Three years of working remotely! 🥂 ( A summary)

Three years of working remotely! 🥂 ( A summary)

Today marks the completion of my three years of working remotely, and I must say it's not been a bed of roses. 😅

Yeah, you no longer have to give fake smiles to everyone in the office, but there is more to it.

Positives:

• Flexibility : You can define your own timings for the "personal tasks" you have.

• Saves time: You don't need to travel to the office just to sit the whole day at a desk; your home is your office.

• Work with anyone: You get a chance to work with bright minds from different parts of the world.

• More opportunities: You are not bound to opportunities in a specific region.

Negatives

• Remote work can be depressing: Nobody talks about it, but remote work can be insanely depressing at times. You don't interact with anyone in person for days, and things start getting piled up. Even I ended up depressed for months.

• Health: If you don't spend time in the gym or do physical activities before you know it, you will start facing problems like pain in your back or obesity because of extensive sitting.

• Blurred boundaries: While people usually see remote work as a work-life balance tool, I reckon it's the opposite. You have blurred boundaries between your normal life and work life. You will find yourself doing work at unusual times.

• Blockers: There can be communication and collaboration blockers at times because you are not in the office.

So, should I opt for remote work?

The answer depends on factors like opportunity, the level of your career, and the role you are going to work in.

If you are early in your career and your role requires a lot of collaboration with your colleagues, I recommend that you work for at least a few months in an office to learn collaboration, communication, and other skills.

How can I excel in remote work?

• Over-communicate: This is your key to success in remote working. You HAVE to over-communicate on tasks, requirements, and everything else with your team, in order to make sure you are well aligned with everyone.

• Health is the first priority: Make sure you are taking care of your health and sign up for a gym or any physical activity.

• Set boundaries: Create a work routine, make hard stops after a particular time, and have blockers in your calendar.

• Go to office: Yes, visit your office every now and then, from time to time, maybe once in a few months or wherever you get a chance, to say Hi on some product launch, for some project, or on a team building. Making a personal connection helps a lot in collaboration.

• Take breaks: Take breaks, go outside, take leaves, travel. Helps your mental health a lot.

I started working remotely in Covid for an opportunity that was not available where I live. I had to go through the ups and downs of it, but I learned how to survive and excel with time. ✌

I hope it helped you in some way; feel free to hit me up with any questions. :)

(Pic: Throwback to the day when I started my remote job at Apify)