I've helped dozens of companies switch to an async-first work environment. This means fewer meetings and more quality work done.

When companies switch to async wrong, it slows their work. I created the Work Forward Approach to prevent this.

Here are the 8 core principles ⬇️ 1. Start with Clarity

You need a clear understanding of:

• What you're responsible for
• The priority order
• How you'll get them done
• Where you'll go to find answers when you're stuck

Everything else below will not work without this.

This issue is one of the biggest problems people run into when working remotely.

It causes stress, decision fatigue, and burnout - But it's never talked about!

Let's expose the issue and give you the tools to fix it ⬇️ We’ve spent a long time having our job choose our life — where we live, who we spend our time with, and how we work.

Switching to remote work can be exciting at first because, suddenly, we have tons of freedom.

But then the overwhelm kicks in.

I've completed 4/4 of my 2021 New Year's resolutions.

People like to hate on resolutions, but the real problem is they're choosing the wrong goals.

Here are 5 common mistakes people make when setting their goals for the New Year: 1. Choosing other people's version of success

Instead of defining success for yourself, you choose goals based on what society or other people say is successful.

Failure: You're never going to have the internal drive to achieve someone else's dream

The top 5 things every remote worker should have (but most don't) ⬇ 1. Virtual Boundaries

Virtual boundaries are even more important than physical boundaries in remote work.

You likely have a virtual boundary issue if you feel constantly distracted, unorganized, and feel a big overlap in your work and personal life.

remoteworkprep.com/blog/3-simple-…

"Set up one specific, separate place to do your work at home"

This is typically the first piece of remote work advice we get, yet it's all wrong.

Here's why following this popular advice may be making your work worse ⬇ The one workspace advice is another example of us attempting to replicate in-office work at home.

Offices weren't created to be the most effective place to work, but to fit as many workers into a space.

Why bring that home?

Working from one desk works against us for 2 reasons:

Hybrid work isn't new.

Big companies, like Yahoo, have tried it and failed at this pre-pandemic.

Instead of using history as a lesson, I haven't seen a single company going hybrid address what they're going to do differently.

Here are 3 big areas where hybrid fails: 1. Decision maker for the distributed team isn't remote

Too often, the hybrid company requires the person making remote work decisions to work in person.

If they aren't remote, they aren't experiencing the virtual environment and can't tell what's working and what's not.

What if I told you there's a work approach that allows you to:

• Have fewer meetings
• Solve your time zone issues
• Get more done uninterrupted

This is the magic of asynchronous work.

Let's break down what it is and explain how to use it 🔽 What Is Synchronous Work?

Synchronous happens in real-time. Requiring team members to be present and working on the same thing at the same moment in the same place.

Ex:
• In-person meetings
• Video/voice calls
• Messaging where you expect an immediate response

Last week I went to put in my notice at my full-time job and came out with an "entrepreneurial leave".

I'm honestly still stunned. Here's what happened: I love my FT job. Working in product is an amazing fit for me. I've worked on this specific team for 3+ years and the people are amazing.

I've spoken about why I haven't quit yet in the past (despite my own company doing well here):

https://twitter.com/mar15sa/status/1361483924757770242?s=20

Let's talk about this popular Hacker News comment from last week.

This is coming from the perspective of someone who has used working remotely to hold multiple jobs at the same time for 3+ years ⬇️ First, let me start by saying there's a lot of exaggeration going on here.

Only 2-3 hours of total effort to land a new job?
Not buying it.

Holding 10 jobs at the same time?
Definitely not buying that.

How much of your workweek is spent in meetings?

Despite juggling a Head of Product role while also running my own company on the side, I only spend about 5% of my workweek in meetings.

But it wasn't always this way. Here's how to stop wasting time in endless meetings ⬇️ Early on, I spent 80% of my workweek in meetings.

I defaulted to synchronous mode which left me in a constant reactive state. At the end of the day, I was always exhausted yet didn't feel like I had made any progress.

