What do you not like about remote work?
Interview with Digital Nomad Sage, an entrepreneur and UX consultant
It gets pretty lonely. I like the peace and quiet of working from home, but you start to miss being around people that aren’t your family.
With a traditional company, there’s almost something new or interesting that happens to everyone when they come back from the weekend. You can joke around with them during lunch. With remote work, you kinda lose out on that experience and miss it.
The other thing that I don’t like about remote work is that your income is dependent on others and you don’t have the security that a stable paycheck from a traditional job provides.
From e-books to blogging, Digital Nomad Sage has become an expert on making money online—see his advice for developing an online business.
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Interview with Andrew, co-founder and CEO of Insured Nomads
It is not being able to be in person at times when it’s needed most.
Emotionally, it takes intentionality to keep a relationship strong when on the road or away from team members.
Andrew, co-founder, and CEO of Insured Nomads talks traveling while working, productivity tools, and the best advice he has received.
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Interview with Laura, a communications specialist and travel writer by night
Sometimes I do feel stifled and want to change my atmosphere. That's when I go to the restaurant right across the street and work from there.
I live in a country club, and there are landscapers often working on the property. The loud noise of leaf blowers can be bothersome.
Laura Coronado discusses her method for juggling her career as a communications specialist by day and her side hustle as a freelance travel writer by night.
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Interview with Katerina, a team collaboration consultant who sees the value of discipline
When working remotely, you need to be active in reducing the feeling of isolation. Also, professional development or informal learning requires more effort.
I'm not sure I would say that these elements make me not like remote work. It is just part of work that is not an issue if you work in an office. However, good remote work companies, those that are fully remote, will take care of this.
My biggest learning experience was to turn off the computer. I began using a tool that will shut off the computer at a set time. That helped to establish a pattern.
Katerina fell into remote work by accident - she reveals how easy and straightforward it can be to make discipline a daily part of remote work.
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Interview with Kristi, a CEO and remote team leader
It can occasionally feel lonely and a bit disconnected.
When I think back to days working in offices with some very funny and likable past coworkers, I sometimes wonder if I'm missing out on that day-to-day camaraderie.
But video chats, virtual networking events, and even being active on Twitter all help to alleviate that somewhat.
Kristi is a CEO, remote work author, and speaker. In this interview, she shares the impact of new motherhood and remote team leadership on her work.
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Interview with Cameron, a designer who works remotely at a WordPress agency
The only downside is that I sometimes miss the person to person interactions of working in an office space.
To make sure I don't turn into a hermit, I make sure to schedule time with friends at least once per week to hang out or play sports.
Learn how Cameron started full-time remote work after trying freelancing and starting a digital agency.
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Interview with Gino, a founder skilled in building remote teams
I have to be honest and say that there are times when being face-to-face with someone on our team is much more productive. For personal reasons, outside of work, I’m working on developing a game with a few people. This is where I’ve noticed face-to-face really goes a long way.
For my work at TECLA, I don’t think there’s ever a moment where I’ve said, “I wish I were face-to-face with this person. It’d be so much easier to get this done.” However, in terms of the game, I’m working on, I do have to say it has been a factor. Still, nothing outweighs the benefits of working remotely within our team.
Gino realized how important remote work could be to finding the best talent—see his strategies for building remote teams.
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Interview with Dane, a freelance writer and author with 7 published books
When I left my old job to go full-time freelance, I used to joke with people that I was trading all of my colleagues for a single cat – and that the cat would be more useful to have around. I’d heard a lot of people talking about how freelancing can get lonely but I’d never paid too much attention because I like my own company anyway and tend to get more done when I’m alone because I’m not being stopped every five minutes and asked for favours.
Still, perhaps I should have listened some more because it does get lonely sometimes and it also means that I spend a lot of time indoors. I often go a few days without going outside, and most of the time I don’t even realize it.
I’m also not particularly happy with my current living situation, but I’m trapped in a contract here until March and so I’m pretty much making the best of a bad job until we can move out to somewhere with a little more space. And hopefully a garden so that at least I can take my laptop and go and work outside.
Maintaining a work/life balance isn’t easy either, although it’s something that I’m working on and getting better at. But despite the cons, I don’t think I could go back to working for someone else because the advantages outweigh the disadvantages and I value the freedom that remote work gives to me.
Dane is a freelance writer and author who works remotely, and balances client work with writing his own books.
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Interview with Kirsten and Jay-Allen, remote team coaches & collaboration experts
Disconnecting is really hard: Because work is 100% accessed through your computer and your computer is always there, work is always there. It’s very easy to work much longer hours than you would when work is bounded by a physical location that you literally enter and exit.
Physical aspects: Staring at a screen all day and sitting in a chair can take a toll on you physically, and you have to force yourself to go for walks and take breaks, etc.
Remote team coaches, Kirsten and Jay-Allen, offer three pieces of advice for new remote workers and reveal the one question every remote job seeker should prepare to answer.
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Interview with Vaishali, a content marketer and a productivity tool expert
Sometimes you can end up working 10+ hours a day for seven days a week when you always carry your laptop.
There are also times when on a relaxing Sunday, I get tempted to check emails and send replies.
The only drawback of remote work is that you have to strive to have control of your work hours and have strong work ethics.
Remote work is not for everyone.
Vaishali persevered until she found the right remote work job for her lifestyle—check out how she uses productivity tools and time management strategies to stay productive.
Read full interview from Interview with Vaishali, a content marketer and a productivity tool expert.