How to Thrive While Working Remotely
Updated: Mar 27, 2024
Written by: Clare Tries, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Nudged by pandemic restrictions but propelled by the many benefits, remote work is becoming increasingly common. More and more organizations are attracted to the global talent pool, flexibility, and cost savings. And my organization, Clash Copy, is one of them!
Clash Copy was started remotely, by me, during the pandemic (from my kitchen table in Saskatoon!). We scaled quickly, and I began sourcing talent from all over the world. One year later, I have a team of creative and diverse individuals spanning Vancouver to Saskatoon, Texas to London, UK.
Working remotely 24/7, and trying to do so efficiently, can be challenging, but it also brings beautiful rewards. As we recently celebrated Clash Copy’s one-year birthday, I reached out to my team to find out how each handles working for an all-remote corporation. Here are a few musings, tips, and tricks from some of the Clashers behind Clash Copy:
Jennifer Hester, Business Development Strategist
Scheduling your time is key! This is especially true if you’ve got kids around. If possible, create your own workspace in your home – one that hopefully has a door! When it’s closed, mommy’s working. Then, prioritize spending at least a little bit of uninterrupted quality time each day with your kids.
Also, listening to jazz music when I work helps break up work and home life (I like Relax Music Cafe on YouTube!).
Ryanna Tries, Project Manager
One of my favorite things about working for a remote corporation is that we can collaborate worldwide; this gives us a huge advantage. Being able to connect with people online was necessary during the pandemic, but now we’ve got tons of practice and can bring these skills into the “new normal.”
Being a homeschooling mom and working from home has had its challenges, and I’ve discovered that creating balance is key. I always have a schedule outlining when I’m working to make sure there’s the time every day to be present with my family.
Sophie Ridge, Head Graphic Designer
Working remotely has so many wonderful benefits, but I feel it also presents some bigger challenges on a more personal level and forces you to look inwards too. For example, you are responsible for the productivity of your time. It makes you really assess how you use your time, and you learn just how valuable it is. You have to find your own rhythm to achieve balance, and that in itself is no walk in the park. Having said that, once you do, it’s fantastic.
My hot tip? One of my colleagues introduced me to the benefits of Google Calendar recently. It's a super-tool for personal organization! Although programs like Trello, Monday.com, and Microsoft Teams are excellent for collaboration, creating a tasks calendar in Google cal helps me break it down further for personal deadlines. This has changed my working life!
Catherine Louw, Marketing Strategist and Copywriter
I agree with many of my team members – being intentional about your time and planning your day is absolutely 1 to thriving while working remotely. Working from home means there are many blurred lines between work, family, and relaxation time, and it's important to try to segment these.
Sometimes I miss the social interaction of a physical office – the random chats in the lunchroom or passing by someone's desk with a quick question. With online communication, it can be difficult to read the tone of voice, and things can get lost in translation. Having meetings often and calling someone up when there’s a misunderstanding becomes really important!
Alyssa Zacharias, Lead Editor and Copywriter
Fully remote work allows a person to feel like they’re always connected to their life; to their hobbies, the home they love, their partner, family, or pet.. It also makes it easier to take care of yourself, slot in a bit of stretching or exercise, make it to a doctor’s appointment, or keep on top of errands and food prep.
This same pro is also a huge con! Like some of my coworkers stated, it can be hard to turn off because I can see my workstation right over there, in the living room. So finding small ways of disconnecting is significant. Disable work email phone notifications, shut down work platforms when you’re finished for the day, and try to set one day aside for no meetings if you can (this one is difficult but can help greatly with context-switching!).
Clare Tries
For me, running an all-remote organization presents some complicated questions. For example, if you have employees and sub-contractors, do you offer security tools to both parties to ensure client data is safe? Do you provide the technology required for them to work, or expect them to supply their own? It's easy to offer benefits to employees in your home-based country, but then how do you entice top talent from other countries to join your team?
While smoothing out the kinks takes a minute, the rewards have always outweighed the cons. I can offer flexible work schedules without worrying about a cultural split between online vs. in-person workers and find it easy to organize online collaboration and team building (thanks to today’s technologies, like Microsoft Teams!).
Another great perk is that you can hire talent from anywhere! This means that if you’re willing to treat people well, pay a fair wage, and invest in building a strong and fun online culture, you really can have the best talent in the industry committed to your organization.
To close, I have one piece of advice that has served my team and me well over the past year: Foster personal conversation in the first 15 minutes of every team meeting. This is your water cooler moment! It is the perfect time to create quality connections with your team, stay on top of their needs inside and outside of work, and create a close, cohesive company culture.
Clare Tries, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Clare Tries is the Founder and CEO of Clash Copy. She is a creative copywriter and passionate marketing professional with over a decade of experience in the IT industry. Her company provides collaborative and rewarding marketing solutions for the technology industry and small business professionals.
