What's your typical work routine?

Interview with Alaina, a nonprofit program state director

I typically start my morning skimming our social media pages, and interacting and scheduling posts.

Some people find it easy to knock out the hardest tasks of the day in the morning, but most times I like to start with the easier tasks that can take an hour or less so that it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle of the day.

Next, I check my email, respond to any urgent matters, and follow-up with items. After those tasks, I start on my all-important to-do list.

I find that creating a to-do list the night before keeps my day and week organized.

After that, my days vary since some days I’m traveling to meet with clients or partners.

It takes a minute to find your rhythm in a new remote position—hear how Alaina organizes her time to hit the ground running in a new remote work job.

Read full interview from Interview with Alaina, a nonprofit program state director.

Interview with Dane, a freelance writer and author with 7 published books

This is actually something that I’m working on as I don’t really have one. I suffer from anxiety/depression and also have a lot of problems with sleeping, so I don’t really work a 9-5.

Instead, I typically break my work up by getting as much as I can get done during the day while my partner is at work and then I do a little more after she goes to bed.

I quite often end up working evenings/weekends, but the flip-side of that is that if I need to take a mental health day, I can just take it without needing to justify it to a boss.

I tend to find that work comes in waves as well, so I’m always either super busy (as I am at the moment) or I’m relatively free, in which case I can do a little less work and/or focus on all of the admin stuff.

But as a general rule, I work the same amount of hours as I used to work when I was in full-time employment, I just don’t necessarily do it at the same time.

As for my actual process, it’s all pretty simple: I sit down at the computer and write until I’ve finished whatever the deliverable is, and then I read back through it and make any edits that are needed. Then I send it to the client and invoice them before moving on to the next deliverable.

In a good day I can churn out 4-6,000 words. It really depends upon what I have on because some tasks take longer than others. For example, writing SEO copy takes longer because you have to take a lot of time to make sure that you’re using keywords etc.

Dane is a freelance writer and author who works remotely, and balances client work with writing his own books.

Read full interview from Interview with Dane, a freelance writer and author with 7 published books.

Interview with Chloe, a customer support freelancer and multi-project expert

My typical workday is pretty hectic. I have one project with a set schedule, and my other three are flexible. I don’t mind either type of schedule, so it depends on the project.

If the team is small, one or two people, flexible is preferred. However, with a larger team, I prefer a set schedule. Usually, my day looks something like this:

• 5 am to 7 am: Morning check in with my part-time projects
• 7 am to 3 pm: Set schedule project
• 3 pm to 8 pm: Night check in with part-time projects

Chloe uses the flexibility of freelancing to her advantage—see how she successfully manages multiple projects at one time.

Read full interview from Interview with Chloe, a customer support freelancer and multi-project expert.

Interview with Melissa, a co-founder and remote work champion

My day starts with getting my kids up and out the door. I do my planning week by week, so I will have already decided where I need to work that day based on if we have video calls with clients and if I need some solid work time with Maryellen or not.

I have three go-to work locations I alternate between. After daycare drop off, I get coffee (always) and then get settled in my space and have a look at my to-do list.

I've been loving the 5-3-1 method. I pluck out one big thing, three medium things, and five little things that I want to do that day. It sort of becomes a game to get it done.

Then I give myself no more than 15 minutes to sort out any personal/home-related emails or calls that are urgent. From there, I usually work until my stomach growls. I will then decide on lunch or, if I was really on it that day, grab it from the fridge because I made it already! Then, I will take a break, walk around, drink some water, and get back to it.

My day ends at about 4:30 when I go to get the kids. Some days I log off earlier, some days later. Once a week, there will be a doctor's appointment or something for the kids, and I just build that into my calendar so clients can't book a time that overlaps. It all depends. But I have full control, and that's what I love!

I have gotten off my routine of exercise at least three times a week, so my latest challenge to myself is to incorporate that back in.

Melissa started Work Well Wherever to help individuals & companies embrace remote work—see how she balances entrepreneurship, parenthood, & self-care.

Read full interview from Interview with Melissa, a co-founder and remote work champion.

