Bright lights, big city and a jam packed social calendar…Yes Please. Those few words used to be synonymous with happiness for me. Until they weren’t. Several years of living what many would call a fabulous life left me feeling lonely, depleted and depressed. I had it all -- a great career as a real estate attorney in a midsized law firm with colleagues I actually liked to see every day; a group of intelligent, diverse, wonderfully generous women and men I called friends; and a city with limitless cultural and dining opportunities. And yet, with all this abundance, I had run myself into the ground from too many social engagements, long hours in a high rise office that found me gazing out the window wondering whether there was something else, and too much indulging as I wined and dined my stress away. After a few years of this restless discontent, I chose to do something about it. I quit being a lawyer, I quit being busy and I quit living in a big city. I chose Costa Rica and I found peace and stillness and space to relax, dream and, surprisingly after one year … embrace being a lawyer again - REMOTELY. I am truly living the dream. But it is not all sunshine and beach chairs and without its challenges. Trying to focus on reviewing a lease while drinking a mojito poolside in the Caribbean is not working remotely. I tried. Through some trial and error I have found how working remotely works for me and perhaps might work for you. Here are my top 10 recommendations for successfully navigating how working remotely can work for you:
1. BE AVAILABLE
Although you are not in the office, everyone else is and when they need you, you need to be available. This doesn’t mean you must say yes to every assignment. Be honest and clear about your availability. I send an email to my department head providing my availability weekly and sometimes daily. This includes any unavailability that would prevent me from quickly responding to calls or emails or delivering time sensitive assignments. I recently opted to end a trip early to ensure my availability. I was in Guatemala and the plan was to bus through El Salvador and Nicaragua. Well traveling by bus for several hours with no phone or access to computer says to your boss – when it’s convenient for me to work I will connect. This wasn’t the message I wanted to send. So instead, I bypassed those countries and hopped on a flight to Costa Rica, checked in immediately …and received an assignment that night.
2. HAVE RELIABLE AND FAST WIFI
This is non-negotiable. If you cannot access emails or your work systems, you cannot work. Period. I work hourly so trying to draft a document and the power keeps going off or the speed is reminiscent of dial up interferes with my productivity and does not accurately reflect what I should be charging a client. In this situations I actually write off my time to account for this loss. Wherever you choose to call
10 WAYS
TO MAKE WORKING REMOTELY
WORK FOR
YOU
By Michele Clauss