For many years before I belong to a distributed team, my work routine was the same. Get up, work out, take a shower, get dressed (always with a tie), and drive to the office. When I arrived, I used to meet and work with my team; I’d schedule meetings with my boss and other coworkers; and work on other miscellaneous things until the day was over. When all was said and done, every day was the same.
I discovered that people could create their own personal routines. That meant that I had the opportunity to schedule my day and be more efficient thanks to the flexibility of working remotely. I could open my computer from the living room, from the pool, from the beach, from my own office or any other place. I could be in informal or formal attire, or with a pizza or ice cream at my side; At the end of the day, I am the one who decides where and how to work.
While that sounds very flexible and very good, in order to be successful in a distributed team you need to have a high level of discipline to deal with challenges brought about with this new way to work. When you know how to handle these challenges responsibly, you will be able to enjoy the benefits that are presented while working in a distributed team.
I believe that learning how to best manage your time and workspace, especially close to the family, is one of the most important keys to being the most productive. Working in a distributed team can help you mature so that you can better manage the divide between your work life and personal life by teaching you how to better organize yourself in order to fulfill all your responsibilities.
In the beginning, you may be in for a surprise, and you may make some mistakes. But when you learn how to control this new style of working, you will discover that distributed teams are here to stay.
“After working for some time with distributed teams, I do not see myself returning to the old style of work.”
Author: Javier Ordoñez
Chief Strategy Officer at TechAID
LinkedIn: Javier Ordoñez
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