3 Secrets to Working from Anywhere
You’ve heard about those people who work from the beach, who go skiing on their lunch breaks, who buy a van and travel the country while working remotely. You envy them. You admire them. You give them permission to be themselves and work from anywhere. So .. why not you?
You’re working from home, and it proved to you that you don’t need to work in an office building. But guess what? You can prove one more thing to yourself next. You can actually be effective outside of your home too. Here’s how to work from anywhere.
There are 3 essential tools that will allow you to work from anywhere: a workday ritual, a remote kit, and a daily reminder. Let’s take them one by one.
Secret #1: The Workday Ritual
When you started working from home, it was essential to create a daily ritual for yourself. You decided what time to wake up, what to have for breakfast each morning, which meetings were “cameras on/off”, and how to call it a day and turn off your computer for the day. You defended your personal time by sharing your work hours with your team, and you added daily away messages on Slack and other collaboration tools to help colleagues respect your personal time.
Now, you’ll use the same principles to create your workday ritual!
- Choose hours when you are clearly “away from the computer.” Communicate and protect those hours firmly. You will need to give yourself predictable personal time to be an effectively remote worker who can work from anywhere.
- Decide how you will start your workday, regardless of your location. Your brain still needs a signal that it’s time to work. Choose a ritual that you can do anywhere, like 15 minutes with a hot beverage, reading your favorite online newspaper, or journaling. You will need a ritual that you can do anywhere, so there are no excuses to skip it.
- Decide how you will end your workday too! Choose an end-of-day ritual that is location agnostic - you can do it anywhere regardless of where you are working that day. Perhaps it simply means checking your calendar for tomorrow and closing your laptop.
The workday ritual used to be driving to an office. It’s changed. Now, we have the freedom to create our own workday ritual. And you know what? Remote workers find freedom in rituals!
Secret #2: The Remote Kit
Working from anywhere might scare you a little. You may have some anxious questions:
- What if I can’t find wifi?
- What if the location is too noisy?
- What if the background is too busy?
- Will I look strange on camera with unpredictable lighting?
Here’s the secret! Your solutions to your anxious questions … are your remote kit!
What should go in your kit?
If you’re worried about finding wifi, your remote kit needs to include a wireless hotspot.
If you’re worried about a noisy location, invest in quality noise-canceling headphones.
If you’re worried about a busy background, use a virtual background or buy a popup one.
If you’re worried about unpredictable lighting, buy a portable lighting kit.
Every kit is unique because our needs are unique. Buy what you need to address your concerns, and take your remote kit with you.
Secret #3: The Daily Reminder
You need a reminder that you are valuable, not your location. You can be effective anywhere. Write it somewhere so you can see it every single day until you internalize the message.
“They hired me, not my location.”
“I’m effective anywhere I go.”
“I’m prepared, I’m talented, and I’m free to work from anywhere.”
Write your own daily reminder: __________________________.
What’s Blocking You?
If you can’t visualize yourself working from anywhere yet, identify your blocker:
Interruptions - If you are worried that you will be interrupted by work, then your blocker is a weak workday ritual. Take a couple of weeks to clearly communicate and defend your schedule because your daily personal time will give you the freedom you need to work from anywhere.
Unpredictable work conditions - If you’re concerned you won’t have what you need at each location, then your remote kit is incomplete. Spend some time buying what you need to put your mind at ease. To work from anywhere means you’re prepared for anything.
Imposter syndrome - “Other people can work from anywhere, but I can’t.” If you continue to tell yourself that you are limited … you are limiting yourself with a negative daily reminder. Replace that with a positive daily reminder that, “Anyone can work from anywhere if they’re prepared.”
Identify your blocker, and choose the right solution to unblock yourself. Ready to go remote? Let’s look at what you need to get started in a remote career that gives you the freedom to work anywhere.
Get Started
Yes, you can work from anywhere. You admire people who do, and they probably make it look easy. But everyone needs to prepare for flexible work. Before your can confidently start working from anywhere, you need to check these off your list:
- Create your workday ritual
- Create your remote kit
- Create your daily reminder
Working remotely is a learned lifestyle, and like anything, it takes preparation and a change in mindset. To be an effective remote worker, you’ll need to set yourself up for success first.
Ready to start living a fully remote lifestyle? Browse our remote job postings and join the community to never miss a 100% remote job opportunity!
