A few remote working tips from twenty experts with 100+ years experience working remotely

👇🧵
🪑get a great chair and desk

An ergonomic chair and an electric sit + stand desk are essential

Nobody wants back pain and it’s impossible to do great work for a long time without them
🗣understand async working

Asynchronous work is the super power of remote work. It empowers everyone to do deep focussed work without distractions

This allows you to maximize the benefits of remote, have more control over living, and do the best work you have ever produced
✍️always over-communicate

Ensuring everyone knows what is happening and where things stand takes concentrated effort remotely

Over communicating helps keep everyone on the page
🆘ask for help regularly

Not being able to turn around and ask for advice or feedback from a teammate like you would in office often stops new remote workers doing it

Ping a team mate any time you need something, especially if there is no documentation that solves your problem
🥗go to lunch with people

I regularly go out for lunch with friends, family and colleagues

Social time is critical, we are social animals, and doing remote work right means you get far more of it and far more that is higher quality as well
🏃‍♂️pick up an active hobby

Get out, keep fit and healthy, and get some fresh air

Nothing enables you to break away from the grind of work more than planned daily excercise
✈️travel as much as you can

You’re no longer handcuffed to an office in a fixed location so take advantage of it

Working holidays where I continue to produce what is expected while also vacationing are priceless
💻have a great work setup

Being as safe, comfortable and productive at home as in an office means you need the same tools and equipment

Get a good keyboard + monitor and setup at the proper heights to prevent neck, arm and back pain
⏰learn when to finish the day

Work is never done as there is always something else to do

Build a habit that marks the end of the work day, even if it’s as simple as closing the laptop lid when you’re done
❤️more time for family & friends

Remote work allows you to spend more time with the people you care about most

Take advantage of it and improve your quality of life
🎧get a noise-cancelling headset

Critical when working in areas where you have no control over the surrounding environment like a coffee shop

Allows anywhere to be your ‘office’
🗓️block off time in your calendar

Use your calendar to schedule your day – and then be ruthless in defending those blocks of time

Lunch, deep work, excercise, etc. all have a place and treat them the same way you do other events: don’t cancel them
⚡️tave a ‘transition’ activity

For me, my work day starts when I put my shoes on. Others start their day with a 10-15 minute walk in their neighborhood

Find what works for you
✍️document everything you do

Documentation is another super power of remote teams. It ensures knowledge is always growing inside companies instead of getting lost when people leave

Make it shareable + accessible! This lets other people get value as well
🚧separate work & living space

It’s important to acknowledge the privilege in this, not everyone is fortunate to have it

At times in my life when I wasn’t, I split spaces psychologically, i.e. a rug on the floor in my room

Using a ‘third space’ is also key like coffee shops
🚶‍♂️take walking meetings

Every meeting doesn’t have to be a Zoom call. Get out and go for a walk while you chat

Walking meetings are the best way to do this
🎥only attend essential meetings

The best remote teams I’ve ever known never feel the need to attend a meeting just because it’s scheduled

This is something more companies should adopt
👯‍♂️still see your colleagues

Working remotely does not mean you never see your team mates!

Find time to meet up on a cadence that enables you to have the best possible communication and collaboration

We often see remote teams having far better relationships than office teams
🏝remember to take breaks

Not getting enough work done isn’t a concern – remote workers are far more productive – burning out is the real problem

Well-being and mental health are incredibly important. Make sure you take regular breaks and vacations that improve them
😃always assume positive intent

The most important thing

Tone and nuance are almost impossible to pick up all the time in written communication

Always assume positive intent when reading messages and jump on a quick call if you are unclear on anything
Want a great hybrid or remote work experience for you or your team?

FirstbaseHQ.com

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More from @chris_herd

7 May
Heard this from 100+ people:

1️⃣Company surveys team on how much remote work they want

2️⃣60%+ want remote 4+ days a week, 95% want 3+ days

3️⃣Company says they will allow remote 1-2 days a week

4️⃣Company SHOCKED by anger

Media won’t report this!

[ a thread ] 🧵
🚀Emotional rollercoaster: Companies response usually looks this:

😧why is this happening?
😔we’ve had offices for decades
🤯why do they not like them now?
🤬THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY WANT!

They think they know better!
🎡Hyper Turnover: We’re about to live through the highest period of turnover in history between companies

People will optimize for the work situation that gives them the highest quality of life

Companies hiring remotely will dominate the next decade as a result
Read 21 tweets
4 May
Bill Gates believes 100M+ workers will work remotely after Covid

A few things companies must get right to succeed

[ a thread ] 💻🏠🌏
😴 Prevent Burnout: The pandemic has shown remote work works. The lack of boundaries has caused burnout

Many companies are implementing wellness days where their teams get an unplanned day off once every 1-2 months
🎳 Collaboration: Not being able to get around a whiteboard is something companies worry about

Many are using tools virtual tools to overcome this and find they can do almost everything they did in the office

Many things are actually improved
Read 22 tweets
30 Apr
I've spoken to 1,500+ people about remote work in the last 6 months

In that time we've raised $15M to build Firstbase

A few predictions of what is likely to emerge before 2025

[ a thread ] 💻🏠🌏
🚜 Rural Living: World-class people will move to smaller cities, have a lower cost of living & higher quality of life

These regions must innovate quickly to attract that wealth. Better schools, faster internet connections are a must
⏰ Asynchronous Work: Offices are instantaneous gratification distraction factories where synchronous work makes it impossible to get stuff done

Tools that enable asynchronous work are the most important thing globally remote teams need. A lot of startups will try to tackle this
Read 22 tweets
29 Apr
Some news: @FirstbaseHQ has raised a $13m Series A led by @a16z

In the last year, 11,000+ companies with 20m+ employees signed up to learn how we can help them set up, support, and scale their remote team globally

A few reasons why this is so important

[ a thread ] 💻🏠🌍
❤️Why Remote: I missed my daughter walking, laughing & talking for the first time. Almost everyone who's worked in an office has a similar story

Remote meant a higher quality of life. More time to do the things that make me happiest

While continuing to do meaningful work
🌱Founding Story: Me and @TreyBastian, founded a FinTech startup initially. It had to be remote because of the above and also it was the only way we knew we could find, attract and retain great talent

As we built a remote team we immediately began encountering challenges
Read 17 tweets
18 Apr
Over the last 12 months, my tweets on remote work have had 80,000,000+ impressions

Here are my learnings, predictions & advice

[ a thread ] 💻🏠🌍
📚 The 21 most important lessons talking to 2,500 companies in the last 12 months taught me

👇
🏢 HQ’s are finished: companies will cut their commercial office space by 50-70%

The will allow every worker to work from home 2-4 days a week, and come into the office 1-2 days a week
Read 45 tweets
13 Apr
20 things remote companies must get right

[ a thread ] 💻🏠🌍
😴 Prevent Burnout: The pandemic has shown remote work works.The lack of boundaries has caused burnout

Many companies are implementing wellness days where their teams get an unplanned day off once every 1-2 months
🎳 Collaboration: Not being able to get around a whiteboard is something companies worry about

Many are using tools like @MURAL to overcome this and finding they can do almost everything they did in the office
Read 22 tweets

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