Another “top-x” list? Top five, top ten, top twenty ways to do anything? I know, I know, I’ve seen and read many of them as well: top ten ways to lighten your bag; top ten ways to stay connected from the road; top ten ways to be happy at work; and finally, my favorite: top ten ways to steal a car (but more importantly, how to protect against them).
But this top ten list is a little different and hopefully will appeal to many of you reading this blog: those who only occasionally work from home or a coffee shop and are part of the global corporate world. I’m calling this working remote, or WR for short.
That is certainly me. Most days, I have so many face-to-face meetings that I have to travel to my corporate office. But while I’m not in meetings I struggle with the same thing most cube-dwellers struggle with: distractions. It may be the loud-talker, the fly-bys, the phone calls from companies warning you that your car warranty is about to expire, the general office noise. Now, let me be clear: I need to go to an office. I need the team collaboration. I need the creativity it spurs in me. I need the camaraderie of a centralized workspace. I need the routine. But I also need the flexibility to get some focused time where I can think, strategize and write — free of distractions.
That’s why I love my laptop — it has become my office. My actual workspace has very little paper in it. I keep a few old journals, photos of my wife and kids, drawings from my kids, an AP stylebook and dictionary, paperclips. But other than that, it’s a work surface with an external flat panel.
I’ve been working in the corporate world since 1989, first in consulting roles, and since 1995 in a corporate technology setting and can now reflect on how to WR effectively.
Here are some of my suggestions of how you can be more productive when you don’t go in to the office. And perhaps more importantly, how you can set expectations for those you leave behind at the corporate mothership on how to reach you and interact with you.
1. Alert everyone on your team where you are. Better yet, be predictable. If you’re going to work remote every Monday, let your manager and team know that. Every other Friday? Let them know that as well. Put it on your and their calendars;
2. Answer your phone, e-mail, IMs and other digital smoke signals quickly. True, you may be deep in thought or writing something, and not paying attention to those corporate lifelines, but until you’ve built up trust with your colleagues, respond more quickly than normal. This will eliminate all suspicions that you’re actually playing golf;
3. If you’ve got a whiteboard in your corporate office, write your essential contact details there and indicate that you’re working away from the office;
4. Don’t say, “I’m going to take advantage of a meeting-free day to work from home,” if you’re also going to say “I’m going to take advantage of a day full of meetings to work from home.” If you’re my colleague, I don’t really care why you’re working from home. This also flies in the face of being predictable;
5. Report on your day to ensure your manager is aware of what you’re doing and what you’ve done. And don’t make it look like you’re sucking up, just state the facts of what you’re doing;
6. Map out your day and add more things to your to-do list than you think possible. You’ll be amazed at how efficient you’ll be when working remote. Don’t be tempted by finishing your work early to go play;
7. Mute your phone while on conference calls. How many conference calls have you been on when someone is driving in a car and doesn’t have their phone on mute. Also, don’t say “Sorry, I was on mute,” when coming back into the call. It’s said way too often and often can be construed as not paying attention;
8. Start your day just like every other day. If you typically go in to the office at 8am, boot up your laptop and get your day started at 8am from your remote office;
9. If you aren’t going to work from home but need time out of the office, do all of us a favor and don’t say you’re working from home. It gives those of us who actually are working remotely a bad rap;
10. This one may get some of you riled up, especially moms or dads that try to do it all: If you have young kids and are working from home, you’re not really working from home. You’re trying to work from home, but in my experience it doesn’t work. You may have the best intentions of working from home but with all the interruptions it will be hard for you to get anything done. Don’t call it working from home. I’d suggest a new acronym: TTWFHWCBWNL (trying to work from home with children but with no luck);
11. And finally, take advantage of WR and your setting, wherever it may be. Have lunch with your spouse, a friend. Pet your dog. Hug your kids when they come home from school. Take occasional breaks to go outside. Have a cup of coffee in the sunlight. But not for too long or soon, you’ll not be WR. 
