Forem: Martin Baun

The week I had 43 Meetings

Martin Baun — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 08:38:51 +0000

100% worth it.

First things first, let me admit, that was just crazy. It didn't make sense to me either, but it had to be done.

Here's what I learned and did during that crazy week about a couple of years ago, while building Goleko.

“Just, Why?”

You must be asking yourself, why would anyone ever put themselves through that?

In a nutshell, I needed tons of feedback on our projects, potential customers, and clients.

That's what most meetings are only good for after all. They are great for getting and coordinating work, but, not that great for getting said work done.

Wasn't it Bruce Lee who said ‘Knowing is not enough, we must apply’?

I've lived by those words for pretty much my entire tech career. The 43 meetings only helped reinforce that idea to me.

Read: Time Management Hacks for the Overwhelmed Tech Student

What did BaunIT accomplish?

So I had a ton of meetings and even though I resolved to (hopefully) never put myself through that ever again, it accomplished even more than I hoped it would.

Google Ads gave us two leads for our tool videoFeedbackr.com which saved us quite a lot of time. That also came with great guesstimates for the ads that we were about to run.

So, boy, that was wonderful.

Some people didn't show up to their meetings. We had very engaged clients -filled in their names, emails, and even their phone numbers, but in the end, we got no-shows.

Quickly realized calling them directly was the better option and if possible, I would be moving forward like that from then on.

Google Ads Interface

I learned just how slow and annoying the Google Ads Interface is.

However, if you're a new entrepreneur I would still suggest you check it out because it's very easy to set up once you get a little bit of the hang of it.

You can:

Validate your business
Create content
Do cold campaigns
Etc.

It's basically a pay-for-leads system which if you play your cards right and are strategic with your accounts, could be wildly beneficial. A numbers game if you will.

Read: Optimizing customer support with screen recording

Presenting, Goleko

I also had the honor of presenting our Project Management tool Goleko.

It was still in its earliest phase but was functional and already in use which pleasantly surprised our clients.

It also had some annoying bugs and some areas that needed a bit of a redesign etc (awkward) but we later hired a great developer who helped us style it up. Overall great response, couldn't have been happier.

Show and Tell

I also presented Goleko on Show and Tell. I bummed a little bit. They mostly saw it as a Trello clone but upon seeing how simpler, faster, and more intuitive it was minds were quickly changed.

This probably happened because I didn't prepare well enough and wanted it to be out there and start getting some feedback coming in on the marketing. I knew it wasn't done and I didn't explicitly say that, my fault.

I began to see more clearly the ups and downs of having an app that is similar to another from a UX perspective.

On one end, if your tool is cooler, faster, with better features and better prices, you get a very excited clientele.
On the other, you will probably be met with ‘it's already been done’ naysayers.

Business Management Tools

I had another meeting with a man I met on Twitter who explained that he needed a Business Management Tool.
It got me thinking. Most Project Management tools tend to be Task-focused -improving Task flow, etc. The only thing most PM tool creators don’t think about is how said tasks will improve the business, and how to interpret that into the tool itself.

Not Just a Project Management Tool.

I was managing way too many projects, and I struggled. I needed to have a bird's eye overview where I could see where everything was going -where the funds were allocated to, what my employees were doing, if what are they doing was the right thing, if they had enough tasks, if they were annoyed by existing tasks… too many questions, not enough answers.

Read: Practical Tips to Maintain Productivity

I didn't get any solutions with Trello. It was just task boards and that was it, took 20 seconds to load a page, no multiple boards, no subtasks/projects -bleh.

I needed to create a tool capable of handling all this, with everyone in the organization being able to see all the details of a project adding harmony to our company.

I considered rebranding to market as a Not-Just-a-PM-Tool, simply because it wasn't.

Hiring a Writer

I hired a highly capable writer that week, Billy.

You might be wondering why hire a writer when you have ChatGPT. Everybody else does it...

Let’s be real, there’s so much crappy content out there because of GPT. People are not investing in quality content anymore. Content creators, copywriters, etc, are being fired left and right because ChatGPT is an easy solution.

But it's just not that good.

GPT has its strengths, sure, we use it for coding if we have an issue here or there, but creating articles with GPT isn't feasible because 99% of the time AI is obvious.

Read: Becoming a Better Writer

My idea was to combine two forces. My thoughts on Software development, Team Leading, and Business and Billy’s ability to create beautiful and simple content to create a symbiotic relationship because going forward communication was going to be an even higher priority for BaunIT.

Communication

Communication has always been a top priority for any organization that is serious about its growth -you get stuff done, you sell stuff, you understand better, and the possibilities are endless.

That was the plan and almost two years later, we’re still going strong -Billy is a strong writer.

Billy has since left, and I have since written blog posts on my lonesome, but it is 100% worth it and I would encourage other founders who don't have the time to do the same!

