25 Mar What can I do to help you right now?

I find myself fortunate that remote working is my normal. For nearly two years I’ve been working out of a home studio with the systems in place to work with a range of clients and suppliers.

I’ve had many conversations this week about transitioning studios to remote working. I’ve done this a few times and can say the biggest hurdle for creative businesses is managing file transfer.

Many people don’t understand the amount of file storage needed to run a project. Often it’s well into the gigabytes – and this does not transfer quickly over the internet.

The second hurdle is the need to maintain strict version control and backups at an time when your workforce is split across multiple locations. It’s in this chaos when mistakes are made and projects might accidentally go to print riddled with errors.

What are you finding most difficult at the moment?

Process, Design, Technology? If you need support in any way please get in touch. My experience is at your service.

While listening to a fantastic podcast recently I heard a piece of relevant advice for video meetings. Over animate. At first I thought this was silly but it makes sense that in order to make connections we have to make up for the lack of real eye contact and proximity. So get involved. Gesticulate wildly!

There’s a lot of online resources to improve your remote working. Here’s four quick points that will hopefully take the stress out of it:

1. Stick to your usual work day routine. Don’t start sleeping in. And don’t sit at your desk in your pyjamas. Turn your usual commute time into doing something else… like reading a book or learning to cook that polenta you panic bought.
2. Keep communications up. Start a shared Spotify playlist or group chat on your preferred platform.
3. Try new things. If you find Skype annoying try Hangouts. Use this time to learn new technologies. Join TikTok!
4. Take it easy. Don’t stress out about productivity or distractions. It’s not easy working remotely and it takes practice to build discipline. Just be honest about this with your clients and colleagues because they’re all going through the same thing. You’ll get better with time.

Above all stay healthy.

Your desk and chair at home may not be the quality you’re used to. So don’t spend too much time sitting at it. Get up. Do some squats. Put on some nice clothes, Call a friend and protect yourself from feeling lonely. Stay vibrant.