Working remotely is not the same as working from home

20 March

Occasionally we may have had the opportunity to work from home, however, that's usually not for a prolonged amount of time. In the near future, a lot of us may find ourselves working remotely for a long time. If we are going to be working remotely we need to change our working practices to maximise the effectiveness of this new work paradigm.

Here are 5 quick things to think about as a team:

1. Establish “go to work” routines

Think about how you would prepare yourself for “going into the office” and then think about what you can do at home to establish the mindset for “going to work” at home. This takes discipline and focus, but it does set you up for success and gets you into your work zone.

2. Increase communications

Make it formal, frequent and easy. Have virtual meetings often and regularly, talk to each other about work often, but also talk about what else is happening, don’t pretend nothing is happening. Make communication a regular, consistent thing.

3. Work visibility

Share what you are working on with your team, frequently. Increase the feedback loop speed, seek information from each other about what to do next, encourage others to team up with you on your work.

4. Work on small things

Get into a flow state, keep your work units small and discrete (INVEST is a great principle to apply here), keep the work flowing.

5. Plan constantly

Create plans for the day, the week, the fortnight and the month, even out to the quarter if you can, then regularly update those plans as a team.

Understand that there is always something more to be done, and we need to keep working on these things today, to set us up for a tomorrow. Collectively we are sharing and experiencing a new world that will allow us to explore and change our futures together. By understanding the new patterns of work, we can navigate this difficult time successfully.

 

Posted by Sharon Robson.

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