Jorge Tutor - @jltutor

Self-Management

In Remote Environments

Agility, Innovation, and Leadership

Jorge Tutor

metadrop.net

After more than 10 years dedicated to online projects, leading work teams, and helping organizations to develop successful products, I have discovered that all I have learned is also applicable to non-technical areas. I'm a Software Engineer, gently changing his focus to help people improving their skills and achieve their goals.

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I speak from my own experience as an employee, as a teammate, as an entrepreneur... as a person. I read, experiment, learn, rehearse, make mistakes, retest, fail early, analyze and start again!

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Find me on jorgetutor.me

drupal.org/u/gedur

CIO at

Why

Self-Management in Remote Environments

Flexible Working is becoming the New Normal

• It is Increasing everywhere�Between 2005 to 2017, there was a 159% increase in remote work (US).�
• It attracts and Retains Talent�It is one of the most effective and non-monetary ways to retain employees. �
• It is Good for Business�Productivity can increase in a company because of greater flexibility.�
• Remote Workers Are More Productive�Fewer distractions and interruptions, less stress from no commute.

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• It is Here to Stay�Finally, in a study conducted by Condeco Software on 2020, 41% of global businesses surveyed say they already offer some degree of remote working, while 60% provide flextime opportunities that allow employees to choose when to start and end their workday.

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Upwork’s “Future Workforce Report” predicts that 73% of all teams will have remote workers by 2028.

��Source flexjobs.com/blog/post/remote-work-statistics/

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Remote Work does not work out of the box

Enabling a remote workforce is not “business as usual”.

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There are critical differences in managing in-office and remotely: communication, culture, and management must adjust. ��How do we transition to remote work?

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Andrew Neel

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Tips for a successful remote transformation

1. Establish a remote leadership team�Count on experts with remote experience who will document challenges in real time.
2. Establish a Handbook�Develop a single source of truth, where all important process will be documented.
3. Establish a Communications Plan�For example, always-on video conference room (come and go), async communication.
4. Minimize your Tool Stack�Define clear instructions for the use of these tools.
5. Drive change�Transition is a process.

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Organizations

• Carve out a dedicated workspace�And use it purely for work purposes .
• Separate work from personal life�Being at home most of the day, does not mean you’re available.
• Engage with People�There is no office to influence spontaneous communication.
• Respect the routine, experiment with change�Not everyone shares the same peak hours of energy and focus
• Roll with the changes�Transition is a process.

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Employees

Source: GitLab

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This Session about YOU

“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”�Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Record Your Distractions

What/When/Where are they?

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• Neverending Email Loops

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• Subscriptions/Newsletters

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• Project comments

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• Work/Personal Chat channels

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• Teammates help

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• Multiple meetings/Calls

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• Social Media Notifications

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• ...

Elena Xausa

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Limit Your Distractions

Michael Dziedzic

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Eliminate/Ignore:

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• Eliminate Waste
• Remove/Block APPs
• Turn off notifications
• Unsubscribe from newsletters

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Schedule:

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• Check inbox 2-3 times per day
• Set team-support hours
• Plan breaks

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Transform:

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• Reduce Meeting/Call time
• Async Meetings
• Isolation / Availability flags

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Willpower is a Limited Resource

Use self-nudging to make better choices

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If we have a cake in front of our eyes, we will most likely grab it. But we can make a healthier diet for ourselves if we put away sweets and put healthy fruit in front of us.

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Willpower decreases:

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• Decision Making Process
• Deep work
• “Frog eating”
• Worries (that probably will never happen)

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Context Switching

40% of distractions are Self-Initiated!

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WHY?

• Focusing is hard
• Lack of Motivation
• Low Energy

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A Diary Study of Task Switching and Interruptions

Mary Czerwinski Eric Horvitz Susan Wilhite

Microsoft Research - http://erichorvitz.com/taskdiary.pdf

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Work on the ones you can control!

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HOW?

• Reduce/Group phone calls
• Group email inbox management
• Avoid leave unfinished Tasks
• Capture ideas when they come (but continue with that you're currently doing and do not switch)

Stop Multitasking

“People who multitask all the time can't filter out irrelevancy. They can't manage a working memory. They're chronically distracted”

 Clifford Nass, 2010

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Needed time

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Wasted time

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Interruptions

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Deconcentration

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“Adventure is just bad planning.”�Roald Amundsen

Align with your Goals

Time cannot be managed, you can only take advantage of it

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• You always decide
• Find gaps between the most valued tasks

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Regular reviews

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• Daily
• Weekly
• Monthly
• Yearly

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Estée Janssens

@esteejanssens

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Prioritize your Tasks

Have a plan, even if you need to change it

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• Confirm what you will do
• Focus
• Follow your plan
• Adjust your plan
• Eat that frog! Start with the most important/urgent ones
• Reschedule what is left for the next days

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Tasks vs Projects

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• Tasks: simple action
• Project: sum of tasks

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Clean Your Inbox & control your Notifications

Process all your inbox at once

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• Trash
• Keep it (as reference)
• Do it (<2min)
• Delegate it
• Defer it

