work boundaries – Growing Forward

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For many people, remote working is the ultimate situation. It gives you the freedom to work in a manner that suits you without the dreaded commute. But working remotely is a challenge unlike any other. You’ve got to function under your own steam and if you are working at home for a very specific reason, such as having children, it can be harder than going into an office. There can be so many distractions when we work remotely that we’ve got to figure out the right ways to keep ourselves on task. What can we do to retain and improve our productivity in this environment?

Set Up An Office Space

This is rule number one! If you are working in the kitchen or in your bedroom this is going to decrease your productivity. You need to set up an office space exclusively for the purposes of working. This is somewhere that gives you the opportunity to switch into work mode. This means that you’ve got to be very protective over this space. It should only have the bare minimum of items. This could mean a desk, a computer, and a chair. But you’ve also got to make sure that the space isn’t going to cause any niggling doubt in your mind. If you are someone who likes everything neat and tidy before you go into work every morning grab your cleaning products and give the place an efficient wipe down. Even if you cannot get a spare room you’ve got to set aside one corner for working that won’t distract you. You have to remember that even though you are at home you need to work! Do whatever you can to get into that work frame of mind.

Find Your Productivity “Sweet Spot”

It can take some time to get rights because there are so many different variables at play. If you are someone who likes to sleep in and doesn’t get productive until the middle of the day you’ve got to work with your abilities, not against them. They could prove beneficial to find out your chronotype, which is where your sleeping patterns can dictate how productive you are at certain times of day. The most important thing to remember is that when we find the sweet spot that we can easily switch our brain into working mode. It may not necessarily be at home. But if you can start to look at the right time that you do certain tasks perhaps you check emails over a cup of coffee at 7 in the morning but you do your longer writing tasks in the middle of the afternoon you can start to structure your day accordingly.

Establish Boundaries

The most effective component of working remotely is communication. And when you start to designate specific hours for checking emails or collaborating with other workers you’ve got to establish certain boundaries. If people keep emailing you this will interrupt your workflow. This is why schedule is crucial, but you also need to be firm in your boundaries. If you are working with others, try and block a specific time for meetings. If you do this in the morning everybody can get on with their day.

It’s definitely a challenge but as more companies are working in this fashion it is crucial to find your natural rhythm.

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The traditional wedding vow is a romantic take on the idea of commitment. For better or worse, the wedded partners promise each other to stay faithful and dedicated to the union. The idea is that, ultimately, while there might be dark and difficult days, their commitment to making it work is precisely what preserves the relationship.

The business world, however, has a similar understanding of relationships. Indeed, business partners also need to display commitment and dedication to hold their relationship together. More importantly, they have to know from the start that, while the partnership is built on the expectation of success, there will be hectic and challenging times. But for better or worse, they agree that the union of their skills and mindsets is what is going to drive the business further. Partners who succeed are those who stay together through thick and thin.

Be prepared for uncomfortable discussions

A partnership is a promise of joining forces to aim further and higher. But, while the partnership might sound seamless in theory, in practice, it can be a bumpy road until you get to know and understand each other. Therefore, you need to be ready for criticism and complaints as you work to figure out the best way to move forward. But don’t let complaints get in the way of your collective success. On the contrary, take criticism onboard. Deal with your partner feedback in the same way you would if it came from your customers. Learn from it and discover the key to improve your relationship. Sooner or later, things can go wrong, even in a close partnership. But engaging in an honest conversation keeps the heart of your partnership beating; and as you do, you learn to get your objectives and approaches back in sync.

You need to go out of your way to meet them

Your partnership needs to exist beyond the boundaries of the office. Your partner is not just a cog in the machine. He’s a friend in the business world. You need to work to maintain this friendship, and ultimately, you need to be ready to engage socially. A catch-up lunch during the week is an excellent way of deepening your connection, especially if you are comfortable talking about your personal life and challenges. Discussing kids, showing each other pictures of the latest home improvement project, or even planning an evening out together can help to reinforce your bond. Why not train together too? If you want to keep it business-like, you can opt for golfing – you’ll find plenty of affordable equipment on rockbottomgolf.com, if you’re not an enthusiastic golfer. Similarly, if you live in the same area, why not schedule your running routes together or join the same gym? In short, there are plenty of options to see each other outside of the office environment.

It should be a win-win relationship

Business partners are brought together by one crucial goal: They want to launch a successful product, service or event. In other words, regardless of the friendship connection that might be between you, your top priority is to ensure that you both bring something indispensable to the project. It’s no surprise that partners who come from different backgrounds work well together: They have complementary skills. The combination of your understanding for each other and your specific expertise makes the partnership stable and effective. More often than not, one partner brings the designing and creative skills while the other delivers the operational and logistical side of the business.

Think long-term at all times

There is no denying that building a business partnership that can thrive in the modern market is tough. For a start, your collaboration is unlikely to hit the ground running. You will need time to establish the rules of working together and creating toward the same goal. As you both come from different backgrounds and experience paths, aligning your strategies can take time and effort. But in the process, you learn to develop a consistent message across the board and to define your long-term goals, as per entrepreneur.com. You will need to keep the long-term objective in mind to stay focused and go through demanding and challenging times.

You need a hit

Last, but not least, your common project needs to attract customers. The primary purpose of working together is to generate a new source of income. Two people who appreciate each other and work toward one unique objective can still fail to build a successful partnership if they can’t sell their product or service.

Just like the wedding bond, your partnership needs to stay united through thick and thin. But, unlike marriage, your business partnership requires a profitable goal to justify its existence too. Making it work as partners is as much about hitting the market as understanding each other.