Lots Learned, Lots To Go

In the weeks after that, I resolved to improve the features we already had instead of adding features (as I always have), refining the design, and acquiring BetaUsers (which we did).

Overall great week, but never again :)

You can find me on YouTube.

The Brilliance of Starting A YouTube Channel

Martin Baun — Fri, 04 Oct 2024 06:26:59 +0000

It's not easy to build a successful startup, it takes effort, resilience, courage… and sometimes, a little bit of YouTube…

Mr. Beast or Mr. Baun?

You might be asking yourself, why should I listen to good ol’ Martin and not Mr.Beast the absolute unit?

I hate to break it to ya, but the truth is you are not at Mr. Beast's level… at least not yet. If you're just starting, chances are the lessons he will teach won't work for you.

Let’s just say, if you are between 0 to 1,000 (maybe 3,000) subscribers, this is where you need to be.

I’ll go over how I began my YouTube journey, how it is going, and most importantly, how you can do it yourself to build an audience around your business.

Success on YouTube?

How do you succeed on YouTube?

Well, you start by starting. How do you do this efficiently? By not overthinking or overlearning. A lot of people will spend time learning how to do stuff without realizing that it's a form of procrastination. Instead, focus on doing, failing, and then learning from the outcome.

It doesn't matter what advice worked for other YouTubers, what does matter is what works for you on your journey.

Experiment.

If anything, I believe it should be very little looking at what other people did, and more of finding your way on how to go about things. Don't pay mind to how perfect everything should be.

Just start.

Initial Boost

I'll be blunt. When you're starting out, you won't get any views or subscribers.

So it's very important to start with an initial boost. Don't be shy to ask some friends to reply and like your videos or your other social posts for a little engagement.

Emphasize to them that replying or commenting is super important. No, it won't make bad content go wildly viral but will give it a little boost. That will help you understand what resonates with your audience, refining your instincts as a creator.

Here’s a little formula I discovered:

7 friends -> 40 views

If you have 7 friends that boot your videos, it could bubble out to 40 views. That's 33 people who resonate with your content, giving you an idea of what trajectory to stick with.

If the content is good, maybe 400 views, or you could even go viral!

You can also boost your videos with shorts by repurposing a bigger video into shorts.

Read: VideoFeedbackr: Record your Screen Well!

Focus on Growth

Are you not growing on YouTube or other social media? Numbers staying low despite all the tips and tricks? Thinking of starting a YouTube channel?

Let me share a bit of my experience… I’ve had my YouTube channel for a year and some change. Plenty of time in front of the camera. In the first year, I got 70 subscribers with 95 videos. About 40 of those were my friends that I begged to get on. Crazy right?

Last month I got 100 subscribers with around 10 videos. I more than doubled my subscribers in a month. And it’s only getting better. Just hit 2000 subs!

So don't be discouraged.

Keep going.

But as I said, keep experimenting. You won't grow with the same material or the same approach. Stay switching things up.

Content that won't Work For you.

Some content will not work for new accounts. Namely, Vlogs, and FAQs.

Nobody wants to watch a random person’s ‘get to know more about me’ video. Unless you created an AI bot that has a soul or something outlandish like that, nobody cares.

Not to mention, you can't make good shorts of this content either. So you’ll mainly get views from your friends which won't be enough to make a difference and you’ll be stuck in a rut.

Save that for when you have a fanbase.

Read: The Human Touch: Why I Hired a Writer Over ChatGPT in 2023

So, What Will?

Do you want to make content that gets watched?

I’ll start off by reiterating, experiment. However, I’ll still tell you what worked for me.

Get into things that you're a specialist in and are a bit controversial.

For example, SQLite is Enough got 14k views and 445 likes. Why?

I am a specialist in SQLite, and I have a controversial opinion about how you should run your servers.

How do I record?

Again, the most important thing to do is to get started. Whatever gets started. I've seen big creators with terrible camera quality and bad sound, but they are still popular.

Some really good cameras on affordable phones can get the work done, look into brands like Xiaomi and hook yourself up with a cheap microphone, and more importantly a ring light, and you’ll be good to go!

Remember not to overthink -get something out there as soon as you can and commit to learning as you go.

Read: The best screen recording software in 2024

Edit Your Videos

Your YouTube content should be well edited and you should put some memes in.

Thanks to the internet, we all have the attention spans of goldfish now. That means we like to be entertained!

So while you make informative content, add in a little humor, and give your viewers a little laugh.

Thanks to the internet again, basic editing is easy you just have to play around with it. Forget about perfection. The motto is learn as you go.

If you have the money for it, you could hire an editor as well and spend the time on making better content! You got this!

For these and more thoughts, guides, and insights visit my blog at martinbaun.com.

You can find me on YouTube.

Coffee to Code?

Martin Baun — Mon, 16 Sep 2024 09:36:35 +0000

Coffee!

Go juice, brain juice, java, mud, C8H10N4O2.