Interview with Vivek, an entrepreneur building a virtual office for remote teams

• 7 AM - Wake up and get dressed
• 7 AM to 7:30 AM - Meditate for 30 minutes
• 7:30 AM to 7:40 AM - Treat my bonsai tree
• 7:40 AM to 8:30 AM - Answer emails and customer messages on Intercom
• 8:30 AM to 9:00 AM - Open Pragli and chat with my cofounder about the engineering or marketing tasks for the day. Leave Pragli open to have easier audio/video conversations if we need them.
• 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM - Take any meetings for the day with customers, vendors, or partners. I schedule most of my meetings during this block to free time in the afternoon for deep work. Calendly is critical for ensuring that I only schedule meetings during this block.
• 11:30 AM to 12:15 PM - Lunchtime
• 12:15 PM to 4 PM - Execution time to develop engineering features, squash bugs, or work on marketing material
• 4 PM to 4:30 PM - Break time
• 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM - Creative time to design new product features in Figma or send outreach emails
• 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM - Dinner time

The long San Francisco commute sent Vivek into remote work—hear about his three strategies for eliminating distractions & his must-have tools.

Read full interview from Interview with Vivek, an entrepreneur building a virtual office for remote teams.

Interview with Henry, a consultant who found remote work by saying No

I wake up at 5 AM. I wouldn't really consider myself an early bird, but my daughters (one toddler, one baby) have backed me into a time-corner. I wake up before them to work for about an hour, then help out with breakfast.

I'll go back to work around 7 AM and work until the girls wake up from their afternoon naps around 3:30. It's a great program, that only work-from-home could allow.

I get all the work time I need, save on time without a commute, and spend quality time with my kids.

Sometimes a "no" can lead to an exceptional opportunity. For Henry, that answer led to an ideal remote work career. In this interview, Henry shares his remote work tool stack, and essential tip for remote employees and managers.

Read full interview from Interview with Henry, a consultant who found remote work by saying No.

Interview with Kristi, a CEO and remote team leader

There is no routine, other than coffee in the morning and time with my baby girl at various intervals (dictated by her to a certain degree).

Well, I should say that I try to do more project work that requires concentration in the AM and then have meetings and do the fun admin work (this is a boss's life!) in the afternoons.

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.

Read full interview from Interview with Kristi, a CEO and remote team leader.

Interview with Vaishali, a content marketer and a productivity tool expert

I start work at 9 am and finish by 6 pm.

I try to complete high priority tasks in the mornings when my daughter is at school. After that, I then work on the low priority ones in the afternoons.

That way I get some time with family.

For many, working from home often results in working 24/7.

However, I make sure I keep my laptop away on weekends so that I can start fresh every week.

Also, I take breaks in-between and an afternoon nap of approximately 20 minutes. Chatting with co-workers and team building activities also helps me stay motivated and focused.

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.

Interview with Gino, a founder skilled in building remote teams

I typically wake up around 7:00 am. I try to grab breakfast, but the truth is most days I’m going straight from bed to the computer. It’s one of those habits that’s just so hard to break.

So, on average, I’ll probably start work by 7:30 am or earlier. I work until about 10 am, at which time I take a short break. By 1 pm or 2 pm, I’m taking a longer break—usually 2 hours—to have lunch and go to the gym.

I’ll get back around 3 pm or 4 pm and continue working until about 8 pm.

Gino realized how important remote work could be to finding the best talent—see his strategies for building remote teams.

Read full interview from Interview with Gino, a founder skilled in building remote teams.

Interview with Kay, an independent software consultant who found freedom in remote work

Somehow my work-"day" begins the day before.

I think about a big chunk of work I want to do on the next day and then I go to sleep.

Then I wake up and drink a coffee at 12 and start working on the stuff I thought about the last night. Sometimes customers wrote emails in that time and I try to work on their requests before I get to that work I had planned.

Learn how Kay made the jump from full-time employee to full-time remote consultant

Read full interview from Interview with Kay, an independent software consultant who found freedom in remote work.