Dos and Don’ts of the modern remote work!
Here are the essential dos and don’ts of the modern remote work or telecommuting landscape, whether you’re a solo freelancer, a member of a corporate remote team, or a manager who wants their telecommuting employees to reach their full potential — as learned while studying for project management professional certification.
Do: Get SaaS-y
A little SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) can make a big difference. We looked at how virtual collaboration solutions are becoming increasingly popular in competitive industries in our piece on PMs managing distant teams. Top SaaS companies today enable remote teams to electronically interact, collaborate, and share critical business data on a single platform. These platforms and solutions may typically be scaled up or down to meet the changing communication needs of distant teams. “The rise of cloud-based SaaS software has been essential in the growth of remote work,” says GetApp global vice president Thibaut de Lataillade, citing a GetApp analysis that found remote work rose 400% in the last 10 years.
Simplified and unified communication solutions like Slack, Google Drive, Microsoft Office, Adobe Suite, and a few more top-tier SaaS providers are at the forefront of this expansion. De Lataillade also discusses how SaaS communication solutions contribute to the mental health of remote workers. “While companies stand to benefit greatly from embracing remote work, care must be taken to ensure that employees are professionally and emotionally supported.” Unifying communications make it easier to untangle whatever knots need to be untangled. Don’t believe that being a remote worker means you have to be alone.
Don’t: Avoid Automation
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that automation is only for large, international corporations. Everyone from lone freelancers to distant corporate-backed teams may profit from automation thanks to a plethora of free or low-cost tools and services. The same computers, smartphones, and other gadgets that enable you to be a productive remote worker may also assist you in automating many duties and responsibilities in both your professional and personal lives. Automatic money transfers are one of the most useful and straightforward ways to implement automation.
According to a Marcus post on automating your finances, these automatic payments require only a one-time sign-up, and then you’ll never have to worry about missing a bill payment again. Automated payments and records can help remote team managers expedite the salary process, which is critical for keeping remote workers motivated. You can utilize an ‘autopay’ feature in several financial applications and services to enable automated transfers for savings, retirement, or any other specialized accounts. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to financial automation.
If there’s a way to accomplish it digitally, there’s an app for it, as I discovered while studying for project management professional certification. Tasker is a smartphone app that allows you to automate hundreds of various chores. Over 200 smartphone actions, triggers, rules, and parameters can be specified in tasks. Almost every work task you can accomplish from your phone may be automated with this. Daily screenshots of project timelines should be emailed to confirm team progress. In shared sheets, keep track of phone calls and keyword-isolated business messages. When you plug in your earbuds, you may customize audio notifications, including text-to-speech choices for messages from certain contacts or meetings. It can also be used to customize Spotify playlists using GPS, accelerometer, and schedule data, making it a virtual DJ for driving, working, or going to the gym. Embracing automation may greatly simplify your life and work.
Do: Aim for Work-Life Balance
Don’t squander the opportunity to control your own schedule as a remote worker. With the tools listed above, you may create a routine or timetable that will allow you to reduce your work hours without sacrificing quality, providing you more time for family and friends, exercise, meditation, and meal preparation. Remote workers are well-positioned to steer their time, resources, and efforts towards a healthy work-life balance because they are not tethered to any physical workplace. Anything is doable with a little planning and a lot of automation.
Need more insights on the same? Enroll in a CAPM or PMP course online training program today!
