May 6, 2024 • 8 mins
I'm an advocate of remote work because it's had a transformative impact on my life, especially since I became a father, especially since I've had my, had my kids, and my family has grown. It's something that's I've leaned on in in terms of helping to develop my career and helping to stay close to my family while I do that, but of course, you know it hasn't always been a good experience for me. In this episode I share how I’ve developed my career as a remote professional.
Refer a Remote Work Expert As a Guest On The Show
Click here remoteworklife.io to subscribe to my free newsletter
Connect on LinkedIn
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, it's Alex from Remote Work Life Podcast.
I hope this finds you well,wherever you may be in the world
, and today, on today's tip ofthe day, I want to talk about
embracing personal developmentas a way to improve your remote
work, career and well-being.
Now, I have chosen to createthese bite-sized episodes
(00:20):
because I just want to share, Iguess, my own experience.
When I talk about my ownexperience, I mean things that
I've personally, uh, experiencedmyself, or things that, um, I
have learned that my, mycolleagues and my, my friends
who work remotely haveexperienced themselves.
Uh, and I think this experience, this learning, can if I I feel
(00:45):
as though, if I pass it on, Ican hopefully help you with your
journey, along your journey toimprove and to learn and develop
whilst working remotely.
I'm passionate, I'm an advocateof remote work because it's had
a transformative impact on mylife, especially since I became
a father, especially since I'vehad my, had my kids, and my
(01:08):
family has grown.
It's something that's I'veleaned on in in terms of, um,
helping to develop my career andhelping to stay also so close
to my family while I do that,but of course, you know it
hasn't always been, hasn'talways been a good experience
(01:29):
for me in the early days, when Ifirst started working on a
remote basis.
I would just look at work aswork and just leave it at that,
and I wouldn't necessarily focuson things like embracing my
personal development as a way ofimproving my remote career and
well-being.
In fact, my, my whole, I guessmy whole goal was to just get
(01:53):
work done and do things day byday, but I found that, um, as I
did, that I became more isolatedand I became um more and more
unhappy in many ways.
So, um, here I want to sharesome, some tips with you, not
only tips that um I've usedmyself, but there are some tips
(02:14):
that I've not used myself andhave been passed to me by um
friends, by colleagues who workon a remote basis.
So tip number one is you need toreally focus on continuous
learning.
So dedicate time to continuouslearning and skill development
to stay relevant and competitivein your field.
This can be achieved throughonline courses, webinars or
(02:36):
reading industry related content.
I will add to that that canalso be achieved through
following and listening to topodcasts or listening to your
favorite um your favoriteprofessionals, reading their
blogs, understanding how theywork.
So it does require you to havea certain amount of um,
(02:59):
curiosity to to want to learnand to want to understand and
what to want to develop.
So you want to understand andto want to develop.
So you need to have that desirein the first place.
So continuous learning is numberone.
Number two you need to thinkabout also goal setting.
So setting clear professionaland, in many cases, smart goals
and personal goals to staymotivated and to stay focused,
(03:23):
to keep on track with whatyou're doing and to have
something to work toward.
This can help you measure yourprogress and you can then
celebrate your achievements,whether that be yourself.
You can celebrate yourself,celebrate with your family,
celebrate with your peers, yourteammates, et cetera.
So it's really important tohave goals, to be a goal-focused
(03:46):
person, and if you're notgoal-focused, then develop that
habit of setting goals.
So mentorship is another way inwhich you can embrace personal
(04:07):
development as a way to improveyour remote career and
well-being.
So mentorship, so seek outmentorship opportunities where
you can learn from experiencedprofessionals and gain valuable
insights into your industry.
I didn't necessarily havedidn't seek out mentorship.
What I did was, as I explainedearlier, I would listen,
(04:32):
understand, interviewprofessionals who know more
about remote work than I did atthe time, and that's how I
learned.
But then those connections,those informational calls,
became more regular interactionsand they became in some cases
friendships in which I wouldhave more regular contact with
(04:54):
those people.
So again, I was able to learnfrom them and understand them a
whole lot better as I grewcloser and closer.
So number four on my list, whichis again one which I talk about
often, is focusing on wellness,so incorporating wellness into
(05:16):
your routine.
I often say this one, I oftenuse this as part of my tips
because it should be central.
Your health, your wellness, iscentral to everything.
If you're not well, if you'renot healthy, then it makes
things a lot more difficult.
