Remote Work: The Complete Guide - Chapter I

Article Series

• Introduction: roadmap for the series.
• Chapter I: You were already doing remote work before.
• Chapter II: After the diagnosis comes change. Which communication channel fits which need?
• Chapter III: Hours, routine, discipline.
• Chapter IV-1: Team organization.
• Bonus: The Coffee Machine.
• Chapter IV-2: Team organization - Communication.
• More chapters depending on your feedback.

Pre-COVID reality check

You were already working remotely several days a week

If you work in an office in France in 2020, odds are your company relies on accounting, legal counsel, suppliers, maybe subcontractors. Chances are you are also a supplier or a client-whether B2B or B2C. Got it?

If you're B2C with direct customer contact, these next points may impact you slightly less-but not by much. The rest of you probably support an online business or mail-order operation. (Yes, that still exists.)

Ready? Here comes a magic trick.

You already did remote work. Multiple days per week if you add up the time.

Think about it:

• Do your suppliers sit next to you? Nope.
• Your customers? Not usually.
• Your lawyers, accountants, subcontractors? Same answer.
• If you're a supplier yourself, do you meet every client in person to share files or information? Of course not.

Even in consumer-facing roles: every update to every customer isn't face to face-you email or call.

Four years ago I opened a home savings plan with a regional bank I didn't even live near. Paperwork, emails, phone calls. No in-person visit. Everything went fine.

What else would you call that besides remote work?

You already handle most tasks at a distance and have for years. In the 90s we had fax machines and Minitel-clunky, sure, but a start.

Today every process is digital. We devour emails like peanuts, swap calls, texts, and chat messages all day, about critical matters and trivial ones alike.

And we do it without breaking a sweat. So why does remote work suddenly feel so hard?

"Yeah, but this is different."

I can hear the counterargument: it's not the same with coworkers. You need to see them. You need to be on-site.

Here's the sting:

• You weren't as productive in the office as you think.
• You spent more time chatting than you admit.
• You overloaded yourself with meetings instead of focusing on the essentials.
• You let interruptions derail important work.
• And managers... how much time did endless status check-ins cost?

Harsh? Maybe. But necessary.

If any of that sounds familiar, it's because being in the same building masked the flaws. Now that everyone is separated, every issue pops into view.

Exercise: take five minutes to reflect on your communication habits, distractions, and true effectiveness before COVID-19.

Then take five more minutes to note what worked well back then. Do it daily. Start now. Only then move on.

With that awareness, breathe. You've done this before. You should feel a little less panic, guilt, and stress.

Remote work should simplify life when done right. It starts with trusting yourself.

You've probably cycled through plenty of emotions since that first week:

• Guilt: "I'm working, but on my couch... I'll put in extra hours to make up for it."
• Slump: "I can't focus, no motivation, I'll procrastinate a bit... or a lot." (Which loops back into guilt.)
• Reassurance: "I can't see my teammates, so I'll flood them with emails and calls."
• ...

Sound familiar? The thing is, you already manage these dynamics with suppliers and clients. Do the same with coworkers.

Remember:

When a colleague needs something from you, they are a client. When you need something from them, they are a supplier.

What do you have with clients and suppliers that you lack with coworkers? A clear process for exchanging information and delivering work.

If you struggle now, that process is missing internally.

Exercise: each person reflects individually, then regroup on a video call to discuss and define your process. Every meeting must produce at least one decision.

You'll feel the difference.

That's it for today

I hope this reframing calms things down. The next challenge will likely be notification overload.

That's normal-you've just added a bunch of new "clients" and "suppliers" overnight!

In the next chapter we'll see how to tame the noise so you can focus on what matters: get the work done.

Leave a comment with your struggles so I can cover them next.

See you soon. :)