Welcome to the "Remote Working Professionals" Club!

Is the grass really greener on the other side? Well you are in luck mandatory in-office workers because you are about to find out…

Be honest, you’ve had a tinge of jealously towards the estimated ~5% of us “work from home” professionals, right?

I mean we get to work from the pool, hip modernly designed coffee shops, and even travel the world without the constraints of those pesky micro-managers wanting us to use those "big brother" time tracking programs to ensure we are present every Monday to Friday from 9-5 sitting happily in our office or cubicle (even when you’ve completed your meaningful work)...

Remote workers have the life! I mean you’ve consumed a few pieces of "digital nomad" content and dreamt of this moment to work from home, until you realized today (or will be realizing it very soon) that it wasn’t as glorious and easy as you originally thought. Let me give you a dose of reality coming from someone that has worked from home since late 2012, don't believe the hype!

Working from home (and at a high-level consistently) is fucking hard...

...and it's hard because there is no structured routine for remote workers that society has beat into us over centuries. Humans love routines. Lucky for most working professionals, a strong 40 year routine goes something like this...

• Wake up and put on work attire
• Commute to work using preferred transportation mode
• Arrive at office to clock in around 9a
• Head towards the water cooler or office kitchen to grab some coffee
• To/From the water cooler/coffee machine, you check in with colleagues
• Few hours of work until lunch
• Eat lunch in office or head out to restaurant
• After lunch you spend more time checking in with colleagues
• Few hours of work until 5p
• Commute back to home using preferred transportation mode

Yes, I understand that is a generalization (or maybe even a borderline misrepresentation) and likely many people reading my article will outperform this norm, but things are about to change! You will no longer be judged by the time you are sitting in your desk chair, but your output. That means you can’t just go through the motions like you do in the office, especially in this black swan event that will put pressure throughout the market (Note: I won't doom and gloom here, but please acknowledge downside risks).

Despite that scary thought, I believe great people thrive in crisis. It's highly likely your employer hasn't had remote workers be the dominant portion of their workforce, so it will be fumbling through creating new expectations, but don’t let their acceptance of mediocrity bring you to down. This is your time to shine and keep a positive mindset that challenges are simply opportunities if you see them through the right lens.

To help my community, I thought I would share some of my remote working tips and tricks that have allowed me to thrive and grow businesses over these last 7.5 years of my career.

#1 – Focus, Focus, and Focus Even Harder On Your Output!

As stated above, you will be judged entirely by the volume, quality, and timeliness of your output. For those high-output producers, this is going to really give you the opportunity to show your worth to your company. For those that are completely new to unsupervised output-focused work, it is imperative that you become diligent in making lists and understanding how to prioritize them by impact level and deadlines. Make sure to start with the most difficult yet impactful tasks in the morning when you are fresh. This is especially important for those working professionals that are going to have kids come home from school mid-afternoon.

Joshua's Pro Tip = I usually have a weekly project list, but also a daily item list that usually contains sub-tasks of the project list items or could contain independent tasks that are quicker, but need completed that day.

#2 – Set-Up a Dedicated Work Space

If you are usually not allowed or rarely allowed to work from home, you won't have a permanent home office set-up. I predict this "remote work" phase in the U.S. will last 2-3X longer than the few weeks that were initially projected, so its imperative that you figure out a slice of your residence that will feel like a dedicated work space that gets your mind shifted away from it being your home. If it helps, I know some people even put on their normal work clothes to get in the mood when they are working from home.

Joshua's Pro Tip = I have always set up a specific part of my residence for my home office (even if I didn't have an extra bedroom). I am a tad OCD on daily life clutter, such as dishes, and laundry, which will bother me until I do those tasks at that exact moment. Because of that, I make sure that my dedicated work space is set-up in a way that those are out of my line of sight.

#3 – Control the Controllable Distractions

This is the number one challenge that you will face because these distractions are not your normal office distractions, so it will be hard to say no. In some cases, you might not be able to say no, like in the case for professionals that have kids at home from cancelled school. While uncontrollable distractions will need to be handled in specific ways, you must control the controllable distractions. Resist the urge to have a TV on, music on, or social media opened on your computer because these distractions can set you spiraling out of control when faced with an unfamiliar work environment.

Joshua's Pro Tip = You need to fight the controllable distractions and get into a work flow. This is not the time to do dishes, laundry, or run errands. This is the time to work. It will take effort to uphold a level of discipline that is needed to perform at a high-level every day for weeks (or months) in your new remote work environment.

#4 – Up Your Communication By At Least 50%

That 40+ year work routine means that your boss and colleagues are used to checking in on you by simply pinging you in-person at your desk, but they won’t have that opportunity now. To overcome that challenge, make sure to use email, Slack, text, phone, Zoom, or Skype, to stay in communication with your team. For those that miss "traditional" social interaction that is part of working from an office, add in 5 minutes of buffer for set meetings, so you can chat about more casual friendly topics to keep a balanced mind.

Joshua's Pro Tip = It is important to review and document how your team/boss likes to communicate. It is always better to over-communicate than to leave everyone wondering and filling in the blanks with the worst-case scenario. Make sure to schedule check-ins through email or phone calls to update your progress on projects.

#5 – Create a New Morning Routine

While it's hard to see the sun through these thick clouds, one bright spot of working from home is that you be able to save at least an hour of your day that was filled with your daily commute and getting ready to the appropriate work environment level. Instead of sleeping in, use that extra 60 minutes to create a new morning routine that will jump-start your day.

Joshua's Pro Tip = I have always tried to get up and head straight to the gym for 30 minutes of cardio. This allows me to catch up on social media notifications, emails, and take a glance at the important global financial news. If my morning meetings are light, I will include a quick weight-training workout. After that, I will head back to have a protein shake (or light breakfast), shower, and throw on casual clothes before plugging into my dedicated work space.

Conclusion

If you are feeling lost or need more remote working advice, please feel free to reach out to me. I know this is a challenging time, but its your attitude and adjustment to it that will make you successful.