According to Christine Ro at BBC, "A survey in May showed that 55% of US workers want a mixture of home and office working. In the UK, employers expect the proportion of regular home workers to double, from 18% pre-pandemic to 37% post-pandemic. In China, employment expert Alicia Tung has predicted that in 10 years’ time, there will be a 60/40 split of onsite/remote work."

 Below, you'll find some tips and advice for continuing to work from here, there, and everywhere.

1. Work when you are truly able to focus

One distinct advantage that remote work has over on-site work is the extreme flexibility that comes with no big brother/sister looking over your shoulder to monitor your productivity. You do not have to lock yourself into a specific 9-5 routine and you shouldn't! Take advantage of using the times of day when you naturally feel most focused and gravitate toward being productive. If you flourish immediately after morning coffee at 7am then, by all means, start laying bricks! If you're a nocturnal creature whose best ideas sprout after the sun is well down then find the groove late and make those hours a part of your work day. 

It's easy to get into a state of deep work and lose ourselves in the rapidly passing hours. This "zone" is also referred to as a state of flow and is the headspace that typically allows us to get the most work completed. However, when we spend too much time in a state of flow or deep work we move into a "feast or famine" workflow once we hit the burnout point. This is why it's important to take lots of small breaks during the day to keep our energy supply in good standing. When you notice a feeling of being overwhelmed, give yourself permission to take a half an hour to think about anything but work; walk the dog, listen to a podcast, take a catnap, or do an errand. Then come back to work refreshed and ready to flow some mo'. 

Remote work means that you (and often your kids & pets) are the only ones around to care how bad your test in work music is! No headphones, no one to criticize your yodel-rap or Swedish black metal stylings. If your co-workers can abide in your personal radio station pumping through the space then go for it, my friend! Responding to emails, running payroll, and sending invoices is always more fun with tunage.

When we were first forced into the brave new world of remote work, most of us were just treading water trying to maintain some semblance of a normal work routine. A lot of us put our continuing ed, development courses, business coaching, etc. on the back burner. Now that we have adapted to a new work routine, it's time to pick up our old ambitions for self-improvement and to work on our professional development once again. Join a networking group or mastermind course online, take an online certification course in your field, and focus on mastering new useful skills. 

5. Build & cultivate new relationships

It's hard to replicate the feeling of the office breakroom or cafeteria when everyone is on an island, but we are missing our work friendships more than we know as the months role by with very little contact between old workmates. The relationships we formulate during work hours have a beautiful tendency to flow out into extracurricular activities and fun outside of the office. Building new relationships remotely does take a lot more effort and may feel awkward at first, but your coworkers and new members of your business are experiencing the same feelings of isolation and lack of supportive dialogue that you are. I suggest reaching out to someone in your organization who you haven't gotten to know well yet, and just ask them how they are doing. This is great for both of your psychological states and once you get back to face-to-face work you'll have a new connection and possibly valuable professional relationship.