Productivity Tips for Remote Workers

Nov 12, 2016 Irene Bower

In the past year, I’ve lived and worked in 18 different cities around the world. At first, I was wary of remote working. Would I remain productive? Can I actually collaborate with my coworkers halfway around the world? The answer to all of those questions is assuredly yes, and now I consider myself lucky to be a part of the remote workforce.

Now that 4G and WiFi are nearly everywhere, I can work from wherever I please without any real fear of being unable to connect online with my team, and as long as I keep my team updated with my location and attend my weekly meetings, there’s no problem. Companies like FMATLabs have taken this mindset to heart and have built their entire culture around being a company full of remote employees. However, remote work is hard. I found that some things are simply easier when you’re in an office than when you’re out of it because I took for granted a lot of the office infrastructure that helps simplify so many tasks.

Over time, I discovered all kinds of tools that helped me automate those mundane tasks and kept me focused on the work I actually needed to do. If you’re a remote worker, here are 4 productivity tips that I found helped me automate my daily work life.

1. Streamline security measures

If you work remotely, you’ll inevitably deal with sensitive information or have to login to secure servers, but you won’t necessarily have access to the same security measures that you would in the office. You’ll need strong passwords to protect your client’s information, but keeping track of all those different passwords is time-consuming and will drain your energy. Rather than brainstorm new passwords, track down the one you forgot, and even typing it in, use 1Password. This tool generates random passwords for you and stores them in its app. 1Password will automatically log you in to all of your accounts, and you’ll only ever need to remember one password (your password to log into 1Password) to use it.

2. Take care of your eyes

It’s easy to forget that you’re staring at a computer screen all day when you’re working alone. Do your eyes a favor and download f.lux. The software will automatically adjust your computer screen’s brightness, depending on the time of day, and ease unnecessary strain on your eyes. Not only will this reduce your risk for headaches and allow you to work longer uninterrupted, but f.lux’s technology can also help you sleep better at night too by not exposing your eyes to too much light when you watch that episode of TV in bed at the end of the day (the doctors say you shouldn’t watch TV in bed either, but I won’t tell if you don’t). Often, remote workers use the same computer for work and for pleasure, so make sure you look after your health when it comes to using technology.

3. Use the cloud to collaborate

There will come a time when your computer crashes or you need to collaborate with a coworker in another part of the world, and cloud storage is a life-saver in both situations. I prefer Google Docs because it saves my work to the cloud automatically as soon as changes are made to the document. Plus, Google Docs lets different users work on the same document simultaneously, simplifying and speeding up the collaboration process. Without an office setting, Google Docs provides the second best option of collaborating with your coworkers, letting you swap ideas in seconds and speeding up your workflow.

4. Simplify scheduling

Nothing is more frustrating than back-and-forth emails trying to set up a time for a meeting. It’s slow, inefficient, and distracting from any number of productive tasks you could be working on. An app like Calendly eliminates this process with its easy scheduling interface. Users set up their schedule on the app and create different meeting types and lengths that guests can choose from. The app syncs with your calendar, so as your calendar fills up, those times will disappear. When you want to schedule a meeting with someone, just send them the link to your Calendly, and they can pick a time that suits them when you’re available. Calendly then sends an email confirmation to both you and the guest and automatically updates your calendar with the new meeting. Scheduling has never been easier for remote workers.