Obviously not everybody is allowed to work remotely as some vocations require us to consistently attend their employers premises or travel to perform their work face to face. But for those of us who can or want to work remotely then I thought it would be useful to share my experiences and share some practical guidance by writing and publishing it on the Internet in the hope that I could give others valuable advice for adapting to remote working or supervising remote workers.
I would caution you that there are many so called ’experts’ on the Internet who will try and get you to buy videos for significant sums of cash, believe me you don’t need to do this.
I am lucky enough to be permitted to work anywhere I choose and just about everybody who asks me what job I do wants to know how I manage to work remotely. Don’t be fooled here I am still perfecting the art of remote working as everyday I encounter tribes online who show me new ways and I am constantly discovering new tools and processes that make my life simpler and improve my productivity.
Throughout the past seven years I have steadily adapted my working practices to allow me to do most of my work remotely with a collection of web tools and rigid self management. One late night whilst searching the web I discovered Quickbooks online and this made me think about what just might be possible. The discovery of ’hosted’ ‘on demand’ small business accounting software was a life changing event for me and the start of my ‘remote working experience.
I have to tell you up front that effectively working remotely is as much about the software as it is about self management. Working remotely also means informing your colleagues, managers and customers as to what they can expect and how they will maintain contact with you.
In ‘Remote Working Part 2 – Fundamental behaviours – Basic discipline’ I steer you through how to focus.