So, what do you think? Did I miss any?
Trackback URL for this post: http://www.digitalnomads.com/2009/05/top-ten-plus-one-tips-for-working-remote-wr/trackback
Comments (7)
Trackbacks and Pingbacks
Comment
Nomad Contributors
Kudos on a great post, a very valuable read for those who are starting to work from home and having trouble setting boundaries and policies. #7 is key; the art of muting between your comments makes everyone’s life a lot easier.
Another thought: if possible use a stereo headset with your mobile phone (like earbuds with a microphone). In my experience I find it even easier to conference-call in a noisy place (like a Starbucks) because I stay focused on the call and not the real estate agent next to me.
Finally, while I do largely agree with #10, I have to give props to my daughter who has learned the “I’m on a call” look when I pick her up, and who stays stone silent in the car while I am on the call. It takes some discipline, but kids will help you out if they know how important it is. (Of course, it’s also much easier with 1 than with more…)
Thanks!
Thanks for the post Bruce, a very good breakdown of the right things to do when working remotely. #1 and #2 are key. Working remotely doesn’t work when your colleagues can’t depend on getting in touch with you as easily as if you were sitting in the next office. So you need to be connected, you need to let them know you’re there, and just like when you’re in the office you need to let them know when you’re stepping out to get some lunch.
Like Tony commented above, I agree with #10, but only in part. I’m lucky enough to have a home office with doors and a son who, even at 3 yrs old, understands when Daddy is at work and when Daddy is on the phone. Trying that in the car though, is definitely a step beyond, and his daughter should get big props for that.
Thanks again, now back to my #6.
Thanks for your comments and for clarifying how you can make number ten work for you. I’m fortunate that my kids are in school now so most of the day is very quiet in my house. But in the late afternoon when they arrive home, look out.
Working remote myself today, so back to my scheduled day.
by Suhail Mandani / June 20, 2009
This top-eleven list ended up being much more useful than so many other top-x lists. I enjoyed learning from your post. I discovered some important lessons on working alone. Being a college student with a heavy course load, a few of the tips don’t really apply in the literal sense… like reporting to my manager throughout the day. However, it is quite easy to make some parallels; like reporting to my parents on how college is going. If I haven’t called by a certain time of the day, my parents freak out. So letting them know “what’s up” is an important step in communication and keeping myself in check as well.
Group work was great in high school, but the role of group work changes substantially after entering college. It’s not as effective… if you haven’t worked alone first. So i find myself working individually for hours on end… at the library… in my room… at a cafe somewhere… or at a bookstore. I was always under the impression that while working alone, I should probably not answer the phone, text, or communicate with anyone… basically fall off the map for a good chunk of the day. After reading the post, I realize that not answering the phone right away gives the wrong impression to my peers (again drawing parallels to the career-world). I need to build that trust and sense of reliability with others so that the idea of networking really pays off in the long run.
I really enjoyed reading your post, even though it may have been targeted to an older age group. Although, I found it just as informative. Thank you
Suhail: thanks for your comment. I’m glad some of my suggestions resonate beyond just the corporate world. And I wish I’d learned these things earlier - I could have applied them my undergradute studies :).
by Kamal Syed / July 29, 2009
I’m lucky, I’m an IT consultant, and one of my key clients is OK with me working from home 3 days a week. Unfortunately, their network is so locked down that they need to give me a specially configured PC to be able to access the company network, email, SharePoint, etc.
They also have a corporate instant messenger, Microsoft Communicator, which conviently lets you set your location - so we typically put in our WR schedule into the status each week.
I just wish they let me use my own laptop for their business. I even have a seperate XP desktop environment setup for them inside Parallels (I run a Macbook pro).
MKS
by Tee / August 27, 2009
Explicitly delineate the start of the working day. This can be by walking around the block and going straight into your office when you return.
Never work in your pyjamas.