Secrets to Working Virtually …!

Planned socialization: 

Working virtually means you lose the built-in camaraderie found in the traditional workplace. Even if you are an introvert or a loner, we all need human contact occasionally. When you start to work virtually, for the sake of your mental well-being you must recognize this need and plan for a way to meet it. I have found two ways to meet the need for contact with others during the workday: I interact with my clients and virtual teams, and I actively seek out my counterparts, meaning other graphic/web designers and virtual assistants.

Danger alert! Gossip and chit-chat can be extreme time-wasters! If you want to spend your break chatting with a friend, that is great. But even while I am reminding you that you will need human contact, I also want to warn you that it is a slippery slope if your workday interactions do not serve your business goals. Save the personal conversations for after your workday.

Here is another way to look at it … is a personal conversation with a friend written into your very organized schedule for the day? No? Then do not do it! Focus on your schedule and honor its purpose: to further your business goals.

So, back to my professional workday interactions with others. Most of my work with clients is done by email, and that is a big time-saver because it is usually more efficient than the back and forth of a phone conversation. I do, however, have a few clients who prefer to answer questions or exchange information by phone. When I speak with them, I usually feel energized after those conversations. That is when I recognize that I needed to hear a voice other than my own!

In a previous blog post, “My Ultimate Guide to Working Virtually,” I talked about Facebook groups for virtual assistants. As I said then, new groups are probably added every single day. What you want to find is a group in which you can share information and ask questions. These groups can serve as a valuable resource. The pitfall here would be joining too many groups and getting sidetracked during the day by what group members are posting. I recommend looking into several groups, maybe joining a few to get a feel for the types of interaction they offer. Then your goal should be to find one or two groups where you perceive the information shared is valuable and drop out of any other groups you joined during that search. In the true spirit of staying organized, I schedule time in my day to check in with my Facebook group(s). Danger alert! Set a time limit for Facebook groups. Otherwise you will have time for little else. 

Proper tools:

If you follow my blog, you know I love my tools, and I am talking about apps. I love them so much I often recommend them to others. I even have a resources page on my website devoted to them. I see tools for working virtually categorized as tools for myself and tools for collaboration. For example, for myself I use Wave Accounting to generate estimates and invoices and to accept payment by credit card. I use Evernote to keep track of notes, ideas and screenshots. If you like being super organized, Evernote is invaluable. For working with virtual teams, I love Zoom for video and web conferencing, I like Slack for team communication, and my newest joy is Airtable for tracking personal projects as well as team projects. If you try it, let me know what you think!

Note: If you try to follow all of the links I have provided in the above paragraph, you will lose at least a day or two in productivity … unless you have scheduled time for that purpose. Yes, you need to build time into your schedule for learning about tools for your business and for planning and getting organized!