Challenges of Remote Working

I have worked from my office, from home, from coffee shops, from my car, playgrounds, park benches, classrooms, airplanes, trains, Ubers, nail salons, hair salons, auto mechanic shops, you name it. My job has a lot of flexibility about where and when I work and that is one of my favorite things about it and one of the reasons I chose this line of work. However, that can also be one of the most challenging aspects of my work.

The biggest challenge for me is maintaining focus without regular oversight. My field tends to be very self-directed anyway, which is why it's easy to work from anywhere, but it can be very difficult to stay on task and focused on large projects when I don't have coworkers or a boss around me all the time. I manage this challenge by scheduling regular check-ins with my supervisors and using project management software like Asana and Trello.

Related to this challenge is the challenge of being surrounded by distractions when I'm working away from my office. When I'm working at home there is always laundry to wash, dishes to clean, something that has to be re-organized or put away. And when I'm traveling there are always cool sights to see and places to explore. I love the flexibility to travel and work but it is sometimes really hard to stay productive and focused when there are so many other things around me vying for my attention.

Loneliness is another issue that plagues me and many other remote workers. While I am often surrounded by people when I'm working (at coffee shops, playgrounds, or parks) not having people to talk to about my work can be frustrating. We spend so much of our precious lives at work and to not have people to talk to about it can be hard and demotivating. The check-ins with my supervisors help with this, as does connecting with other remote workers or people in my field on social media.

In the beginning technology issues was a big challenge for me but I've managed that well enough now that it's rarely an issue. I used to stress about keeping my phone and computer charged, finding WiFi, sometimes finding cell service. Now with a hot spot on my phone I have WiFi wherever I go and with portable chargers for my phone and a car charger for my computer I rarely have issues with my technology.