Remote Work: How to Contribute and Stay Relevant to Your Team

Publishing Your Calendar

• 🗓️ Publishing your calendar is crucial for remote workers to show availability and what tasks they are working on.
• 💡 Managers and teammates may assume you're not working if they cannot see your schedule, so keeping it updated is your responsibility.
• 📌 Block off time for specific projects, not just meetings, to demonstrate focus on manager priorities.
• ✅ Ensure all meetings, calls, and dedicated work times are reflected on your calendar to provide a clear picture of your day.

Reporting Your Work

• 📢 Doing the work is only half the battle; reporting it is equally important for visibility.
• 📬 If you don't communicate that a task is complete, it might as well not be done, similar to not getting a response about buying milk.
• ⚠️ Don't be afraid to report 'red' if a task is behind schedule or facing issues; early reporting allows for timely intervention.
• 📈 Reporting problems early, like being a day late with clear communication, is far less impactful than letting issues fester for weeks.

Managing Calendar Visibility

• ⚖️ Be mindful of the proportion of personal versus work-related time on your calendar, as it impacts perception.
• 🚫 Avoid over-scheduling; open spaces on your calendar are necessary for unexpected issues and flexibility.
• ⏳ Use your calendar to break against Parkinson's Law by scheduling specific time blocks for tasks, preventing them from expanding unnecessarily.

Subscribing to Others' Calendars

• 🤝 Subscribing to colleagues' calendars helps you avoid interrupting them when they are busy, making communication more effective.
• 💬 Seeing colleagues' calendar entries can provide non-task-related conversation starters, fostering team connection.
• 🌟 Offer support for colleagues' important events, like sales visits, to show you are connected and care about their work.
• 👂 If you use calendar information to initiate conversations, ensure it's perceived as supportive teammate behavior, not checking up.

Don't Miss Meetings & Overcommunicate

• ⏰ As a remote worker, be more accommodating with meeting schedules than if you were in the office.
• 🚫 Declining meetings can lead to assumptions of personal activities, as people may believe nothing should trump their organized event.
• 🚀 Overcommunication is vital for remote employees to prove they care about their teammates and are invested in the team's success.
• 📞 Phone calls are richer transactions than emails for maintaining connections and conveying genuine interest.
• 🌐 Regularly reinforce connections with teammates to prevent the