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Gettings Things Done

David Allen

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Automate your inbox

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• Automatic filters
• Reminders

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“Always remember, your focus determines your reality.”�George Lucas

Deep Work vs Shallow Work

Deep Work

Cal Newport

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3-4 hours/day�(On average)

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Adopt a Self-Service and Self-learning mentality

ASSUME YOUR QUESTION IS ALREADY ANSWERED

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• It's not what you know, it's knowing where to look for.
• Resist defaulting to tapping on the virtual shoulder of someone as soon as an inquiry comes to mind: redirect that effort into searching.
• Help documenting processes.
• Rely on your team support, only when needed

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Keegan Houser

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The Pomodoro Technique

Work by intervals

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• 25 min work
• 5 min short break
• Each 4 pomodoros: 20 min break

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Plan your day

• Break tasks into pomodoros
• Measure

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Benefits

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• At least 25 min of deep work
• Team members will wait ~12 min (on average)

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Drawbacks

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• Stops workflow
• Not intense deep work
• Forces you to continue even if you are exhausted

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Pomodoro Technique�Francesco Cirillo

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The Rest Time Countdown Technique

Work by intervals

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• Decide work time (e.g. 4 hours)
• Decide total break time (e.g 30 min)
• Everytime you want/needed take a break and continue the countdown. Pause it once you go back to work.

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Practice and find your own work-break balance!

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Benefits

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• Intense of deep work
• No flow stop
• Conscious control over your breaks

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Drawbacks

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• Team members will wait longer if they need something from you.

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How Good Is Enough

A - The Efficient Person - “Good enough.”

B - The Perfectionist - “Great work.”�Only for important tasks. Productivity will drop significantly. The more your productivity decreases.

C - The Anal-Retentive Person - “Never Perfect.”

This extra amount of time will only generate a minor improvement. Is it worth it?

The curve of excellence

Bob Bly

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The 80/20 Rule

Focus on the 20%

The Pareto distribution

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“Trust in your employees is essential for remote work success. It also forms the underlying foundation of a great virtual culture.”�Larry English�

Document Everything�(yes, everything)

Single Source of Truth

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• Process
• Company Goals / OKRs
• Values
• Knowhow
• NO unwritten rules
• Make all in charge
• Foster collaboration / training

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GitLab handbook

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Communication

Asynchronous also refers to the fact that you’re not expected to respond immediately.

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It is fundamental to distinguish between:

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1. Async communication
1. Email
2. Chat: Slack, Whatsapp
3. Project Tools: GItLab, Jira, Asana

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• Sync communication
• Phone calls
• Meetings

Text communication can be difficult

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WHY?

• Cultural / language differences
• Time zones
• Bank holidays
• Lack of non-verbals

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Develop a context-less Communication

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HOW?

• Invest 5 min more, save double (or more!)
• Reduce Loops
• Helps others to understand

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Meetings

"I Survived to

Another Meeting That�Should Have Been An Email”

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• Have an agenda
• Make it Optional
• Document discussions, decisions and actions
• Record it
• Transform it (remote!)

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Daily Standup Meeting Is Wasting Your Time - Xuan-Gieng Nguyen

https://hackernoon.com/daily-standup-meeting-is-wasting-your-time-1ss3270

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“When you work, work hard.

When you’re done, be done”.

Cal Newport, 2016. Deep Work

Shutdown Ritual

Incomplete tasks will dominate your attention so they will not be forgotten�Zeigarnik effect

�Design a shutdown ritual you trust, ensure that every incomplete task has been captured in order to revisit it later.

At the end of your workday, shutdown work thinking completely, in case you need more time just extend your workday.

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Tim Mossholder

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The Unconscious Mind

Idleness is paradoxically necessary in order to get any work done. Inject regular substantial freedom from professional concerns into your day.�

WHY?

• It helps Insights. Provide your conscious brain time to rest so your unconscious mind will take a shift sorting through your most complex challenges.

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• It helps you recharge energy. Direct attention is a finite resource.

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• The work that downtime replaces is usually not that important. On average, the limit of intense concentration per day is 4 hours.

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Anthony Tran

@anthonytran

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“There is no such thing as work-life balance. Everything worth fighting for unbalances your life”.�Alain de Botton

Create Personal and Professional Boundaries

Choose consciously what to do with your personal time

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• Mind: Books, courses, tutorials
• Spirit: Books, meditation, music, art
• Body: Sport, walking, dancing
• Social: Family, friends, social networks

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Time is limited: accept that increasing any specific pilar will impact the others.

Work

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Sleep

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Plan Your Personal Time

Book time for yourself at the beginning and the end of each day.

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Start the day doing something meaningful for you!

Work time

Summary

• Setup your optimal workspace
• Invest wisely your limited willpower
• Deal and limit distractions.
• Focus, focus, focus.
• Have a plan, even if it needs to be changed
• Embrace asynchronous work
• Shutdown until next day
• Set boundaries between your professional and personal life

Self-Management in Remote Environments

Mohamed Nohassi

@coopery

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Any questions?

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