5 Quick Remote Working Productivity Tips

I've read a lot, and wrote a bit, about remote working practices over the last few months and how things have changed because now everyone, and not just some people, are working remotely.

On Friday, I read this tweet by Duncan Morrow from Ulster University (@duncan_morrow):

"Working from home in my experience is relentless, exhausting and lacking colour, colleagues and variety. It is, of course, a luxury compared to unemployment. And it demands more concentration and effort not less."

I've heard lots of similar stories and the last few months have made me think about the best ways of managing this.

Here are five quick calendar related suggestions to deal with the relentlessness of remote meetings.

1. Decline any remote meetings where the sender has not included an agenda with estimated timings. Or reply and ask for the agenda before you agree to accept.
2. Promote a culture of 15 minutes as the default meeting time with your team / company. If it needs to take longer, the meeting owner should justify it in the agenda.
3. Reserve your own lunch time in your calendar for your own sanity, especially if you have kids at home.
4. Plan time in your own calendar for 15 minutes here and there, which may force other to think about shorter slots and give you some down time or meeting preparation time. This prevents you hopping from one meeting to the next unprepared.
5. Book longer periods of busy time for off-line tasks. Don't be afraid to 'go dark' completely - no email, IM or calls.

The above may or may not apply based on your role. Developers often see meetings as task switchers which kill productivity. For some at least, remote working may have increased the amount of these and caused productivity to drop.

I'm interested in finding out anyone elses tips, best practices, productivity tips, recent experience if you've got any.