Overcoming the challenges of remote working: Motivation
By: Justine Middleton
Tags: Motivation, Hippo Digital, Working From Home

Overcoming the challenges of remote working: Motivation

Mapping out routines in a schedule can help with motivation dips. Photo by fotografierende from Pexels

For all its advantages remote working creates new challenges for organisations, managers, teams and individuals. It requires a shift in the way we communicate, collaborate and cooperate. It is not just about setting up a webcam and virtual meetings, it is a way of working that requires considerable adaptation from everyone to remain engaged and productive. In a series of blogs, we explore some of the big challenges often faced by remote workers and how they can be tackled.

Motivation.

The first week of remote working is great, however this can become challenging as you realise this is the new norm. Some people may find this a more intuitive way of working for them as it allows for an integrated work life balance, but it’s not the case for everyone. Here are a few ways to help maintain a level of motivation or to get it back once it’s dipped.

Make a home office (if you can).

This enables your brain to slip in and out of work mode as you are physically putting yourself into a space that is dedicated to work. As tempting as it is to sleep in and work from your covers, don’t. It can have a counterproductive effect as you are not poised to focus and can actually lead to overworking as the boundary between where you work and where you sleep becomes blurred.

Wake up early.

Without the pressure of being in the office by 8.30am it can be a struggle to rise early. The idea of rolling out of bed and into the home office becomes increasingly appealing. However when motivation comes into question, early risers tend to be the most productive as they start the day with intention. You might find that you are more of a night owl, in which case you might have to split your day differently. For team communication its important that everyone is available during working hours. If you need to flex this have a conversation with the team and manager to see what you can do to make it work for everyone.

Keep regular hours.

Maintaining consistent hours — and communicating these hours — helps others know when you are and aren’t contactable. This isn’t set in stone as circumstances can change, but introducing regularity into your routine helps the body fall into a daily cadence.

Work in sprints.

Deep states of concentration can be hard to maintain especially in disruptive circumstances. Optimising the short pockets of time available to you will enable you to deliver short sharp bits of quality focussed work. Pro Tip: Try the Pomodoro way of working where you work in 25 minute bursts with 5 minute breaks. This is a technique that could be suited around those with caring responsibilities.

Take regular breaks.

Just like you would in the office take micro breaks to break up the day. Take time out to have a phone conversation with a colleague, water the plants, make a cup of tea, anything to get you up and out of your seat to give your body a rest.

Reach out to a colleague.

Breaking your mood by chatting with someone else can sometimes help you re-motivate. They may even be able to help you with a problem you have been mulling over or even have some time to lighten your workload. Hearing someone else’s perspective on a challenge that maybe seemed too daunting to start might help you break it down. We often inflate the enormity of tasks that we don’t want to do which can cause feeling of being overwhelmed and “analysis paralysis”. Talking it over with a colleague can help bring you back down to earth.

Exercise.

Just get it out of your system. All of that listless energy can be distracting, so giving your body a workout to the point where it is grateful to be sat down will help with resting your mind and refocussing. It doesn’t have to be a muscle throbbing body pump, it can be as simple as going for a stroll to reset your mind.

Help someone out.

It’s always easier to work in a group than alone, so don’t be afraid to jump on a video call to bounce ideas around, or work on a shared document you can both access. Helping someone doesn’t need to be limited to your teammates either, it can be something as simple as making an extra effort to help around the house, helping with a next door neighbours shopping or providing your services for mentorship.

Build a community.

Wherever you are, the power of community can never be underestimated. Finding communities either online, locally or within work can provide you with a supportive network that can help kickstart you motivation, keep you going and help maintain focus when it feels like the odds are stacked against you. If you haven’t got one, now is a great time to start. Be the change you want to see and help others become motivated.

Eat the frog

Taken from Brian Tracy’s book, Eat The Frog, he discusses the concept of starting your day by eating the frog, which sounds disgusting and probably the last thing that you want to. Thats the point. By taking a task you dread and getting it out of the way, you can get on with the rest of your day rather than spend that time procrastinating and putting it off. Think about the same task or piece of work that you need to complete that make you feel a bit queasy — you’ve just found your frog, now eat it.

Just start.

Procrastination killed the remote worker. To remedy this, the best advice is to just start. Start with turning on your computer, writing a to do list, opening that application. You will soon find that you will pick up momentum and before you know it an hour passes. If it doesn’t work, take a break then come back to it.

The main takeaway from this is that circumstances are likely to be ever changing when working remotely. Being mindful of this will help you to be kind to yourself when your day doesn’t go to plan or the week feels to be stretching on forever. Turning to your team and support networks at this time can help boost motivation. If anyone else has any more tips on how to boost motivation whilst working remotely, please get in touch I’d love to hear them!