When Kat and I thought of a WordCamp Granada’s talk about being productive when working remotely (Remote work productivity tips) we called it salmorejo for success. Salmorejo is an Andalusian fresh soup where we mix all the ingredients together. So the idea was to emulate it with some pieces of advice about remote working. We were including 2 perspectives, one from a nomadic worker and another one from a more conventional (if remote can be conventional) remoter. 

I first made an ingredients list with some unlinked elements that I’d group later to give structure to the talk. Then I made something wise. I asked my fellow automatticians so that I could be sure not to neglect any important piece/ingredient. as they answered me, I found some new brilliant ideas and fine-tuned others.

But my biggest surprise came when I grouped the brainstorm items. The elements I came up with weren’t exogenous or external to the remoter. They were nothing a bunch of points to focus on -all of them inside us- as remote workers. The recipe was inside us.  ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Motivation as productivity key

First, anything was about personal motivation. Starting point: willing to work remote. No matter if it is because you understand and love all the advantages you get with it or because you are forced. Second,  we will work in developing these possibilities/pros. There is no productivity without motivation. Without motivation there is nothing. What’s mine? I love the work I do and I love the way in which I do it. I truly believe we are -at Automattic- creating a new Web and a New WorkPlace. And this is brilliant and encouraging! Something pretty close to the definition of MOTIVATION in my dictionary. 

More? Put passion in the mixer… and take care of yourself!

We need to complete the equation with passion. But also to complement the passion -as much as possible- with relationships, because they are a powerful pillar to be happy. And without happiness, my friends, there is no productivity. So this is the mother of any other remote work productivity tips. When working remote there are numerous temptations to fall into a self-contemplative state, so we need to fight them. Always, but even more if you are a remote worker, you need to understand how important it is to develop abundant and healthy on-line as well as off-line relationships.

And then? After Passion and motivation, what do we need? Self Care we need. LEt’s start byprotecting us establishing a clear border between when we are working and when not. We, and those around us must understand when whe are working adn when we are AFK… and absolutely respect this. This selfcare also includes, for sure, not being tight with our “production means” and the home office setup. The 2 keywords here are ergonomy in your home office and productivity in your -paid in some cases- Apps.

Last but not least, looping to the beginning of this paragraph :). We absolutely need a nice virtual working environment, relationship-comfortable so that you can build confidence and well-being safe spaces where to talk with fellows and… also go out and talk with real people!

Motivation, passion and self care… this rings a bell to me.

Yeah! I have read this before. It was in this book (*easy to read and direct to the point… I recommend it!) written by my coach 😉 Lauren LeMunyan. Heads up: spoiler pic coming:

So… Nothing new? There are no pieces of advice for remoters to be shared? All this post to say remote work is the same as conventional work? Passion, Relationthips, Motivation, and self-care are still keys. But this doesn’t mean there are not different strategies to be applied. You need to learn new techniques, but it worths the effort because…remote work rocks. Want an example My mates seem to be enjoying it!

So, don’t lose the opportunity to see our talk in WC Granada. And don’t make us lose the opportunity to add your ingredients to our recipe. But if you can’t do it to to the amazing Granada… here it is the Prezi link. Yeah, sharing is loving!

And… this talk video: