7 Tips For Working Remotely

With the exception of about 2 years working in an actual office, the majority of my professional years have been spent working remotely. Before I blogged full time I worked remotely doing real estate office admin, social media management/consulting, and my jewelry line Speakable. I know I’m not alone in this, as with the rise of technology and entrepreneurship more and more people seem to be working remotely than ever before.

There are a ton of obvious benefits to working remotely like the flexibility and not having to wear pants (lol), but there are also some difficulties that I still find myself facing + know are a struggle for a lot of people. So here are some of my tips to combat those common unfavorable aspects of working remotely.

1. Have a dedicated office space in your home
Not having a typical office setup is clearly the biggest difference when it comes to working from home. I think it’s important to dedicate a space in your home that is just for working because it gives you the structure that an office setting provides. As someone who lives in a New York City apartment that just looks like a desk in my bedroom, but that alone gives me the mental switch I need to get into my “work zone,” as opposed to working from the couch or (God forbid) my bed.

2. Have a list of go-to places outside of home to work from
With that being said, I personally find it important to work outside of home at least a couple of times a week. Even if not communicating with anyone, it can be motivating to just be around other people rather than being completely secluded, especially on those days that you find yourself feeling particularly distracted. Plus you never know when a networking opportunity might present itself. Make a list of a handful of places you can go to like cafes, hotel lobbies or pay-on-the-spot co-working spaces.

3. Utilize an online workspace/project management tool
While it’s nice not to have a boss or manager breathing down your neck with tasks, staying organized and on top of things without getting distracted can be a struggle when working remotely. A few years ago I started using Podio, and now I can honestly say my life depends on it. On it I’m able to create and manage different projects, a social media calendar, documents, daily tasks and so much more. Other tools that people seem to love are Asana, Monday, Trello & Basecamp.

4. Consider batch working
People often pride themselves on their multitasking skills, and I used to be one of them. But over the past couple of years I realized that my multitasking was actually making me less productive and way more stressed out, so I started implementing (project-based) batch work as much as I could. For example, instead of working on aspects of 5 different projects in one day, I will dedicate an entire day to one project and see it through until completion. Another option for batch work is to make it more task-based, i.e. dedicate an entire day to meetings, the following day to writing blog posts, etc. I’ve tried that method as well but prefer the project-based method.

5. …but allow for flexibility and learn to embrace it
This is something that is still very much a work in progress for me. There are times that I wish my days were more routine oriented and fit the 9-5 mold, and I used to try to force my schedule to look like that, but the truth is that my career just doesn’t work that way. For many remote jobs it might be easier to have a set schedule, but especially if you’re in a creative field you need to be adaptable to roll with the punches. Sometimes a day/week might come with last minute projects and a schedule/batch work plan that needs to be thrown out the window, and that’s ok. That comes with the territory of working remotely, and can actually be fun to keep you on your toes.

6. Dress for success
No, I’m not saying you should wear a pant suit while working from your living room. But please – change out of your pajamas, will you? For me, just knowing that I look decent makes me much more likely to take my work day seriously. Unless I have something like a photoshoot or meeting, my favorite wardrobe for working from home is activewear. It’s comfortable but still feels like I have my life together. And hey, it can’t hurt that it’s an extra motivating factor to get some daily exercise in.

7. Don’t forget to take a break
Without being in an office setting it’s sometimes easy to forget that you’re working hard and need to peel away from your computer or phone for an actual break. I often find myself getting caught up in certain projects, and before I know it I’ve worked 8 hours without even eating lunch! Now I try to take at least 30-60 minutes a day to get outside, run errands, or do something completely unrelated to the computer screen. I also think it’s important to maintain weekends as being non-work days, no matter how tempting it is to answer “just that one email.”