10 Powerful Productivity Tips for Remote Workers — The Remote Nomad®

As a digital nomad, you’ve escaped the 9-5 grind and being underneath the watchful eye of your boss. You now have full freedom and autonomy over your day. This may take some adjusting, nevertheless, these productiveness ideas will provide help to study to regulate and work smarter, not tougher.

These productiveness hacks are crucial for digital nomads, particularly these simply beginning out. Earlier than escaping the 9-5, most individuals had been used to a conventional manner of working. This meant a piece surroundings of workplace politics, individuals at all times peering over your shoulder as you’re employed, and paying shut consideration to if you clock in at work. Nonetheless, when you go distant, it’s like graduating from being a toddler to an actual grownup. Abruptly your employer trusts you to get your work carried out. It doesn’t matter the place you’re employed, if you work, or how you’re employed, all that issues is that the work will get carried out and that it provides worth.

Whether or not you’re new to the digital nomad way of life of working remotely, otherwise you’re a seasoned digital nomad trying to improve your productiveness these 10 highly effective productiveness ideas will guarantee you will get extra carried out in much less time.

Get a Good Night time’s Sleep for Optimum Productiveness

Who would have thought a publish on how one can be productive would inform you to sleep. Nonetheless, sleep and feeling rested would be the single most necessary consider growing your productiveness. Sleep has such a big impression on our cognitive efficiency. 

There are some mornings the place I’m actually drained. I don’t have to start out work by a sure time however I normally purpose for 9 am as I dedicate about 1 – 1.5 hours for my morning routine. Nonetheless, if I’m actually drained on a selected day, it’s extra environment friendly for me to sleep an additional hour then attempt to get up and get work carried out. Let’s contemplate each choices:

Possibility 1. Drained and Unproductive.

If I’m drained, I’m going to strive and get work carried out. Nonetheless, the fact is that I’ll painfully sit in entrance of my laptop, eyes glazed over and nothing will get carried out all day. After I’m drained I’m not as inventive, my decision-making capacity is negatively impacted, and it’s arduous to focus. It’s apparent the detrimental impression tiredness can have on our productiveness.

With this selection, I may anticipate 4 hours’ value of labor to take 8 hours (hypothetically)

Possibility 2. Rested and Productive

If I’m rested, I’m alert, inventive, and productive. With this selection, I may get 8 hours of labor carried out in 4 hours (hypothetically). Which means, I can take the remainder of the day without work to get pleasure from it.

Not solely can we see the significance of getting a very good sleep however we are able to additionally see why typically it might be worthwhile to sleep that further hour if it means it would prevent 4 hours value of productiveness.

Create a Highly effective Morning Routine  

The primary half-hour of our day can have a profound impression on how the remainder of our day goes. I do know this from first-hand expertise. A strong morning routine is an entire game-changer, and other than sleep, the perfect productiveness hack.

The purpose of a morning routine is to calm your thoughts (as an alternative of instantly consider all of the issues it’s essential do), get in a optimistic way of thinking, then begin your day. This might embody doing any of the next:

• Meditate

• Learn

• Write what you’re grateful for

• Write the way you need to “present up” immediately . Ie centered, centered, aware, calm, and so on

• In the event you’re woo woo like me then clear the power in your house with sage or palo santo. 

• Use a lavender important oil curler or diffuser to help a relaxed state

• Stretch

Even simply spending 5 minutes on a couple of totally different duties can have a big impact on how you are feeling all through the day. Give it a attempt to let me know what you assume within the feedback beneath and even share within the feedback what your morning routine entails. I’d love to listen to from you.

Batch Duties to Preserve a Movement State

Have you ever ever tried to do 3 issues without delay? You bounce from one factor to a different. Then swiftly an hour goes by and also you understand you’ve simply spent most of your time leaping round and nothing has actually received achieved.

The problem with leaping round between totally different duties is you can by no means actually get into that “circulation” state and meaning your duties will take even longer to finish.

As a substitute, strive batching duties. Batching duties is if you full a collection of duties altogether, or in a “batch” as an alternative of individually.

For instance, if you happen to’re a social media supervisor, you could possibly write all your social media posts for the month without delay, as an alternative of attempting to write down a brand new publish each single day. This manner you will get in circulation with the social media posts and full the duty in much less time.

Ask your self, “What duties may I batch collectively?”

Create Day by day Themes

A spin-off of batching duties is to create “day by day themes”. If in case you have the power, you’ll be able to attempt to plan your day by day themes in order that at some point of your week is devoted to calls with the crew/purchasers, one other day is devoted to admin duties, one other day is devoted to inventive duties and so on.

The facility in creating day by day themes is that each day of the week you realize what to anticipate/anticipate and you will get in that circulation state. This lets you get extra carried out in much less time.

