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Hey loves,
I wish I was writing this post under better circumstances but with COVID-19 creeping up and disturbing our 2020 plans, we need to not panic and take actionable steps to make sure this doesn’t do any more damage.

With companies shutting down and moving towards remote work, a lot of organizations have never experienced remote work previously and this has a high chance of disrupting employee productivity.

I’ve come up with these tips to ensure that we maximize productive remote work at this time and who knows based on productivity, remote work might be here to stay in your organization.

Step 1: Charge Your Devices

In Nigeria, we don’t have the luxury of 24/7 electricity but this doesn’t mean that we can’t do productive work. Ensure that all your devices are properly charged and you make use of the power-saving mode feature; you want to make sure you get the best use of your battery juice and have an opportunity to have alternate plans for when you run out.

Step 2: Set Work Hours

You know yourself better than anyone else knows you! When are you most productive? Make sure that you’re planning to do a large bulk of the work you’re expected to do during your peak productive times. Also, make sure you’re scheduling maximum breaks – lunch, snack, stretches, etc. You’re in control of your time and you want to make sure you achieve maximum productivity; I recently came across the Pomodoro Technique – a great time management technique.
You can also do little things like a shower, make breakfast, etc. this keeps your body feeling like it’s on regular work time and nothing really changes in your routine.

Step 3: Create a Workspace

I find it really difficult to get serious work done on my bed and I believe that a bunch of people have this issue too! Find a space in your home that motivates you to do productive work – could be a table and chair and you can light some candles to set you in the best possible mood.
You could even add some plants to your workspace too! Rember you’re in charge here!

Step 4: Communicate With Your Team

If you’ll need to work on any tasks with your colleagues, in case your organization doesn’t have a system set up for remote work and collaboration, you can use the cloud – GDrive, OneDrive, Notion, etc these help multiple individuals work on the same project at the same time.
Apps like Slack or Microsoft Teams – help you keep the communication going and Asana or Trello help in managing projects and assigning tasks.
I’ve been running a remote team since the year began and do have over 2 years of experience in remote work and can testify that these are lifesavers.

Step 5: Cut off Distractions

I typically used the Do Not Disturb feature on my iPhone as often as I can to achieve this. If it’s going to distract me then it can wait till I’m on break. You also want to avoid endless social media scrolling.
A good way to do this is setting social media apps on Down Time – you can do this using the screen time feature.

Step 6: Relax and Unwind

I recommend you do this just as you would on any regular workday. Watch an episode of your favorite Netflix series, do some stretches, meditate whatever is your self care jam, do a bit of it!

Step 7: Checkin & Checkout

A few organizations call these stand-ups and expect you to always turn them in when you’re working remotely. However,if this isn’t required for you, making your own personal list of what you want to achieve and ticking it off when you’re done gives the utmost satisfaction

These are my top 7 tips especially for remote work beginners, once you hack how to achieve the same level or even higher productivity with remote work, it makes it easier to have this discussion with your manager and be given more remote workdays.

With Love,
Valerie