With spring break just around the corner, many parents of school age children will find themselves working from home — while undoubtedly juggling childcare, carpool, and any number of other household obligations. But working remotely can be a tricky balance for anyone, especially if you work with teammates who are also remote.
But the challenges aside, studies show that remote workers consistently outperform their office counterparts in productivity, teamwork, and sheer presence (i.e. remote workers don’t need to fabricate dentist appointments so they can sneak out of work half an hour early).
As an all-remote creative staff, we at TMC have years of practice honing effective strategies for communication and project flow across the digital sphere. And while the process isn’t always perfect, here are three essential practices we’ve found found for keeping ourselves and each other accountable.
- Don’t assume others are working when you are. We might live in a nine-to-five world, but creativity doesn’t always play by the rules. If your most productive hours start at 5 a.m., you can almost bet on having a night-owl coworker doesn’t hit their stride until the rest of the world hits the sack. Know your teammates’ work habits and make sure they know yours, so that no one is left waiting hours for a delayed email response.
- Confirm receipt. There’s nothing worse than having to ask someone if they received a file or message you sent the previous day to zero response. If you got it, say you got it — if only to acknowledge you won’t be able to do anything with it right away. That way your colleagues won’t find themselves lying awake with a perpetual eye-twitch.
- Set expectations. Related to that last point, try to give both clients and colleagues clear deadlines, or at least an idea of when they might expect next project steps to be completed.
What are your best tips for staying productive and engaged while working remotely?