Have Just one Activity on Your To-Do Record

Oftentimes, individuals will create an extended to-do record for the day and instantly gravitate in direction of finishing the enjoyable or “straightforward” duties first. Nonetheless, the tip of the day rolls round and that necessary and maybe tougher job continues to be not full. The stress begins to rise after which it’s a scramble in opposition to the clock to fulfill your deadline. 

As a substitute of making an enormous to-do record, strive the “one merchandise to-do record”.

Earlier than you begin your workday write down the only most necessary duties that it’s essential accomplish that day. In the event you need assistance deciding, it needs to be the duty that can drive most outcomes. Don’t permit your self to work on the rest till it’s full. Trace: The duty you need to be specializing in is normally not the “enjoyable” duties.

As soon as the only necessary job is full then you’ll be able to deal with different duties.

The up-side to the “one merchandise job record” is that by getting it carried out within the morning you don’t should attempt to survive that 3pm slow-down and a difficult job on the similar time. We additionally know that the “enjoyable” duties give us a bit of power enhance, which might be good to have round that 3pm lull. This strategy helps steadiness and handle your power all through the day.

Create a ‘Executed’ Record (The Anti-To-Do Record)

Oftentimes, individuals will begin their workday by writing down a listing of prolonged duties. This may really feel overwhelming and if you fall brief, chances are you’ll fixate on is what didn’t get carried out.

As a substitute, I recommend utilizing an “anti-to-do record”.

As a substitute of writing down every part that should get carried out, begin with a clean web page and as you begin to accomplish duties, write down what you’re engaging in. This strategy will nonetheless encourage you to get stuff carried out since you’ll be capable of see your rising record of accomplished duties all through the day. Then, when you come to the tip of the day, as an alternative of specializing in all your shortcomings, you’ll be able to see every part that you simply received achieved.

Work WHEN and WHERE You Work Greatest

One other problem that new digital nomads particularly face is that though they now have the liberty to work when and the place they need, they nonetheless have this stress to work Monday by means of Friday between the hours of 9 am – 5 pm.

Nonetheless, being a digital nomad and distant employee means you’ll be able to embrace your personal distinctive working fashion. For instance, if you happen to’re an evening individual, embrace that and work nights. The identical applies to the place you’re employed too. In the event you desire working in a restaurant as an alternative of a coworking house, then try this. As a digital nomad, that is now your time to stay life in your phrases. After all, if you work could rely in your distant employer, nevertheless, since most distributed groups have workers throughout the globe this shouldn’t be an excessive amount of of a problem.

Personally, after I did full-time on-line advertising and marketing for a distributed crew, we had been capable of choose our hours. Nonetheless, we did have 2-3 hours of the day the place we had been all required to be on-line on the similar time in order that our hours would overlap. The aim of this was in order that we knew throughout these hours that everybody would all be out there for any calls or communication that should be had. Then the remainder of the time we went off and centered on getting our work carried out. 

You additionally need to kind out the place you’re employed greatest. Keep in mind, as a digital nomad you’ve got loads of choices. It could possibly be from one of many prime 8 coworking areas on the planet, a cute cafe down the highway, and even working from dwelling. GHet on the market and take a look at what works greatest for you. Who is aware of, a coworking house could possibly be an incredible enhance of inspiration and an effective way to attach with a neighborhood of like-minded individuals.

How to determine WHERE you’re employed greatest

In the case of studying the place you’re employed greatest, give your self some flexibility to study with out being too arduous on your self. For instance, I got here to study that I work greatest from two places a day. By doing so, it’ provides me an opportunity to have a break. I additionally discover that after I get began at my second location I really feel extra motivated as a result of it appears like I’m beginning my workday once more. I additionally desire to be surrounded by different people who find themselves additionally working on-line, as a result of it helps me really feel like I’m not alone. Nonetheless, if you happen to desire to do business from home with nobody round you, then embrace that. 

This course of will take a little bit of trial and error. Right here’s how one can strategy it:

• Brainstorm a bunch of locations the place you’ll work (coworking areas, cafes, dwelling and so on)

• Attempt a brand new location from the record every day

• After every expertise mirror on “how did that really feel?”

• If it felt good, then try this extra of that and if it didn’t really feel good or left you feeling harassed, then do much less of that

How to determine when you’re employed greatest

You possibly can apply the identical rules I discussed above when figuring out when you’re employed greatest. Brainstorm a couple of choices, strive them out, then mirror on the way it felt. It felt good, then that’s when it is best to work, and if it made you are feeling “off” or traumatic then don’t work throughout that point once more.

Everyone seems to be totally different.

Some individuals desire silence. Some individuals like background noise.
Some individuals like working within the mornings. Some individuals desire working within the evenings.
Some individuals like working with numerous individuals round. Some individuals desire working alone.

The great a part of being a digital nomad is you can now work when and the way you’re employed greatest. Your schedule is not dictated by some obscure social 9-5 assemble.

Tip: Tiredness is an indication of dehydration. In the event you’re feeling drained all through the day, be sure you’re consuming sufficient water.

