10 Powerful Productivity Tips for Remote Workers
Working remotely sounds like the dream. No boss peering over your shoulder, no rigid 9–5. However, when you finally get that freedom, a new challenge shows up: staying productive without structure.
Whether you’re a digital nomad or just new to remote work, these powerful productivity tips will help you create better routines, focus more deeply, and get more done in less time. If you want to stay productive while working remotely, this guide will show you how.
1.Get a Good Night’s Sleep for Optimal Remote Work Productivity
Who would have thought a post on how to be productive would tell you to sleep? However, sleep and feeling rested may be the single most important factor in increasing your productivity. Sleep has such a large impact on our cognitive performance.
There are some mornings when I’m really tired. I don’t have to start work by a certain time, but I usually aim for 9 am as I dedicate about 1 - 1.5 hours for my morning routine. However, if I am really tired on a particular day, it’s more efficient for me to sleep an extra hour than try and wake up and get work done. Let’s consider both options:
Option 1. Tired and Unproductive.
If I’m tired, I’m going to try to get work done. However, the reality is that I will painfully sit in front of my computer, eyes glazed over, and nothing will get done all day. When I’m tired, I’m not as creative, my decision-making ability is negatively impacted, and it’s hard to focus. It’s obvious that the negative impact tiredness can have on our productivity.
With this option, I could expect 4 hours’ worth of work to take 8 hours (hypothetically)
Option 2. Rested and Productive
If I’m rested, I’m alert, creative, and productive. With this option, I could get 8 hours of work done in 4 hours (hypothetically). That means I can take the rest of the day off to enjoy it.
Not only can we see the importance of getting a good sleep, but we can also see why sometimes it may be worthwhile to sleep that extra hour if it means it will save you 4 hours worth of productivity.
2. Create a Powerful Morning Routine for Remote Workers
Simple Morning Routine Ideas That Work
The first 30 minutes of our day can have a profound impact on how the rest of our day goes. I know this from first-hand experience. A powerful morning routine is a complete game-changer, and aside from sleep, the best productivity hack.
The goal of a morning routine is to calm your mind (instead of immediately thinking of all the things you need to do), get in a positive frame of mind, and then start your day. This could include doing any of the following:
Meditate
Read
Write what you’re grateful for
Write how you want to “show up” today. Ie centered, focused, mindful, calm, etc
If you’re woo-woo like me, then clear the energy in your space with sage or palo santo.
Use a lavender essential oil roller or diffuser to support a relaxed state
Stretch
Even just spending 5 minutes on a few different tasks can have an impact on how you feel throughout the day. Give it a try and let me know what you think in the comments below, or even share in the comments what your morning routine entails. I’d love to hear from you.
3. Batch Tasks to Maintain a Flow State
Have you ever tried to do 3 things at once? You jump from one task to another. Then all of a sudden, an hour goes by, and you realize nothing has been accomplished.
The challenge with jumping around between different tasks is that you can never really get into that “flow” state, and that means your tasks will take longer to complete.
Instead, try batching tasks.
Batching tasks is when you complete a series of tasks together, or in a “batch” instead of separately.
For example, if you’re a social media manager, you could write all your social media posts for the month at once, instead of trying to write a new post every single day. This way, you can get in flow with the social media posts and complete the task in less time.
Ask yourself, “What tasks could I batch together?”
4. Create Daily Themes
A spin-off of batching tasks is to create “daily themes”. If you have the ability, you can try and plan your daily themes so that:
One day of your week is dedicated to calls with the team/clients
Another day is dedicated to admin tasks
Another day is dedicated to creative tasks, etc.
The power in creating daily themes is that every day of the week, you know what to expect/anticipate, and you can get in that flow state. This allows you to get more done in less time.
5. Have Only 1 Task on Your To-Do List
Why One Task a Day Increases Productivity
Oftentimes, people will create a long to-do list for the day and immediately gravitate towards completing the fun or “easy” tasks first. However, the end of the day rolls around, and that important and perhaps more challenging task is still incomplete. The stress starts to rise, and then it’s a scramble against the clock to meet your deadline.
Instead of creating a giant to-do list, try the “one-item to-do list”.
