This summer, we launched our online community. We talk about different things like gears, ergonomics, jobs or freelancing.

Remote work can feel lonely at times, and we are together to share jokes and good vibes. We see our community as a mix between a virtual watercooler and a place where we share tips.

We are obsessed with productivity. Today, we are sharing some of our tips with you.

Because working remotely means working outside of the office and we need to be highly organized to achieve our work on time.

This is a special article and the first collaborative one. 11 of our awesome members have put together their best tips to become a better remote worker.

We hope you will enjoy reading these tips. :)

Cyn is a remote support professional for Apple. Her background includes QA, technical writing, and administration. She's open to new remote opportunities.

First, have a separate workspace with a door that closes! There will be times when you want to and can work in the living room or a coffee shop, but sometimes you need to put your head down and focus, and that door will be a blessing then. Make that space your sanctuary. Give it good lighting, make sure your desk and chair have good ergonomics and pay attention to the soundproofing.

Next is to set good boundaries with the other humans in your life. They need to understand that being at home (or at a coffee shop, or the pool) doesn't mean you aren't working. Most people understand this better now than when I started telecommuting in 1990, but there can still be issues on occasion.

Your gear comes next. Make it solid. It's worth it to pay more for quality, because it's unlikely that you'll have spares on hand or an IT department backing you up when (not if) something goes wrong. Make multiple backups on a regular basis. Make it a ritual that you practice religiously.

Finally, the most important thing I've learned in all these years of working remotely is to take good care of yourself. You can't be productive if you aren't healthy. It's all too easy to fall into working all the time when you work remotely, to blur the lines between work and home until they're gone. Turn all of the devices off at a set time each day. Take time to get regular exercise, to go outside. See some people who have nothing at all to do with your profession. Do something creative and have fun. You'll be better for it comes the next work day.

Ugo is the Chief Technical Architect at the Shadow Robot Company, where he drives the technical roadmap.

Maximising productivity through location changes

As remote workers, we all thrive to tune our routines to maximize productivity. After more than four years or experimentation, what I found works best for me is the choice of location. Choosing a location based on your current task is crucial to your productivity levels. For me here's what works best. I start each day with a one-hour slow cardio session. While I cycle I can do all my trivial tasks. I catch up with my emails and interact on social medias. I also read articles related to my field or store articles I need to analyze more in depth for later. I then go to my favorite cafe to analyze my gathered information.

I find cafes the best place to process a lot of information. For focused work sessions, I go to my local coworking space. In that office-like space, I can focus the most and use all my tools to tackle the brunt of my work.

When I have to deal with long video calls, I head home. Being strict about that routine helps me separate each type of focus I need. Walking to a new space for a new set of tasks also gives me the time I need to be a hundred percent focused on arrival.

Finally, I do my best to set some time aside in the evening or early in the mornings to learn new things from home. Study a MOOC, read articles that are not in my field!

John is one of the founders of Lucid Meetings, where he spends most of his time developing systems and software that improve online meetings.

Our biggest productivity issue is losing effectiveness via too much task switching! We’ve taken to batching our activities as much as possible. So we try to put all our coordination / meeting activities on Monday, full development focuses on Tuesday through Thursday, week-in-review on Friday. Client meetings can disrupt that, but we try to hold the line. Establishing a routine and cadence are key.