This month we are exploring a number of remote working myths including “Out of sight equals out of mind” as well as other remote work pitfalls.

Today’s post explores the myth that “Boundaries aren’t important” and that remote work is always flexible.

One of the main challenges of remote work is that we are usually pulled in a number of different directions by people who can’t see what we are working on. Not knowing the context can provide a lack of clarity around priorities and workflow. At the same time, we may also want to accommodate all requests and say yes, rather than discerning what is a priority.

On another level, boundaries can become blurred in our home/work life, especially if we are working from home and have not set up a dedicated area for work – be sure to check out my post from last month about “setting yourself up for success in the remote space” and making sure you have what you need.

Consider the different boundaries that are important in your work, this might include:

• Boundaries between different tasks and projects you are working on
• Boundaries between the different teams you are part of
• Boundaries between your working hours and non-working hours
• Boundaries between when you are ON and OFF
• Boundaries between priorities
• Boundaries between your work and home space

What do you notice as you explore these boundaries? What conversations do you want to have?

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized 
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2019) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder 
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development.
Pick up a copy of Volume 1 of the Weekly Journaling Prompts in a digital format. Print it out and take it with you for some inspiration and writing on the go! Available at the Potentials Realized Store.
For those looking for tips, tools and ideas about remote work and support for your remote teams, be sure to check out these tags and resources. ​

Today is “back to work” day for many professionals. With Labor Day just behind us, it’s time to get back to the regular routine. For some of you, you may be doing more remote work. As someone who has run a virtual business for more than 15 years and supported virtual and remote teams for a decade-plus before than, remote work has been the backdrop of my career. It’s getting more attention these days as organizations are looking to reduce their footprint, and as employees are requesting more freedom.

So, how do we make remote work, work? There are of course some significant differences – including future immediate disruptions, less time spent with colleagues and the autonomy of working on projects.

This month here at the Teams365 blog, we’ll continue exploring different areas and parts of the remote work space. If this is a topic you are interested in, be sure to check out these other remote posts.

In today’s post I wanted to share four things to keep an eye on when you are working remote:

#1 – Create a dedicated work space. Having a dedicated work space, which doesn’t take over the entire house is critical. It’s often a fine balance between having space to focus, and a place to put away (or close the door). Be sure to make it effective, quiet and well lit. Dollar stores can be a great place to pick up the office supplies you need in order to get started, and bins and plastic boxes can keep things corralled. Is there a closet you can dedicate some space in for filing materials needed? What about noise and privacy? Security for your files? Does anything need to be updated in your homeowner’s insurance policy to reflect your new work space?

#2 – Make a point to establish routine that will get you moving and in connection with others. Isolation is one of the more common challenges for remote workers. This is where establishing a routine to “get you out of the office” on a regular basis can be of benefit. Maybe you want to take part in a lunchtime exercise class (I swim 3-4 times a week) or maybe you want to tap into breakfast meetings held in your community. Consider the things that will get you connecting with others – in the in person and virtual space.

#3 – Consider your rhythms. We each have a different rhythm for work. Recent studies are showing that remote workers can be more productive than their counterparts in offices. Some of this may be due to the flexibility of working WHEN you want. I also often recommend to organizations to consider a set of “core hours” where everyone (or a majority) of people are available. This allows for meetings to be called where most people can attend, and it also provides for additional windows for work to get done. Maybe core hours are 10 – 1 pm PT/1 – 4 pm ET every day or 10- 1 pm ET/7 – 10 am PT or some other time frame.

As a professional, when are you at your prime? What will help you get your best work done?

#4 – Create boundaries. As I wrote in last week’s post, boundaries are critical for remote work success. It’s easy to find yourself pulled in many directions, especially if you are part of multiple matrix teams. What are the boundaries what are important for you? (Consider time worked, time available outside or normal hours, etc.) Consider what you need to do to communicate these clearly to others you interface with.

Enjoy!
​Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized 
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2019) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder 
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development.
Pick up a copy of Volume 1 of the Weekly Journaling Prompts in a digital format. Print it out and take it with you for some inspiration and writing on the go! Available at the Potentials Realized Store.
For those looking for tips, tools and ideas about remote work and support for your remote teams, be sure to check out these tags and resources. 

This month we have explored a variety of topics resonant for the mid-year rhythm:

• Digital Detox
• Work-life
• Focus
• Simplification
• Habits
• Creativity

What are you noticing about your work flow and energy right now?
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As we step into the month of August, the work routine may adjust once again, AND I hope that you will be able to return back to these posts once again.
 
