Traditional office environments are on a steady decline, thanks to emerging digital business trends and increasing globalization and communication. It’s becoming increasingly common to find that your colleagues are working from home, often in another country, making it important for you to know what this entails. Who knows, you might find yourself in a similar situation sometime in the future.

If you are working remotely, here’s a list of the main things you should already be familiar with. If not, then take notes!

Set Up Your Work Space

Working remotely allows you the freedom to work from anywhere you please, and even in the comfort of your pyjamas. But make sure you set up a proper workstation that includes everything you need so you don’t waste time looking for anything or leaving work unfinished because the scanner has dubiously stopped working. Make sure it’s quiet and with minimum outside distractions. It’s always good to have a change of scenery too, so a week in the study and the next on the porch might be a great change of pace.

Manage Your Time

Just because you don’t have to clock in from nine till five doesn’t mean you won’t need to schedule your work. While you are given a degree of flexibility, it’s important not to spend too much time on one task, and too little on the next. Prioritize and plan your day before you start. And if you have trouble concentrating, download moosti to help keep you on track!

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate!

Unlike in a typical office setting, working remotely often robs you of the precious water cooler conversations and departmental banter that is a fundamental feature of any workplace. This makes it even more important for you to communicate with your colleagues; bid them a Good Morning when you log in, let them know what you’re working on, tell them when you’re taking your break, let them know when you’re done for the day. It’s critical that everyone is in contact with each other through the day.

Don’t Click, Pocket

You’re three minutes away from congratulating yourself on a very productive 60 minutes when you receive a tweet alert for a video of baby pandas and suddenly you’re a good 30 minutes over your deadline… To avoid similar recurring situations, download Pocket: a really handy tool to keep you focused and away from tempting online material. Pocket allows you to bookmark all your favourite pages for later viewing, thus minimizing distractions while you work.

Use Every Time Zone

Another great tech tool for remote workers, Every Time Zone will help you coordinate with your colleagues who may be located elsewhere in the world. It comes in handy when you want to video conference or call multiple colleagues simultaneously. It’s also recommended that you find your ‘Golden Hour’, a time when all your colleagues and yourself are available for consultation, making communication a little easier between everyone.

It might be a bit of an adjustment in the beginning, but we’re sure you’ll get the hang of things pretty quickly. All in a day’s work!