So you need to, where possible,try where you can to affect
(05:41):
your own wellness through thingssuch as exercise or engaging in
hobbies that bring you joy andbring you relaxation.
So that's number four on thelist.
Number five on the list, um, isrelated to number three.
So number five is socialconnection and if you remember
number three, I was talkingabout mentorship.
(06:02):
When I talk about socialconnection, though, for number
five, um, that's going torequire you to proactively stay
connected with friends, stayconnected with family, with
colleagues to combat thefeelings of isolation, and this
can be done on a virtual basis,so virtual socializing on via
(06:23):
video calls or in-person meetups.
And, in my case, early on, as Iwas mentioning you, mentioning
to you before about mentorship,for me personally that stemmed
from my social connections andinteractions with some of the
people who I admired in theworld of remote work and how
they developed themselves andhow they developed their teams.
(06:44):
So, yeah, as much as remoteworkers, people who work from
home, are often ridiculed in thepress for lack of connection
and lack of human interaction.
It couldn't be further from thetruth and, in fact, if you are
working remotely, it's somethingthat you probably need to do,
(07:06):
more so than people who who workin a traditional way.
So social connection is numberfive on my list.
And finally, I just say, byembracing personal development
as a way to improve your remotecareer and well-being, remote
workers can experience increasedmotivation.
You certainly can.
Your well-being.
It can affect your well-beingand enhance your overall
(07:28):
productivity.
I I firmly believe that,because that's something that I
have experienced myself, so it'syou really need to invest in
that, invest in your personaldevelopment.
When I say invest, it doesn'tnecessarily have to be a
financial investment.
It could be an investment oftime, and an investment of time
(07:49):
to make those connections thatyou need to make in order to
develop yourself and continue ona path of learning.
Well, I hope that has been auseful segment for you today.
If it has, please considersharing this episode with your
friends, with your colleagues,who may need to hear it.
(08:10):
Please also, by all means,leave a review of the podcast
and leave a rating.
That would help me todisseminate this um further
across the internet, in thehopes that it could help and
reach people who who need itmore.
Um.
So thank you for for doing thatand, by all means, do reach out
(08:30):
to me.
My I've left my linkedindetails in the show notes, as as
usual.
Please also reach out to me,say hello and if you have any
feedback or suggestions.
I am more than welcome feedbackand suggestions for new
episodes and new guests, butuntil next time, I wish you all
(08:51):
the best.
Hey, it's Alex from Remote Work Life Podcast.
I hope this finds you well,wherever you may be in the world
, and today, on today's tip ofthe day, I want to talk about
embracing personal developmentas a way to improve your remote
work, career and well-being.
Now, I have chosen to createthese bite-sized episodes
(00:20):
because I just want to share, Iguess, my own experience.
When I talk about my ownexperience, I mean things that
I've personally, uh, experiencedmyself, or things that, um, I
have learned that my, mycolleagues and my, my friends
who work remotely haveexperienced themselves.
Uh, and I think this experience, this learning, can if I I feel
(00:45):
as though, if I pass it on, Ican hopefully help you with your
journey, along your journey toimprove and to learn and develop
whilst working remotely.
I'm passionate, I'm an advocateof remote work because it's had
a transformative impact on mylife, especially since I became
a father, especially since I'vehad my, had my kids, and my
(01:08):
family has grown.
It's something that's I'veleaned on in in terms of, um,
helping to develop my career andhelping to stay also so close
to my family while I do that,but of course, you know it
hasn't always been, hasn'talways been a good experience
(01:29):
for me in the early days, when Ifirst started working on a
remote basis.
I would just look at work aswork and just leave it at that,
and I wouldn't necessarily focuson things like embracing my
personal development as a way ofimproving my remote career and
well-being.
In fact, my, my whole, I guessmy whole goal was to just get
(01:53):
work done and do things day byday, but I found that, um, as I
did, that I became more isolatedand I became um more and more
unhappy in many ways.
So, um, here I want to sharesome, some tips with you, not
only tips that um I've usedmyself, but there are some tips
(02:14):
that I've not used myself andhave been passed to me by um
friends, by colleagues who workon a remote basis.
So tip number one is you need toreally focus on continuous
learning.
So dedicate time to continuouslearning and skill development
to stay relevant and competitivein your field.
This can be achieved throughonline courses, webinars or
(02:36):
reading industry related content.
