The 6 Best Bits of Career Advice for Remote Workers

Working remotely is a fairly new way to the modern workforce, even though more companies are picking it up as of late. As of late, almost four million people in the US works remotely in some shape or form. Although it brings many benefits, remote working also has its unique challenges. Here are some of the best pieces of career advice for those in the remote workforce.

Remote Career Advice – Don’t Confuse Personal and Work Life

Once you started working remotely, you were probably thrilled by the idea of not having to travel to work. As soon as you turn on your laptop – the office is right there. However, this can be just as challenging as it can be rewarding.

The lines between personal and work time can often be blurred with remote work. In order to have a better work/life balance as well as become more productive at work, the two need to be distinctly separated.

First, don’t turn on your PC as soon as you wake up and start working. Just one thing you pick up at 7AM will make an 8-hour work day turn into one that lasts for 10-12 hours. Give yourself time to have your morning routine before picking up work. Whether it’s going to the gym, having a morning run or simply unwinding, don’t dive into work immediately.

Second, don’t work from your bed. Although it may sound tempting, it won’t do anything except harm your productivity. In order to be at your most productive, have a dedicated place just for work. Be it a desk, home office or your living room, don’t use the same place you get rest for working. You will be unable to physically and mentally separate your work and free time.

Leave Work at the Workplace

If you work from home, you can catch yourself tackling tasks beyond your working hours. All of a sudden, a 9-5 job becomes a 9-9 job. Because you can’t separate work and free time (for reasons mentioned above), you have a hard time putting work down.

With remote working, there’s often a danger of not tuning out when your work is done. And since there’s no human interaction, it’s not impossible to stay at work all day, not putting down your laptop. The way around this is to commit to leaving your work at its designated place (as mentioned) and time.

More Remote Career Advice – Don’t Work Just from Home

At the beginning of my remote career, I thought that working remotely would be a phase in my life. Three years later, I find myself working in remote environments in some shape or form. In the beginning, I found myself doing the bulk of my work from home, which was an amazing change from having to drive down to my office.

Over time, working from one and the same spot became boring and monotonous. As I would simply leave the room once work was finished, it felt like there was no separation between working hours and free time.

If you want to get the maximum out of remote work, you should change your environment regularly. Try working from a coffee shop, a coworking space, a public library, anything that’s not your home. You may be more productive in these environments, and the change of pace will benefit you over time.

Keep Your Work Environment Clean

When working from an office, having a neat desk is not a necessity but often times, you’ll do it just to stop coworkers from thinking you’re a slob. Once you start working remotely, you may be tempted to leave your work environment looking like something that came out of a Dali painting.

By keeping your work area neat and organized, you’ll have a better working environment and organize your work better as a consequence.

Have a Schedule

You may have a remote job that requires you to stay put from 9 to 5, or whatever the desired amount of time. For people like me, this is the easiest way to get work done, as you know when you need to be available and handle your assignments.

If you’re a freelancer or don’t have dedicated hours, things can get slightly complicated. Because you’re not expected to be present and work at fixed intervals, you can set your own schedule. If you’re responsible and have a great work ethic, this is great news as you can finish all your work in far less than 8 hours and go on with your day.

If you’re not as responsible (like myself), two hours of work can stretch to 8, simply because you’re not keeping a schedule. No matter the workload, always establish a schedule for yourself so that you know how long it takes to get your tasks done and have better control of your work and free time.

Communicate, a Lot

Going from an office to a remote job, the biggest change you’ll notice is that you’ll spend a lot more time by yourself. While this can be a good thing for some, it means a significant change in how you work.

Communication is one of the most important aspects of work and in remote environments, it’s often lacking. This is why you should try to communicate as much as possible, and as early as possible.

Small misunderstandings in remote environments can turn into major conflicts if they’re not handled in time. Do yourself and your coworkers a favor and talk about everything – how to solve issues, handle new work tasks, business goals and objectives, the weather, sports… The more you talk, the more you will be familiar with how the person on the other end communicates and there will be fewer chances for misunderstanding.

If you’re ready to start your remote career today, check out the jobs at the Anomadic job board! We have what it takes to get started, and using these tips, you can create an amazing career as a remote worker.