Tis the season to turn on Out of Office! If you work remotely, Christmas planning can be a little different compared to some of your payroll friends. Here’s how remote workers can balance the work and the home of “work from home.”
Schedule Time Off
Whether it’s two weeks or two days, take some time for yourself.
It’s healthy to take breaks from work so try not to fire up your computer when you’re supposed to be relaxing. Decide ahead of time how many days you’re going to take off and stick to it. Self-discipline sometimes means being tough with yourself on rest, too.
Alter Your Notifications
Alter your notifications to whatever suits you best.
From Slack dings to email chimes, this may mean using Do Not Disturb on Android and iOS or perhaps just allowing notifications from certain people. Decide what works for you and change your technology to suit. Don’t rely on willpower! Here are some tips on how managing notifications on Mac, Windows, Android and iOS.
Share Calendars
When working as part of a remote team, you need to know who’s working and when.
Set up a shared Google calendar with details of everyone’s time off so you’re all clued in on holiday time off and work shifts. This way you can relax on your time off from technology over the festive period.
Slack Etiquette
The holidays can be an erratic time when everyone is working different hours.
Before you log off completely, ask people how they’re best contacted if you need them so you can be respectful of everyone’s time. Be sure everyone is clear on tasks, due dates and the status of current projects so tasks don’t get lost or forgotten in the festivities.
Try setting your status to an away message and altering your Do Not Disturb hours so you don’t get any notifications during family time. Slack has a few tips on vacation settings for you.
Get Festive! (If That’s Your Thing)
Working remotely doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the festive fun.
If you have to work a little over the holidays, play Christmas songs, make your space feel festive and maybe watch a Christmas film or two during your lunch breaks.
Remote work can be lonely, especially when you know you’re missing out on the typical office fun, but you can always bring the holidays to your remote office by organizing a Secret Santa over Slack.
Happy Holidays!
We hope you have a wonderful time over the holidays – you’ve earned it! Let us know how you handle the holidays as a remote working in our group on Facebook.
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