For a while now, you’ve been thinking that you’d like to telecommute, but you weren’t sure if working from home was the right option for you. However, right now, you and nearly everyone classified as working in non-essential businesses are forced to work from home. You’re getting the opportunity to experience remote work for an indeterminate period of time.
Organizations around the globe have to reimagine work during a period of isolation. And employees have to adjust to new work realities. Remote work is one of the new realities for many businesses. Many experts are dispensing great advice on how to productively work from home. Although I’ve been working for myself for over 20 years, what I’m going to talk about are the things you can do to stand out during trying times.
Keep in mind that things will never return to how they were. The good old days or not so good old days are gone forever. Though it feels like life is out of control, and that the world is coming to a halt, there are things you can do to insulate yourself from the fallout. Below are several things you can do to position yourself, so you emerge from this chaos, a much stronger person.
Maintaining Visibility When You Work Remotely
Before I delve into the core things I want to discuss in this article. I want to say that it’s important that you maintain visibility. So you don’t lose out on securing coveted projects or miss out on promotion opportunities.
- Bosses are having weekly meetings with staff via video conferencing. Wherever possible, try to schedule one-to-one weekly meetings with your boss. When in the office you can probably drop into your manager's office. With remote work, you have to make it happen.
- Be seen as a problem solver. Ask your boss questions. That’s where the next big idea will likely emerge. Discuss ways that the business can cut costs, and improve processes. Prove your value to the company. This ensures that you’re top-of-mind.
- Instead of only speaking on the telephone, have video chats where you can do mini-presentations. Highlight ideas to help the business ride through difficult times.
- While working remotely, after you successfully complete an important project, email influencers and people of power in the organization to let them know. Suggest what you think should happen next. Take the initiative.
- People are feeling stressed about being forced to work from home. Therefore, find opportunities to send inspiring messages to uplift everyone.
Remote: Office Not Required
Work Together AnywhereInfluencing Virtual TeamsThe Art of Working Remotely
Remote Work: How Do You Use Your Commute Time Now That You Don’t Have to Travel
For your peace of mind, limit the amount of time you spend watching the news. Take every precaution necessary to stay healthy. But that doesn’t mean you need to have the news running in the background while you’re working from home. In fact, why not listen to a binaural beats audio while you’re working. The audio will help you to focus while working.
Now that you don’t have to commute to work, use that time as your learning time. But instead of jumping in head first, be strategic about it. Think about the health of your career. What kind of learning will serve you best after the crisis has passed.
- What’s the next role you’d like in the company?
- How can you prepare yourself for the role? What skills are needed that you don’t yet have?
- Focus on the company’s strategic priorities for the next 18 months?
- Figure out the skills that are needed to help the company achieve the priorities.
- What are some things that you’ve always wanted to learn?
You now know the skills you need to learn to future proof yourself. Where do you find free or nearly free online resources?
Remote Work: Online Learning Resources to Build Workplace Skills
For professionals reading this article who do not know me, I’m a big advocate of lifelong learning. I’m not only an advocate, but I practice what I preach. For close to a year, every morning, I was in front of my computer taking courses to get a non-degree liberal arts education. Later in the day I was reading books. I’m qualified to offer advice in this area.
A good place to start looking for free online courses is at Open Culture. On the Menu Bar, you can select Online Courses or MOOCS. Both options lead you to free courses. Let’s say that you chose Online Courses from the menu option, scroll down to the discipline you’re interested in, then decide which courses you’d like to take. Additionally, spend some time navigating the website. You’ll be surprised by the many treasures you’ll discover.
A word of advice, stick to learning the skills you identified above. When I was taking courses daily, I was taking courses that were of interest to me. Initially, it didn’t occur to me that some of the courses should be ones to grow my business, to help me become better at my craft. The light bulb came on and I started to take some writing courses. Please learn from my experience. You’re going through this process to place yourself in a position of strength after the forced isolation.
A lesser known learning website, that’s a great resource is Saylor.org. Also, mix in some lectures with taking courses. The first choice for most people would be TEDTalks. TEDTalks are great, but I’d like you to try something a little different. The Crawley Great Lives Lecture Series is a great option. The live events have been cancelled, but you’ll be able to find many lectures digging through the archives.
