I have been reading almost every story from the Remote Chronicles and one answer mostly seemed to be recurring everywhere—people initially struggled while working from home.
We have been trained by office jobs to follow a monotonous routine — a process that has been followed for centuries. 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Rinse and repeat.
And then suddenly, remote work breaks this cycle— leaving people open to other options. One of the biggest benefits of remote working is the flexibility of choosing our own work hours. However, this freedom can sometimes lead to a lack of routine and this is when things can quickly become unstructured and chaotic.
One golden advice that I would give for new remote workers is to create a full agenda of their daily schedule and to keep refining it over time while picking up or discarding items.
After adopting a daily routine, not only was I able to be productive & complete my tasks efficiently but was also able to reduce my working hours that often stretched late into the evenings.
Do you also follow a routine while working remotely?
Thanks Hrishikesh for suggesting this topic on the sidebar!
P.S. Check out these blogs to further improve your remote work game:
- Harnessing a team oriented mindset.
- Need for ace communication while collaborating remotely.
Definitely agree that some form of structure is necessary to make remote work... work.
For me, I'm less of a routine guy, more of a checklist person. I manage an ongoing list of weighted To-Do's and so long as I'm able to to accomplish a "big" task or several "little" tasks in a day, I'm able to consider the day not wasted.
At least for me, this way makes me feel less stressed about the amount of time spent 🤷
Justin
Remote Work Experience
Have been working as part of a remote team for the past two years on my latest venture Quidli since Day 1 with varying levels of successes and failures ;)
I used to maintain my tasks on a to-do list but later realized that I was taking up smaller/easier tasks at the start of the day just to watch it getting struck off my list. Now, I use a calendar to block specific hours for completing tasks- which has been far more productive for me.
John Wade
Remote Work Experience
No experience working remotely before COVID-19.
For sure, checklist isn't perfect and I also shared a simplified take 😅
And I definitely do catch myself frequently just aiming at knocking out the lower hanging fruits of my lists.
This is why I've started weighting the tasks and really being honest with myself on where my priorities should be, particularly if I see myself just going after small things just to "get things done."
Justin
Remote Work Experience
Have been working as part of a remote team for the past two years on my latest venture Quidli since Day 1 with varying levels of successes and failures ;)
I still struggle a lot to maintain a routine, but from around 7:30 - 11 have been pretty diligent about working on what's most important. The minute I start going through emails and my phone is the minute I start getting distracted and reaching for the 'low hanging fruits' just to cross items off the to-do list, but hopefully, by then the more important work (or part of it) has been done earlier.
Alda Lima
Remote Work Experience
I have been freelancing for 11 years (full-time for 7).
I have a loose routine to my day. I generally start around the same time each morning. But I've really used the flexibility remote work allows to mix the work and personal schedules. I guess my strongest routine is around looking at my calendar a few days out and making sure I've got the right personal and professional time blocked for what I need, regardless of when it happens during the day.
Nancy
Remote Work Experience
I have worked in varying degrees of remote for the last 8+ years. I started in a small office outside of the company's main hub. After a few years and the rest of the people leaving my office, I was the only person left in the state. I moved into a coworking space and have spent the last 5 years working with a community of entrepreneurs and other remote workers.
I do the same myself. Plan out the week tentatively on Sunday and have blocks of time for my activities. It differs drastically in some weeks though.
Also keep a list of Todos on a daily basis as @justin-465 suggested. But that actually helps me get things done by the deadline.
Ashley Thomas
Remote Work Experience
Been a remote worker all throughout my career. Of course have worked in an office setting as well, but only a few days or weeks at stretch primarily when working out of a client's office.
For me, when we changed from office to Work from home, I had to define my new routine, I think is really important to have an order to achieve the most on day by day.
Recently I started reading Atomic Habits by James Clear, that book has been so helpful to organize my weekdays and to make new habits (sometimes taking advantage of the freedom that brings a remote work) I recommend you all the book.
For now, my routine wakes me up at 6:15 am (yeah I know, too early for some people), but gives me the opportunity to have a delicious breakfast and study before to start my work journey at 9 am. After work, I use to read at least 1 hour and enjoy a good time with my family. I believe once I get a fully remote work I'll be able to distribute a little better my time and activities.
Samuel Karim Hernandez Cardona
Remote Work Experience
I just started to work remotely cause COVID-19 pandemic
Agreed, I think Atomic Habit would be a great book for anyone looking to maintain a healthy work-life balance and keeping their day organized.
Mark Walter
Remote Work Experience
I have worked remotely for 5+ years now.
It is really amazing to note the amount of effort you have put in to get the most out of a remote work life.
Work from home life has meant a lot of adjustments and recalculations for me too. Trying to get better at it each day. Indeed, clearly defining the day is quite important. I'm trying to be more granular with my workday so that I know where I might be going off course. Hope that starts helping!
Karthik Sridharan
Remote Work Experience
Yes, at Flexiple our tech team is remote. Further, we consistently work with freelancers from our network who are located across timezones. It is an interesting dynamic that poses challenges but also enforces discipline like nothing else I have experiened before.