Both my work and mental health were suffering.

How do I know when to end my workday while working remotely?

Am I required to spend 8 uninterrupted hours in front of the computer?

Should break times be excluded?

How do I know what is "enough"?

Let's answer these questions ⬇️ In the office, peer pressure and rigid rules are used to define your actions.

You don’t arrive late or leave early because you would be judged by everyone else in the office.

In a healthy remote environment, peer pressure is close to zero and schedules are a lot more flexible.

Question the Default Challenge Day 3:

Are you waking up in the best way for your new way of work? For months after switching to remote work, I continued to use an alarm. I’m not a morning person, and being jolted awake immediately always left me cranky. Then one day, I woke up and finally decided to ask, “Why?”. There was no traffic to beat or excessive getting ready routines

Question the Default Challenge Day 2:

Are your notifications settings serving you or the tool? (*ahem* Slack) 99% of the people who come to me struggling with boundaries between their work and personal life are using the default notification settings in their work tools.

They are notified immediately with work messages at all hours of the day then wonder why they can't take a break.

Question the Default Challenge Day 1:

Is working from one desk really where you do your best work? Previously, you had a set office space to work from due to office constraints. When working remotely, you do not need to bring this way of work home with you.

Imagine how much better your back will feel if you don't sit in the same place for 8-hours straight.

"I love remote work but I miss the serendipitous moments in the office when I caught up with a coworker while getting coffee and had a breakthrough."

Okay, let's talk about this. Starting with:
Those weren't truly serendipitous moments 👇 Serendipitous moments are ones that happen by chance.

That coffee break moment happened due to structure. You're working in the same physical office as your coworker and have the same work schedule. This structure is what brought the two of you together.

Too many people are shaming others to turn on their video in virtual meetings.

Here are 3 things to keep in mind if you think this is the right approach: 1. You're making the meeting more difficult for those with bad internet:

Without video, their audio is usually fine. With video, their audio is now cutting out plus they're distracted by grainy, stunted video.

Their focus shifts from understanding to translating.

You all have asked for it. And now it's here...

A thread on my productivity and planning system:

⚠️ Warning: I juggle an excessive schedule so my planning is equally excessive. The full system probably isn't right for most people, but it's perfect for me. Okay, let's go. Step 1: Consolidate the asks

Make sure everything you need to do is in one place. The tool should be easily accessible, quick to add tasks, & have the ability to add labels and prioritize. Keep it separate from daily planning because it's overwhelming.

I currently use @todoist.

Why you SHOULDN'T move to Miami from an ex-Floridian: 1. No income tax may not mean you'll be paying less.

The government still needs to fund everything and they have to get the money from somewhere. Pay attention to sales and property tax rates. Also, lack of wealth distribution efforts puts extra pressure on the poor.

I've been tracking my emotions and a daily memory for 1,230 days in a row (over 3 years 🤯).

Here are 5 lessons learned: 1. The 1st year is the hardest

You're not yet seeing the benefits and you don't have enough data to make helpful life changes.

Once I started getting the 'On This Day' notifications, they acted as an automatic notification that also included why I was doing it. This is powerful

The best quotes from the @Oprah interview in 'How to Lead' by David M. Rubenstein:

"Your legacy is every life that you've touched. We like to think that these great, philanthropic moments are the ones that leave the impact... but it's really what you do every day." "Every now and then, somebody will say, 'Do you miss the show?' I don't miss the show. What I miss is the people, the camaraderie. What I did every day was have my own aftershow with the audience. I would talk to the audience... 30-40 minutes after every show...

The best quotes from the @richardbranson interview in 'How to Lead' by David M. Rubenstein:

"I never go into a venture with the idea of making a profit. If you can create the best in its field, generally speaking you'll find that you'll pay the bills and you'll make a profit." "My first $200 that I got to start my business - my mum found a necklace and went to the police station and handed it in, and nobody claimed it. She managed to sell it for $200. That was the critical money that helped me start."