As a remote employee, you deal with obstacles when it comes to communication and collaboration that in-office employees don’t face. Most common remote work challenges are easy to solve. Act quickly; if you wait until a problem becomes severe, you will have a harder time solving it.
Burnout Is Real
Burnout is a real concern for remote workers. The nature of working from home can leave you feeling unproductive and disconnected from the rest of the world. It’s important to remember that your feelings are valid.
Executives deal with additional challenges and should ensure that there is a balance between work and life outside of work. If you feel like all your time is spent working, it’s time to take a break. Schedule gym time or invite a friend out to a happy hour and leave your work for another time.
Reach Out
It can be difficult to know which resources are available when you’re struggling. Sometimes the solution is as simple as reaching out to a coworker or manager for help. If you’re struggling with something, reach out to someone who’s been through that experience before and see if they can offer advice or at least give you some perspective on what could be causing the issue.
Take Breaks
One of the most common remote work challenges is taking breaks or not knowing when you need to take a break. When you’re working remotely, you can easily lose track of time and work for hours without realizing it. It’s important to make sure that you take regular breaks so you don’t get tired or stressed out from working too long at once.
There are many ways to take breaks. Here are some of the best practices:
- Go out for lunch
- Build in buffers between tasks
- Don’t schedule back-to-back meetings
- Take short walks outside
Find Your Creative Space
The ideal space for a remote worker is somewhere that isn’t too distracting. You want to find a quiet area where you won’t be tempted to chat and you can take calls without distractions. Surround yourself with things that make you comfortable. Add a blanket or diffuser and make the space your own, just like you did in the office, even if it is just a corner in your living room.
Establish Your Boundaries and Routines
Establishing boundaries is an important part of succeeding as a remote worker. You need to be able to separate your work life from your home life and not let one leak into the other. This means that you should have a routine for when you start working, when you end, what time of day you work best, and how long your breaks are. It can also mean setting aside focus times where no one will interrupt you.
Track Your Time
The final remote work challenge to solve is tracking your time. The trick is to find a method that doesn’t add pressure. Your company may introduce software that allows you to clock in and out remotely, but if they require additional tracking or if you want to audit your daily time on tasks, a timer app will do. You can time individual tasks, your daily breaks, or your total time per day.
Remote work can be rewarding and is a great option if you can overcome the common challenges of remote work by staying positive and proactive.