Before you start your workday, write down the single most important tasks that you need to accomplish that day. If you need help deciding, it should be the task that will drive the most results. Don’t allow yourself to work on anything else until it’s complete.
Hint: The task you should be focusing on is usually not the “fun” tasks.
Once the single important task is complete, you can then focus on other tasks.
The upside to the “one-item task list” is that by getting it done in the morning, you don’t have to try and survive that 3 pm slowdown and a challenging task at the same time. We also know that the “fun” tasks give us a little energy boost, which would be nice to have around that 3 pm lull. This approach helps balance and manage your energy throughout the day.
6. Create a ‘Done’ List (The Anti-To-Do List)
Oftentimes, people will start their workday by writing down a list of lengthy tasks. This can feel overwhelming, and when you fall short, you may fixate on is what didn’t get done.
Instead, I suggest using an “anti-to-do list”.
Instead of writing down everything that needs to get done, start with a blank page and as you start to accomplish tasks, write down what you’re accomplishing. This approach will still encourage you to get stuff done because you’ll be able to see your growing list of completed tasks throughout the day. Then, once you come to the end of the day, instead of focusing on all of your shortcomings, you can see everything that you got accomplished.
7. Work When and Where You're Most Productive
Another challenge that new digital nomads in particular face is that although they now have the freedom to work when and where they want, they still have this pressure to work Monday through Friday between the hours of 9 am - 5 pm.
However, being a digital nomad and remote worker means you can embrace your own unique working style. For example, if you’re a night person, embrace that and work nights. The same applies to where you work, too. If you prefer working in a cafe instead of a coworking space, then do that. As a digital nomad, this is now your time to live life on your terms. Of course, when you work may depend on your remote employer; however, since most distributed teams have staff across the globe, this shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
Personally, when I did full-time online marketing for a distributed team, we were able to pick our hours. However, we did have 2-3 hours of the day where we were all required to be online at the same time so that our hours would overlap. The purpose of this was so that we knew during these hours that everyone would be available for any calls or communication that needed to be had. Then the rest of the time we went off and focused on getting our work done.
You also want to sort out where you work best. Remember, as a digital nomad, you have plenty of options. It could be from one of the top 8 coworking spaces in the world, a cute cafe down the road, or even working from home. Get out there and try what works best for you. Who knows, a coworking space could be a great boost of inspiration and a great way to connect with a community of like-minded people.
How to figure out WHERE you work best remotely
When it comes to learning where you work best, give yourself some flexibility to learn without being too hard on yourself. For example, I came to learn that I work best from two locations a day. By doing so, it gives me a chance to have a break. I also find that when I get started at my second location, I feel more motivated because it feels like I’m starting my workday again. I also prefer to be surrounded by other people who are also working online, because it helps me feel like I’m not alone. However, if you prefer to work from home with no one around you, then embrace that.
This process will take a bit of trial and error. Here’s how to approach it:
Brainstorm a bunch of places where you would work (coworking spaces, cafes, home, etc)
Try a new location from the list each day
After each experience, reflect on “how did that feel?”
If it felt good, then do more of that, and if it did not feel good or left you feeling stressed, then do less of that
How to figure out WHEN you work best remotely
You can apply the same principles I mentioned above when determining when you work best. Brainstorm a few options, try them out, then reflect on how it felt. It felt good, then that’s when you should work, and if it made you feel “off” or stressed, then don’t work during that time again.
Everyone is different.
Some people prefer silence. Some people like background noise.
Some people like working in the mornings. Some people prefer working in the evenings.
Some people like working with lots of people around. Some people prefer working alone.
The wonderful part of being a digital nomad is that you can now work when and how you work best. Your schedule is no longer dictated by some obscure social 9-5 construct.
Tip: Tiredness is a sign of dehydration. If you’re feeling tired throughout the day, make sure you’re drinking enough water.
Eliminate Distractions by Putting Your Phone on Do Not Disturb
We all know by now how distracting our devices can be. Be sure to turn your phone on do not disturb. If that doesn’t work for you, you can also:
Leave your phone in another room if you’re working from home
Leave your phone in your bag if you’re working from a cafe or coworking space
How to be realistic with this approach…
This is a hard habit to break, so you may want to do “cold turkey” or progressively lead up to this. For example, start by keeping your phone on do not disturb in the mornings, then once you’ve got comfortable with that, put it on do not disturb during the afternoon as well. Alternatively, you start with 1 hour on do not disturb, then each day you can add another hour to it.