Why lectures? Based on my experience having attended lectures and taking courses, my worldview broadened. I also found that I got more ideas that I could use. Wouldn’t it be great if you had access to a pool of ideas?
After you’ve browsed Open Culture and Saylor.org, choose the courses and lectures that you’d like to take. Additionally, prioritize them in the order you’d like to learn the skills.
Remote Work: Create a Personal Learning Environment to Keep Track of Online Courses
This is something that you may not have thought of doing. However, it makes it easier to access the courses that you’d like to take. The personal knowledge management system that I use is Symbaloo. Here’s what it looks like when you go to the website.
To customize it, right click on each tile to edit it, replace what’s there with the link to the course you want to take. It’s very easy to set-up. Add all your courses there. This is what I did years ago. I found it so handy and didn’t have to be hunting for the link to the course. Right now, I’m choosing new courses to take that will complement the books that I’m reading.
Working Remotely: Carving Out the Time to Learn and Build Skills During Isolation
It’s important to schedule your learning time. Your best option is to use your commute time. Because I work for myself, when I was consistently taking courses every day a few years ago, my learning time was 6:30 am to 8:30 am. Later in the day I read books.
What schedule would work best for you? If you have young children, you’ll have to add that to the mix. After you’ve figured out a schedule that works for your reality, stick to it as closely as possible. You’ll be amazed by how much you can learn when you have a structure in place.
Remember to take detailed notes and write what you’re learning in your own words. It’s when you’re reviewing your notes that you find the ideas and are able to connect the dots. The gold mine is in the ideas you get from the courses you take and the lectures you listen to. And the ideas are better when you combine them across multiple disciplines.
Tip: When you’re taking video courses or watching lectures, you can change the speed at which the video plays. Some people speed the videos twice the playback speed. Check to see what speed works for you. If you double the playback speed, it will sound very weird. But after a while, you’ll get accustomed to the sound.
Working Remotely: Building Career Skills the World Economic Forum Says You Need to Thrive
For those of you who prefer reading books as their primary way of learning, I have two programs for you. The first program is the Performance Accelerator Plan. It’s designed to help you to develop cultural awareness as well as learn the skills the World Economic Forum says you need to succeed.
You’ll get weekly emails instructing you the kind of book to read that week. There are many resources and e-books that come with the program. For instance, you’ll get tips sheets to teach you how to digest the average nonfiction book in 30 to 60 minutes and how to analyze informational texts.
Another program I finished creating this week is DIY: Become More Marketable, Learn Skills You Need in 2020 to 2022. What I’ve done is included resources from my core programs, so you can create a program for yourself. This will only work for you if you’re a self-directed learner. It’s for professionals who can work autonomously. If you’re not that kind of person DON”T buy it.
Remote Work: How to Stand Out When You’re Forced to Work from Home: Actions to Take Now
Join the Performance Accelerator Plan.
Get the Do-it-Yourself Package to Learn the Skills.
How Avil Can Help You!
I invite you to Join the Performance Accelerator Plan that walks you through the process and more. You’ll be reading books to build skills and develop intercultural awareness. Get more reading and learning tips here. And I also invite you to join Read a Book, Solve a Problem Facebook Group. I’m building a tribe of people who want to use the knowledge gained from books to tackle some of the world’s biggest problems.
In December 2020, I published two books on Amazon. I would greatly appreciate your support if you bought my two short e-books Read 30 Books in 30 Days Like Francis Bacon and Performance Accelerator Plan: Guide to Learning and Mastering Key Skills for the Future.
Read 30 Books in 30 Days Like Francis Bacon is not about speed reading. It’s about approaching every book differently and reading only the sections that align with your purpose.
The Performance Accelerator Plan book is a stripped-down version of the paid reading challenge of the same name. Obviously, you won’t get all the resources that come with the program that I sell on my website. But if you are a self-directed learner, it will help you tremendously.
Note: There are several Amazon affiliate links on this page. That means if you click on Amazon and buy something the organization will pay me a small commission.