Eradicate Distractions by Placing your Telephone on Do Not Disturb

Everyone knows by now how distracting our gadgets may be. Make sure to flip your telephone on don’t disturb. If that doesn’t give you the results you want, you can even:

Tips on how to be practical with this strategy

This can be a arduous behavior to interrupt so chances are you’ll need to do “chilly turkey” or progressively lead as much as this. For instance, begin by conserving your telephone on don’t disturb within the mornings then when you’ve received snug with that, then put it on don’t disturb throughout the afternoon as properly. Alternatively, you begin with 1 hour on don’t disturb then every day you’ll be able to add one other hour to it.

Take Breaks to Increase Your Vitality

There’s working arduous after which there’s working good. To work good means understanding how one can handle your power. Naturally, as extra time passes all through the day after we’re working, the much less productive we turn into. That’s simply the science and nature of being a human. Nonetheless, we are able to mitigate how briskly and steep that decline in productiveness is. To enhance your power and productiveness, it’s necessary to take frequent breaks. You possibly can go for a fast stroll, learn 3 pages in a guide or simply sit there and focus in your respiratory. 

In the event you hearken to your physique and provides it what it wants, you’ll be extra productive. 

Now, how incessantly and for the way lengthy it is best to take a break is up for debate. 

• Robert Pozen suggests, after 75 to 90 minutes of labor to take a 15-minute break.

• One other suggests after 52-minutes of labor take a 17-minute break

• The Pomodoro approach suggests ts after 25 minutes of labor to take a 5-minute break.
  Source: Fast Company

I recommend you experiment with every approach and decide what works greatest for you. Nonetheless, working smarter and never tougher isn’t nearly taking breaks…

Streamline, Automate and Create a systemized course of for repetitive duties 

The most important time-waster is “re-inventing the wheel” each time it’s essential full a job. All the time ask your self, “How can I enhance this course of or make it extra environment friendly?” 

Possibly you end up writing an electronic mail that addresses the identical factor time and again. For instance, perhaps new purchasers typically have the identical questions and each time you deliver a brand new one on you end up having to re-write this enormous lengthy electronic mail. As a substitute of spending half-hour to draft the e-mail throughout once more, used canned responses in Gmail. This basically permits you to create an electronic mail template you can simply insert than replace any data as wanted.

One other query to ask your self is, “Is there a web-based instrument on the market that may assist automate this course of?”

For instance, if you happen to’re attempting to choose a time for shopper calls and end up spending numerous time emailing forwards and backwards attempting to coordinate a time, perhaps you simply arrange a hyperlink on Calendly or ScheduleOnce that enables purchasers to choose a time primarily based in your availability after which it would routinely guide it into each of your calendars.

Once more, it’s about working smarter, not tougher to be extra productive.

And eventually, contemplate, “Is there something that wants a systemized course of?”

For instance, if you happen to’re taking a brand new shopper by means of how one can replace their web site that you simply created, as an alternative of getting on a name with them for an hour each time, perhaps you create a coaching video you can share with purchasers. This systemized course of will prevent a ton of time.

Leverage the ability of expertise with automation, use templates when you’ll be able to and systemize totally different repetitive duties to avoid wasting you time.

Full an Finish of Day Reflection

The one manner we are able to proceed to enhance our productiveness is with consciousness. On the finish of every day mirror on:

All of us work in another way however this finish of day reflection will provide help to uncover how you’re employed greatest. 

Totally disconnect when you’re carried out for the day

An necessary a part of being productive is totally immersing your self within the job at hand. Which means singular focus and never the “one foot in a single foot out” strategy. So, when you’re carried out work for the day totally disconnect. 

Don’t test work emails. Don’t take into consideration work.

That is crucial for digital nomads.

Oftentimes when somebody is beginning to work remotely for his or her very first time there will probably be this sense that they should be working on a regular basis. 

Your thoughts wants time to relaxation and recharge to remain productive so it’s necessary you disconnect totally from work when you’ve completed. In any case, the perfect perk of this digital nomad way of life is with the ability to discover totally different international locations around the globe – so don’t miss out on that. 

In the event you’re good at counting chances are you’ll understand that we’re over 10 highly effective productiveness hacks by now, however that’s OK. Since we simply lined loads, right here’s a fast abstract on how one can improve your productiveness as a digital nomad and distant employee:

1. Get a very good nights sleep 

2. Create a strong morning routine  

3. Batch duties

4. Create day by day themes

5. Solely have one merchandise in your to-do record (make this the very best impression job)

6. Create a “carried out” record (relatively the anti-to-do record)

7. Work when and the place you’re employed greatest

8. Eradicate distractions by placing your telephone on don’t disturb (Once more chances are you’ll use a progressive strategy to construct as much as this)

9. Take breaks to handle your power

10. Streamline, sutomate and create a systemized course of for repetitive duties 

11. Full an finish of day reflection to deliver consciousness to the way you’re doing along with your productiveness

12. Totally disconnect when you’re carried out for the day