8. Take Strategic Breaks to Stay Energized While Working Remotely
There’s working hard and then there’s working smart. To work smart means understanding how to manage your energy. Naturally, as more time passes throughout the day when we’re working, the less productive we become. That’s just the science and nature of being a human. However, we can mitigate how fast and steep that decline in productivity is. To improve your energy and productivity, it’s important to take frequent breaks. You can go for a quick walk, read 3 pages in a book, or just sit there and focus on your breathing.
If you listen to your body and give it what it needs, you’ll be more productive.
How Often Should You Take a Break When Working Remotely?
Now, how frequently and for how long you should take a break is up for debate.
Robert Pozen suggests, after 75 to 90 minutes of work to take a 15-minute break.
Another suggests that after 52 minutes of work, take a 17-minute break
The Pomodoro technique suggests ts after 25 minutes of work to take a 5-minute break.
Source: Fast Company
I suggest you experiment with each technique and determine what works best for you. However, working smarter and not harder isn’t just about taking breaks…
9. Automate and Create a Systemized Process for Repetitive Tasks
The biggest time-waster is “re-inventing the wheel” every time you need to complete a task. Always ask yourself, “How can I improve this process or make it more efficient?”
Time-Saving Automation Examples for Remote Workers
Maybe you find yourself writing an email that addresses the same thing over and over again. For example, maybe new clients often have the same questions, and every time you bring a new one on, you find yourself having to rewrite this huge, long email. Instead of spending 30 minutes to draft the email all over again, I used canned responses in Gmail. This essentially lets you create an email template that you can just insert and then update any information as needed.
Another question to ask yourself is, “Is there an online tool out there that can help automate this process?”
For example, if you’re trying to pick a time for client calls and find yourself spending lots of time emailing back and forth trying to coordinate a time, maybe you just set up a link on Calendly or ScheduleOnce that allows clients to pick a time based on your availability and then it will automatically book it into both of your calendars.
Again, it’s about working smarter, not harder, to be more productive.
And finally, consider, “Is there anything that needs a systemized process?”
For example, if you’re taking a new client through how to update their website that you created, instead of getting on a call with them for an hour every time, maybe you can create a training video that you can share with clients. This systemized process will save you a ton of time.
Leverage the power of technology with automation, use templates when you can, and systemize different repetitive tasks to save you time.
10. Complete an End of Day Reflection
The only way we can continue to improve our productivity is with awareness. At the end of each day, reflect on:
What did I accomplish? What worked well today?
What tasks didn’t get accomplished today that I wanted to get done? Where can I improve tomorrow?
We all work differently, but this end-of-day reflection will help you uncover how you work best.
11. Fully disconnect once you’re done for the day
An important part of being productive is fully immersing yourself in the task at hand. That means singular focus and not the “one foot in one foot out” approach. So, once you’re done with work for the day, fully disconnect.
Don’t check work emails. Don’t think about work.
This is critical for digital nomads.
Oftentimes, when someone is starting to work remotely for their very first time, there will be this sense that they need to be working all the time.
Your mind needs time to rest and recharge to stay productive, so it’s important you disconnect fully from work once you’ve finished. After all, the best perk of this digital nomad lifestyle is being able to explore different countries around the world, so don’t miss out on that.
If you’re good at counting, you may realize that we’re over 10 powerful productivity hacks by now, but that’s OK. Since we just covered a lot, here’s a quick summary on how to increase your productivity as a digital nomad and remote worker:
Get a good night’s sleep for optimal remote work productivity
Create a powerful morning routine
Batch tasks to maintain a flow state
Create daily themes to streamline your week
Focus on just one key task per day
Track your wins with a ‘done’ list instead of a traditional to-do list
Work when and where you’re most productive
Take regular breaks to recharge your energy
Automate and systemize repetitive tasks to save time
Complete an End of Day Reflection
Fully disconnect once you’re done for the day