Today is the last day of the month, signalling a time to pause and take stock on what the last month was like, and do some planning for the month ahead.
Here are a variety of questions you may want to explore:
Looking back to the month of July:

1. What are you pleased with achieving?
2. What didn’t get completed but is going to be carried forward?
3. What strengths did you leverage this month?
4. What got in the way of your plans/achievements?
5. What helped to MAGNIFY or AMPLIFY things?
6. What helped you FOCUS?
7. What helped you SIMPLIFY?
8. What else is important to note about your month? (metrics, lessons learned, other…)
9. What did you do to renew?
10. What habits did you lean into?

 
Looking ahead to the month ahead:

1. What are your major goals?
2. What do you want to focus on?
3. What do you want to let go of?
4. What will help you simplify?
5. What will help you MAGNIFY or AMPLIFY?
6. What habits do you want to focus on?
7. What relationships do you want to pay attention to?
8. What actions/projects do you want to complete, not matter what?
9. What else is important to note?

Enjoy your reflection!

​Best wishes,
Jennifer

This month many people are taking time off. Renewal is an important part of high performance. It is usually not possible to keep moving at full speed. Many professionals aren’t always able to get the holiday time off they want to renew, but here are some additional ways you may be able to renew at work:

• Explore summer working hours. Is there a way your workday hours can start a bit earlier or later?
• Explore a compressed work week. Is there a way to compress your work hours into 4 days instead of 6, or wrap up early on a Friday by spending an extra hour or so at work Monday through Thursday?
• Take advantage of longer days to explore your community
• Focus on completing a summer project at work. This may be one that helps you grow into new areas, synthesizes things you have learned, or leaves a legacy for your work.
• Make a summer list of things you wish you could do
• Schedule one day weekend trips away
• Move workouts outdoors into the early morning or evening

​Many workplaces do shift to a summer schedule over July and August. Inquire what’s possible and do consider taking advantage of it.

What are the different ways you want to renew?

Best,
Jennifer

Welcome to the month of July! This month is about simplification, and reconnecting to renewal and well being. As we know from high performance research, great teams and leaders need renewal in order to go hard.

With this in mind, this month’s posts are going to focus on items such as:

• Digital Detox
• Work-life
• Focus
• Simplification
• Habits
• Creativity

This month I work from my northern office. I crave these six or seven weeks a year where I get to work really remote. I practice many of the topics we are going to touch on today – from simplification, to digital detox. While I work most days, I’m off the line by 1 or 2 in the afternoon, creating space and a pause to reconnect with my creative passions, and renewing after a busy year. The digital detox is the part I enjoy the most - checking email strategically throughout the week. The most challenging part of it is managing other's expectations. I've found that clearly communicating to clients my "offline" summer availability has made it a realistic way of working - and many of them opt to pick up the phone rather than shoot off multiple emails.

What do you do at this time of year to renew?

Enjoy!
​Jennifer

The final mid-year check in post for the month is all about downshifting and renewal. It can be hard to switch off during the summer months, and yet it is imperative. We need time to renew and recharge. Teams today can’t function 100% of the time at full force. We know from the field of high performance sport, that athletes need phases to renew after a big race. What are you doing to renew in the next few months?
​
For many businesses the next month or two involves a lot of time when people are offline for summer holidays. It may be an opportune time for downshifting and renewal.

In order to get the most out of your time off, consider these questions:

• What do I need to do to wrap up before I go on holidays?
• Who will be covering for me, when I am gone? How do I communicate this (internally/externally)? What do I need to make sure I have for them?
• What do I do to ensure coverage so I can go offline during my time off?

As you focus on your time off ask yourself:

• What is important to do during my time off?
• Who do I want to connect with?
• What, if anything, do I want to check off my summer project or bucket list?
• What’s a non-negotiable around my holiday time?

​Enjoy the reflection!
Jennifer

​Today’s blog post gets us thinking about values. Values serve as anchors or a compass, leading the way or anchoring us when we need to make decisions, prioritize and focus.
​
In an uncertain context, being clear about our behaviors as a team is critical. As we go to explore our values, we may first want to consider what our values are individually. To do this, we might explore the following questions:

• What is important to me?
• What are the things I will take a stand for?
• What’s absolutely essential to have in my work/life?
• What makes me angry/happy/at ease?

 
All of these questions will usually point to a value which is important.
​
Underneath the words of a value are the behaviors. What do the values look like in action? If I were to take my phone into the workplace and record behaviors, what would I see?

