Context: I work as a remotedeveloper in a government department.
Practices that help:
Show up at least 3 minutes early to every meeting. Change your clocks to run 3 minutes ahead if you can’t discipline yourself to do it. Shows commitment.
On a related note, take personal time to reflect before a meeting. Think of questions you want to ask or what you want to achieve, even if you’re not hosting the meeting and you just do it for 5 minutes.
Try scheduling a calendar reminder with an intention before the meeting. Ex: Say back what others said before you speak (active listening). Ex: Go out of your way to help. Ex: Red team ideas.
Create a physical calendar and cross off days until the end of a project. Creates urgency.
Displace email communication to some organised form/tracker. Ex: When I have a bunch of bug/features to write code for, I’ll ask people to put their comments in one centralised spreadsheet instead of keeping track of email threads.
Host events to build personal connections. Ex: Games lunches, making cards for someone who just had a baby, etc. Takes virtual relationships a lot further.
Ask for recurring feedback. Ex: in a weekly meeting. Forces people to actually reflect on how you’ve been doing instead of giving superficial answers impromptu. Also, normalises negative feedback as well as positive.
If you do get superficial responses: “X looks awesome!”—ask followups like: “Could you give me an example of what went well so that I know what to keep doing?”
Context: I work as a remote developer in a government department.
Practices that help:
Show up at least 3 minutes early to every meeting. Change your clocks to run 3 minutes ahead if you can’t discipline yourself to do it. Shows commitment.
On a related note, take personal time to reflect before a meeting. Think of questions you want to ask or what you want to achieve, even if you’re not hosting the meeting and you just do it for 5 minutes.
Try scheduling a calendar reminder with an intention before the meeting. Ex: Say back what others said before you speak (active listening). Ex: Go out of your way to help. Ex: Red team ideas.
Create a physical calendar and cross off days until the end of a project. Creates urgency.
Displace email communication to some organised form/tracker. Ex: When I have a bunch of bug/features to write code for, I’ll ask people to put their comments in one centralised spreadsheet instead of keeping track of email threads.
Host events to build personal connections. Ex: Games lunches, making cards for someone who just had a baby, etc. Takes virtual relationships a lot further.
Ask for recurring feedback. Ex: in a weekly meeting. Forces people to actually reflect on how you’ve been doing instead of giving superficial answers impromptu. Also, normalises negative feedback as well as positive.
If you do get superficial responses: “X looks awesome!”—ask followups like: “Could you give me an example of what went well so that I know what to keep doing?”