Category: The Journey Blog

Everyone suddenly needs to know about working remotely.

Yep, everyone is expected to know how to use the tools with minimal training when a lot of people are only just finding out these tools exist! So, I think it’s timely to put a post together with tools and tips for effective remote working to help those who are working out when to Slack, Zoom, or Hangout. Yep, I’m going to help you know your Hubspot from your Trello and your Monday from your Harvest. I guess there is no escaping the jargon regardless of whether you’re working from home or working remotely.

Full disclaimer: I’m still pretty new to this as well and I’m working it out as I go!

Haven’t you written about this before?

Sort of. A few weeks back (before COVID-19 had officially made it to NZ), I happened to write about working from home. You can check it out here.

BUT, this post is different. That post was general tips and tricks for someone thinking about working from home. This is guidance on what tools go where for someone who is unexpectedly and suddenly working remotely.

The tools.

So, here a few basic tools (my favourites!) to help you get underway on your remote working adventure.

Slack

Slack is an instant messaging platform. It is insanely flexible and fun to use. You can sign up to multiple organisations, and then within an organisation, you can have as many (or as few) channels as you want. Common channels that I have seen are general, random/lols (absolutely 100% require this one!), finance, and marketing. More recently, many businesses have created COVID19 channels to make it easy to share more specific news and updates. The best part? The free plan is awesome!

Zoom, Meet, & Hangout

I’m not really sure how Skype managed to stuff up their complete domination of the video calling market that they used to have. But they did. Anyway, Zoom is my personal favourite video-calling tool – I find it is much more stable than Google Hangouts & Google Meet (which is Google’s business version of Hangouts) with better functionality. In my opinion, the only thing that Hangouts does better than Zoom is that it’s free functionality is a little more wide ranging i.e. group calls (>2 participants) on Zoom are limited to 40 minutes but there’s no such limits on Hangouts.

The difference between Hangouts & Meet:

Hangouts is free but limited to 10 people on a video chat and 100 on an audio chat – all you need is a gmail address to use it.

Google Meet is included with any paid G-Suite subscription and the functionality differs whether you’re on the basic, business, or enterprise pricing plan. Find out more here.

Hubspot & Trello

I have used both Hubspot and Trello for sales pipeline management. Both have excellent functionality on their free plans. If you are looking for something insanely simple, check out Trello. Hubspot is quite a bit more complicated but has A LOT of functionality. They are both good – I prefer Trello for its simplicity (probably an insight into my brain there 😂)

Harvest

Harvest is my new favourite tool. I divide my time up between multiple clients and I was finding it difficult to properly track my time. Enter Harvest. Problem solved. It’s intuitive and is easy to use on my phone and laptop – I highly recommend it if you’re looking to track your time more easily and effectively. I’m actually using it to measure all of my paid and unpaid time to hold myself accountable. Smart.

Any other tips on working remotely?

Of course! Here goes:

• Video calling is the way to go. In the absence of true face-to-face interaction, video calling is absolutely the best option. Voice calls are left in the dust.
• Get up and move frequently. Studies have shown that people tend to become more idle and work more hours when working from home. Take regular breaks and keep track of the time!
• Further to that, try and work the hours that suit you! When you’re working remotely, your schedule changes. Make it work for you.
• Over-communicate with your team, friends and family. Create the water-cooler moments that your house probably won’t have. You likely won’t realise how much you miss the small talk until it’s gone. In reality, you’ll think you’re over-communicating but you won’t be. You’ll just be communicating 🤘
• Speaks for itself but make the most of having no commute!

Needing some support during these difficult times?

You can get free support in New Zealand from qualified counsellors by texting or calling 1737. We’re all in this together.

#Pupdate

Prior to the lockdown, we took Billie home to meet our Palmerston North based whānau. We were fortunate to capture the very cute moment pictured below. Billie and her friend Newton (the mobility dog) became fast friends and enjoyed a cuddle on the couch! <3

S.

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Resilience is key in times like these. We are facing into serious headwinds as it seems like the world is collapsing around us. Between coronavirus, global markets tanking, massive bush fires, and climate change (yes, it’s still here!), 2020 is proving to be a tough one for humanity.

If you’re missing climate change news, I found this great newsletter which provides daily climate news to your inbox. They plant a tree for every new subscriber. Sign up here: https://www.dailyclimatenews.com/

I have to admit I’m feeling a sense of pretty serious unease. It’s not so much for my personal safety but more for those around me. I’m aware that we have an opportunity to get ahead of the virus and it’s crucial that we take every step to gain control & containment. I wholeheartedly support the actions taken by New Zealand’s government so far.

Positivity is important.

Other than adopting the recommended preventative measures, I think the most important thing to do in this most peculiar situation is to stay positive! By doing so, you’ll be helping those around you massively. Positivity breeds positivity. We need to be aware that we still have a lot to be thankful for. We need to look out for our friends and family and we need to focus on the things that we can control (rather than worrying about the things that we cannot).

Resilience in self-employment.