As a team, and especially a remote team, having a focus on values can help during periods of uncertainty. Even though the context may change, hopefully our values are not changing in the arena.

As a team, this week consider what your top 3 operating values are this year. What are you committed to, no matter what? Behaviorally, what do these values look like in action?

Best,
​Jennifer

​Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized 
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2019) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder 
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development).
Pick up a copy of Volume 1 of the Weekly Journaling Prompts in an digital format. Print it out and take it with you for some inspiration and writing on the go! Available at the Potentials Realized Store.

One of the areas I commonly hear about from leaders and other professionals is the impact of interruptions and other distractions in their work flow. As research has shown, it can take upwards of twenty or more minutes to refocus when you have been interrupted. What boundaries do you want to create in your work this fall?
As you consider what boundaries are appropriate, consider these questions:

• What’s important in your work right now?
• What’s important with your team’s work right now? Your bosses?
• With this in mind, what are the boundaries need to help you focus and run at full capacity?
• What do you need to defer – shift to a later date?
• What do you need to delegate?
• What items/tasks/projects do you need to say NO to?
• What negotiation might this entail?
• What habits will help you stay focused?
• What else?

Here are some great articles which give you more tips for setting boundaries at work, and why that’s important:

The Inc article by Dana Dionta and Dan Guerra,  “How Successful People Set Boundaries at Work” - https://www.inc.com/dana-gionta-dan-guerra/how-to-manage-boundaries-at-work.html
 
Check out Erin Bucklann’s article over at DailyWorth, “How to Set Work-Life Boundaries at Your New Job” - https://www.dailyworth.com/posts/2251-how-to-set-work-life-boundaries-at-your-new-job

Best wishes,
Jennifer

​Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Effective Virtual Conversations |  Coaching Team Leaders  
We provide team and leadership development support through coaching, consulting and training services
Author of Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner & Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) 
Email: info@potentialsrealized.com
(416)996-8326

It’s Sunday and time to shift our reading attention to video. This week I am pleased to take us back to a few of the past videos I have created around getting back to work which brings to life blog post #613: Creating Healthy Routines.

Here's another short video to watch with a pen or table in hand- Teams365 #1363:Fall planning and reflection. View it here.

Last year's #Flashback Friday which showcased several back to work routines to keep an eye on. Read Teams365 #1357 here.

What's important for you to notice as  you move forward right now?

Enjoy!
​Jennifer

In the next few weeks and month, many of us are getting back to our regular work routines. Whether our children are back to school, or our team at work is back to running at full speed, August and September often signal a “new working year”.

Earlier this month I launched a new business workbook and planner – the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner. While it’s geared for coaches, I am working on another edition for virtual and remote professionals in addition to leaders which should be out later this year.

As you step into your new routine this September there are five areas you may want to consider:

1. What are the key activities you need to direct attention around?

What are the core initiatives you need to keep your eyes on? Steven Covey made famous the phrase “big rocks” years ago. The notion is, if you fit these in first, there's more space to do what we now term "work in the margins". What are your "big rocks" this fall?

2. Keeping the home fires rolling.

Having stepped away from city life for a few months this past summer and working out of a much smaller cottage, I recognize the cost and time invested in some of the more mundane, but essential tasks, it requires to keep an almost 3,000 square foot home in order. From groceries, to meal prep, to home maintenance, what are the tasks that are needed to keep things rolling at home while you work at full-tilt? From online grocery ordering, to meals in a box, or one of our favorite – family meal prep at Supperworks – keeping the home fires burning is essential to many of us.

What are the core elements which are important to you?
 
3. Scheduling in time for your own self-care.

Whether it’s working out, or building in time to renew, we only have one body, and keeping it in top condition is essential. What are the key activities you want to leave time for this year?

4. Clearing the clutter.

While some say that a disheveled office is often seen as part of a creative mind, clearing the clutter can be essential for high performance. Can you take some time before September rolls around to do a purge of items, or clearing of an area which has been growing in size?
 
5. Reviewing, or making your plan, for the fall.

Earlier this week I hosted the first of a series of "back to fall" virtual planning workshops, in a condensed 45 minute hack format. i brought in several of the resources and planning tools from my latest book, Coaching Business Builder: Workbook and Planner.

An older project management adage asserts that 10 minutes of planning can save 20 minutes of unfocused effort. What are your plans for fall? Each month? Each week? Are you taking 5-10 minutes daily, or on a regular basis, to make a list of all the important items?

Best wishes,
Jennifer