The Tea

The truth is, I’ve been navigating the remote workspace and its been an absolute ride so far.

According to Google, remote work is the practice of employees doing their jobs from a location other than a central office operated by the employer. In my words, remote work means working independently from home or any location of your choice as long as you get the job done.

Now let’s delve into on-site work. This simply refers to a working arrangement where employees are required to be physically present at a specified location in the company of an employer and other employees.

With that being said remote work is an absolute dream, especially in this part of the world where there aren’t too many options to work remotely. Thankfully some companies are now embracing the remote work style and soon it’ll be a norm for a lot of major organizations in Nigeria.

On my first day, bruh I cruuuude (cried profusely). The pressure of completing the onboarding process, while diving straight into tasks and meeting deadlines was weighing on me. For some reason, I felt clueless, alone, and confused about where to begin because I had little to no experience working remotely so it was all new to me.

Working in isolation can be brutal bruh, especially when you first begin. It’s been months and I’m pretty confident I’ve found a bit of balance. I’m happy to share some of the challenges I faced while transitioning into the remote workspace and how I was able to overcome them.

· Feeling stuck and overwhelmed: On my first day, I didn’t know where or how to begin. Like I mentioned earlier, I cried on my first day, during which my mum called. I tried hard to mask it but she noticed. I told her I was feeling stuck at work and I had no clue what I was doing. Her response was; “Baby you’ve got this! let me speak to someone who works remotely and in your field of work too. I’m sure she can point you in the right direction and help take the pressure off you’’. Honestly, those words were exactly what I needed to hear.

I guess what I’m trying to say is, seeking help is essential while navigating the remote workspace. It could be from colleagues, mentors, family etc. Thankfully I had loads of help from family, my mum came through, my lovely cousins too, and a senior colleague in the field. Shoutout to you Mrs Ayo(my namesake) for being so kind to me even though you had never met me. Those next few weeks were a breeze thanks to your guidance.

· Working overtime and losing track of time: Sometimes I found myself skipping breakfast and even lunch because I was too busy to notice how much time had past. I kept this going for weeks and fell ill in between. You know what they say “if you don’t choose a day to rest, your body will choose for you”. Anyhoo, I figured I had to create a proper schedule, to help keep me in check. So far I’ve been able to avoid working beyond a certain time daily. Also, I plan tasks ahead, which makes it easier to stay on track the next day.

· Low social battery: To explain this further, I am a social butterfly at heart, though my finance hasn’t quite aligned with that yet, but I used to make efforts to go out sometimes. Since I began working remotely, I have made little to no effort to engage with the outside world. Let me tell you why this is bad, you know it’s important to go outside daily yea? Atleast get some natural air and that morning sun. While I personally still struggle with this, I’ll advice that you don’t get so cut up in work that you forget to explore the outside world. OUTSIDE IS ALWAYS CALLING, SO YOU GOTTA ANSWER! (just kidding, I made that one up lol but seriously GO OUTSIDE!).

In summary, remote work is such a bliss and I’d choose it any day for a great pay. However, while you fulfill your duties and make that dough, remember to prioritize self-care and always seek help, stay connected to your team, create a structured routine, and more importantly EAT o.

I absolutely enjoyed writing this and I’m glad to be back. Give me some claps if you found this insightful and feel free to drop your thoughts in the comments.

See you in my next publication! *muah*