I will add to that that canalso be achieved through
following and listening to topodcasts or listening to your
favorite um your favoriteprofessionals, reading their
blogs, understanding how theywork.
So it does require you to havea certain amount of um,
(02:59):
curiosity to to want to learnand to want to understand and
what to want to develop.
So you want to understand andto want to develop.
So you need to have that desirein the first place.
So continuous learning is numberone.
Number two you need to thinkabout also goal setting.
So setting clear professionaland, in many cases, smart goals
and personal goals to staymotivated and to stay focused,
(03:23):
to keep on track with whatyou're doing and to have
something to work toward.
This can help you measure yourprogress and you can then
celebrate your achievements,whether that be yourself.
You can celebrate yourself,celebrate with your family,
celebrate with your peers, yourteammates, et cetera.
So it's really important tohave goals, to be a goal-focused
(03:46):
person, and if you're notgoal-focused, then develop that
habit of setting goals.
So mentorship is another way inwhich you can embrace personal
(04:07):
development as a way to improveyour remote career and
well-being.
So mentorship, so seek outmentorship opportunities where
you can learn from experiencedprofessionals and gain valuable
insights into your industry.
I didn't necessarily havedidn't seek out mentorship.
What I did was, as I explainedearlier, I would listen,
(04:32):
understand, interviewprofessionals who know more
about remote work than I did atthe time, and that's how I
learned.
But then those connections,those informational calls,
became more regular interactionsand they became in some cases
friendships in which I wouldhave more regular contact with
(04:54):
those people.
So again, I was able to learnfrom them and understand them a
whole lot better as I grewcloser and closer.
So number four on my list, whichis again one which I talk about
often, is focusing on wellness,so incorporating wellness into
(05:16):
your routine.
I often say this one, I oftenuse this as part of my tips
because it should be central.
Your health, your wellness, iscentral to everything.
If you're not well, if you'renot healthy, then it makes
things a lot more difficult.
So you need to, where possible,try where you can to affect
(05:41):
your own wellness through thingssuch as exercise or engaging in
hobbies that bring you joy andbring you relaxation.
So that's number four on thelist.
Number five on the list, um, isrelated to number three.
So number five is socialconnection and if you remember
number three, I was talkingabout mentorship.
(06:02):
When I talk about socialconnection, though, for number
five, um, that's going torequire you to proactively stay
connected with friends, stayconnected with family, with
colleagues to combat thefeelings of isolation, and this
can be done on a virtual basis,so virtual socializing on via
(06:23):
video calls or in-person meetups.
And, in my case, early on, as Iwas mentioning you, mentioning
to you before about mentorship,for me personally that stemmed
from my social connections andinteractions with some of the
people who I admired in theworld of remote work and how
they developed themselves andhow they developed their teams.
(06:44):
So, yeah, as much as remoteworkers, people who work from
home, are often ridiculed in thepress for lack of connection
and lack of human interaction.
It couldn't be further from thetruth and, in fact, if you are
working remotely, it's somethingthat you probably need to do,
(07:06):
more so than people who who workin a traditional way.
So social connection is numberfive on my list.
And finally, I just say, byembracing personal development
as a way to improve your remotecareer and well-being, remote
workers can experience increasedmotivation.
You certainly can.
Your well-being.
It can affect your well-beingand enhance your overall
(07:28):
productivity.
I I firmly believe that,because that's something that I
have experienced myself, so it'syou really need to invest in
that, invest in your personaldevelopment.
When I say invest, it doesn'tnecessarily have to be a
financial investment.
It could be an investment oftime, and an investment of time
(07:49):
to make those connections thatyou need to make in order to
develop yourself and continue ona path of learning.
Well, I hope that has been auseful segment for you today.
If it has, please considersharing this episode with your
friends, with your colleagues,who may need to hear it.
(08:10):
Please also, by all means,leave a review of the podcast
and leave a rating.
That would help me todisseminate this um further
across the internet, in thehopes that it could help and
reach people who who need itmore.
Um.
So thank you for for doing thatand, by all means, do reach out
(08:30):
to me.
My I've left my linkedindetails in the show notes, as as
usual.
Please also reach out to me,say hello and if you have any
feedback or suggestions.
I am more than welcome feedbackand suggestions for new
episodes and new guests, butuntil next time, I wish you all
(08:51):
the best.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.