to convince your brain that the workday has officially started.

Another common mistake that remote workers make is getting distracted easily, for example, with social media or chat apps. If you can’t help to get caught up online, try Freedom. This app locks you out of social media and certain websites so you can stop multitasking and get things done.

However, there’s a limit on the flip side that shouldn’t be crossed either. When you work remotely, it can be challenging to separate your work life from your personal and home life.

That being said, it’s essential that you take the time to turn off your devices (and your head!) at the end of the day. Let your co-workers know that you’ve “left the office” and don’t get tempted to check your email one last time at 11 pm.

When you don’t set these types of boundaries and take the time to disconnect from the job, you’ll be more likely to lose steam and burn out faster.

Finally, take the time to explain your work arrangements to your friends and family. Educating them on how you work remotely will reduce distractions and help you achieve extreme productivity levels!

Today, working remotely is at the foundation of many software development companies. Carrying it out with planning and teamwork is the best way to achieve great results. As we stated before, it’s possible to work in this manner without affecting your team’s workflow and objectives.

Nevertheless, even in the projects under agile methodology, we must always be open to changes and unexpected events.

To be productive, it’s essential to rely on the best technology and communication tools. Get your priorities straight and shut yourself off from distractions.

As I found out in my experience, unexpected changes will happen, but your ability to sort them out will make you grow both professionally and personally.

Happy remote working!