How to Actually Do Remote Work Well - For You, Your Team, and Your Company

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After a few years of forced remote work, we’re now well into the “figure it out for real” stage. Some people, teams and organisations have thrived in a remote working world (I’m looking at you Shopify & Spotify), while others haven't.

If you’re in the latter camp, here's a short framework that's been adapted,  battle tested and partly inspired by James Stanier’s Effective Remote Work. Let’s dive in

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Here's how to thrive remotely.

For Yourself

• Build a system and an environment that supports deep work. Start and end at the same time each day. Create a shutdown ritual or you’ll be prone to over work and declining output quality.
• Write like a manager. Most (if not all) updates should be asynchronous. Use full context. Write it once, then write it again. Clarity beats brevity.
• Get the right tools for the job. Having the right tools in place is critical. Invest in the best you can afford. A nice monitor, fast laptop, faster internet.
• Track outcomes, not activity. Being online ≠ being productive. Focus on what gets shipped. If your manager doesn't understand that, it's time to find a new one.Try the Highlight method from the MakeTime team if you’re not sure where to start.
  
  

For Your Team

• Remote-first means remote-equal. Assume no one’s in the same room. Default to Zoom links, async docs, and public Slack channels at all times. As soon as one person is remote, assume the whole team is remote.
• Make everything visible. Use Briefmatic, Notion, Linear, or Trello. No one should need to ask “what’s the status?”
• Don’t repeat yourself. If you answer a question more than once, it’s time to document it then surface the document. This should apply to everyone, not just managers.
• Use the communication spectrum wisely. Most updates don’t need meetings. The whole team should be clear on what type of communication goes through what channel when. Write it down and lead by example.
• Culture doesn’t happen by accident. Build rituals collaboratively and assign ownership to ensure longevity. Revisit regularly to iterate. 
• Get the right tools for the job. You’ll go nowhere fast without the optimal digital toolset in place i.e. Briefmatic, Jira, Slack. Check out this blog for more detail.
  
  

For Your Company

• Codify your remote OS. How decisions get made, how feedback is given, what “done” means - write it down.
• Onboarding = integration. Think 90-day ramp, not 1-week blast. Use buddies, checklists, and async walkthroughs.
• Managers matter. Train them to manage output, coach async, and foster trust without micromanaging.
• Measure what matters. Are we shipping? Are people engaged? Are we aligned?
  
  

Final Thought

Remote work isn’t about being always-on. It’s about working deliberately. When you get it right, your calendar gets clearer, your to-do list gets shorter, and your team feels lighter.

Want a practical way to bring this to life? Try connecting Briefmatic to your Gmail, Slack, Figma, or Google Calendar. Tasks appear where you already work, so you can focus where it matters.

This is a very short summary of a very complex topic. If you really want to go deep into this then I suggest starting with James Stanier’s Effective Remote Work. 

Here’s to less chaos, more control.

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