These lessons are also particularly important for those in self-employment. In the six months since I began my self-employment journey, I have enjoyed mainly good times – I’m certainly not pleading poverty now (in fact, I’m still cautiously optimistic) but I am noticing that attitudes have changed and belts have been tightened. The business environment has changed dramatically overnight (it seems like it anyway!).

So what can I do? I need to stick to my knitting. That’s to say that I’m going to attempt to control the things that I can – I’m going to keep my own costs down and make sure I do my job well for my clients. It’s A LOT easier to do this when I’m maintaining a positive attitude. My goal right now is to remain positive, demonstrate resilience, and provide value to those around me.

On another note..

I do have a business announcement to make. I’ve talked in previous blog posts about BigAir – a platform that Hayden Bishop and I set-up to help people create beautiful and effective Airbnb listings. We’ve decided to put BigAir on hold as we don’t feel promoting Airbnb hosting is a sensible or safe thing to do at this point in time. When things settle down, we’ll look to relaunch in some shape or form. Watch this space.

#Pupdate

We went for a stunning walk around Lyall Bay with some mates and dogs the other weekend! It was Billie’s first walk – though we carried her the whole way (she’s not allowed on footpaths yet as she isn’t fully vaccinated!).

S.

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Do you know your Value proposition? How do you go about finding it? If you’ve been in formal employment for several years, you’ve likely had the benefit of your employer’s value proposition i.e. their product/service provides X value. You just need to be able to (effectively) communicate this value to prospective clients.

How is this different when you’re self-employed?

To become self-employed, you have to have something to sell. Most people have a rough idea of what they’re good at but one of the troubles is working out how to market this to prospective clients in an effective and efficient way.

In my experience, the best way to work on this is to simply talk to people. You should talk to friends, family, and anyone else that is in your network and willing to chat. You aren’t trying to sell to them, you’re just refining your conversational skills and your ability to properly articulate your value.

The flip-side of this is that your value proposition has to be something that people actually want & need. So, when you’re working through the value identification process, this is an important question to ask yourself.

I think we can boil it down to a few points. You need to know:

• What you’re good at
• That people demand what you’re good at
• How to market yourself and your skills

(Yep, WTH. What the hell.) 😂

If you know these three things then I think you’re well on your way!

Do you know what your value proposition is?

I think working out your value proposition is a hugely rewarding activity.

If you can pair sound knowledge of your value in the business community with portable productivity, then you could do well in the world of self-employment.

Activity

So, my challenge to you; have a go at defining what you’re good at, testing demand, and communicating your value. THEN, tell me what your value proposition is.

If you’re struggling here, I’d love to help you work out what your value proposition is. I’m more than happy to be one of the people who can help you refine your thought processes. Just flick me an email, give me a call, message me on LinkedIn. Whatever works for you.

#Pupdate

We’re bonding. She’s a great pup and toilet training is going pretty well so far (touch-wood).

She’s sleeping peacefully as I write this. Building up energy for afternoon craziness!

S.

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Do you like working from home? Or, do you prefer working from an office?

When I was in formal employment, I had the opportunity to work from home but I rarely took my employer up on this as I felt that I needed the structure of a formal workplace to be productive (on that note, check out my earlier blog post about structure vs. chaos). Now that I’m self-employed and my work is largely self-led, I’ve had to learn how to become productive from anywhere – whether I’m working from home, a client’s office, a cafe or somewhere else.

My hypothesis? If I could take the workplace and make it portable, then I’d be able to be productive anywhere.

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”

– Unknown

Creating a ‘workplace’.

My idea was to create a ‘workplace’ that I can take with me. Do this and I can crack transportable productivity! I worked out that it’s crucial to have a small amount of good equipment & tools. You also need to be able carry this with you anywhere without too much hassle. Here are some ideas for your workplace toolkit:

• Laptop (+ charger!)
• Headphones (bonus comfort points if they’re bluetooth)
• Phone charger & powerbank
• Notebook (and pens!)
• Keep-cup for your environmentally friendly tea or coffee on-the-go!
• Healthy snack (sometimes this can be traded for something less healthy!)
• A good, comfortable backpack to cart this stuff about

If you can tick all of these boxes, you know that you’ve got everything you need to succeed no matter where you’re working from (well, that’s what I believe anyway!)

Variety.

Variety, as they say, is the spice of life. I’ve also found (as I should have found a long time ago) that by changing up my workspace, I’m actually more productive and better at thinking outside the box. There is a saying that goes: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”

So, why should your workspace be any different! When you are constantly working from the same space (and probably in the same way!), how can you expect to do better, be better, and achieve the best possible results.

Benefits.

There are a bunch of other benefits of working from home. A few of my favourites are that the commute is a breeze, I can provide great service to Airbnb guests if we have them staying, and I can keep the washing all up to date.

Sidebar: Want to set-up an Airbnb in your home? Check this out.

The other benefit is that I can hang out with the puppy that now lives in our home. Speaking of…

#Pupdate (including cute photo!)

Billie has arrived safely at our whare (home) and is settling in well. She certainly is a handful and, to be honest, is way more work than I’d expected BUT it’s so rewarding watching her learn and grow. We think she’s going to be a great dog for our little whānau (family)

S.

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