(Almost) all practitioners in this industry love coffee.

And I get it, it's hard to be a high performer when you’re feeling groggy all day.

However, it’s important to remember that coffee is still a psychoactive stimulant. In other words, a powerful drug that is known to create unwanted changes in the body.

All is not lost though. I found a method that ensures I don’t require coffee to perform bare minimum functions in my day-to-day and if you join me, who knows, you might not reach for the coffee machine at work -at all!

Cycling (not Quitting) off coffee.

For a bonus, I'll guide you on how to enjoy your Coffee more responsibly.

Coffee makes you narrow-minded

In my experience with coffee, I get a lot done. I’m productive and my focus is clear-cut. Everything’s great, right?

Now, here’s the issue with that.

Yes, you get the things that need to be done, done, but coffee makes you overly fixated. You find yourself failing to think deeper into what you're actually doing. Cycling off coffee will allow you the capacity to think outside of the box and explore your innovation as a programmer, founder, or otherwise.

Instead of hammering away on your desk doing useless tasks, you'll spend your time more constructively.

I cycle off coffee whenever I feel a need to reflect on my life and BaunIt.

Read: Loneliness and Liberation: The Two Ls of Remote Work

It increases your stress levels

Coffee works by putting your body in a state of stress by increasing the cortisol (stress hormone) levels in your body.

Don’t get me wrong. Stress is not necessarily bad, after all, if you don’t stress your body it won’t grow.

But stress must come in the correct doses. Too much, and you develop chronic stress -which will happen when you take coffee for a prolonged period.

You might want to destress and get out of the Coffee a little bit, especially if you have other stressors in your life.

It’s crucial for destressing, relaxing and just getting out of your own head.

Read: Meetings Suck! Make them Great Again!

It is addictive

Studies show that 2-4 mugs of coffee a day is the minimum amount required to fall into caffeine addiction.

Another study revealed that software professionals take 1-5 cups a day.

See where I’m heading?

While understandable, a bad coffee habit will only serve to lower the quality of your life.

And thus, you might want to consider cycling off to prevent a full-blown addiction.

Read: Practical Tips to Maintain Productivity

How can you cycle off coffee?

I cycle off coffee by taking days off. A great place to start is 3 days on and three days off. This way, the consequences of withdrawal such as headache, anxiety, irritability, and low energy levels don't affect you. If you are looking to fully lose your dependence on coffee, try increasing the ratio of days on and off until you are clean.

To add to that, if cycling off coffee is more difficult than you thought it would be, consider cycling on and off. This will make your body better at adapting to and without coffee.

If this is also difficult, keep practicing, and be patient with your body, it will gradually become easier.

Pro tip:
Only get quality coffee.

Even though coffee is generally bad for you, it is better to opt for quality coffee that contains less caffeine and is grown under much better circumstances. Not to mention, the large difference in taste and experience.

Bad Optimizations in Business and Life

Martin Baun — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 08:38:10 +0000

You're probably doing some optimizations that you shouldn't in both your business and your daily life.

The good news is, you can improve that.

Let’s go through some typical business optimizations I've seen other people do or done myself that were, in fact, terrible and how to turn them around.

Bad Optimizations in Software Businesses?

I’ll start with a big question.

Do bad optimizations even exist?

Yes, they do, in both business and personal life.

For example:

Say, you decided to be adventurous during lunch and now have a bad case of food poisoning. To deal with this situation you would optimize by buying toilet paper in bulk, wouldn't you? Pretty straightforward.

That is not the best optimization strategy. (Beef, bison, and bacon are the solution here, but that’s beside the point.)

In business, however, identifying a problem you are against is far less obvious than having food poisoning and buying toilet paper.

Let’s take some examples.

Example 1

Your business works in customer support through ticketing but is overwhelmed with too many tickets and little customer satisfaction. To mitigate that, you conclude that hiring more support agents is an ‘obvious’ optimization strategy.

That would be a basic bad optimization strategy.

So to take it a notch higher, the better option would be automation ie, a chatbot. You create a chatbot that will handle the initial load, and go your merry way. Problem solved, right?

Yes, but no.

I don't know about you, but in 99% of the instances I have interacted with a chatbot, it didn't quite seem to solve my problem fully. In the end, I often found myself wishing I had interacted with a human.

The best plan is simple. Talk to your customers.

Figure out:

What UX do you need to implement?
What software do you need to update?
What processes do you need to change?

With the fixes, your customers will get to understand your software or business better, reducing your overwhelm from the very source.

It sounds obvious, but often the most obvious solution is the one that goes ignored.

Read: Optimizing customer support with screen recording

Example 2

I once spent a crazy amount of time optimizing our culture document at BaunIt. Organization procedures, behavior, productivity, etc.

I continued to optimize it because one of our employees kept misbehaving and I wanted to put that to a stop without him losing his job.

However, the best strategy was to fire him.

He was an awesome guy, and firing him was difficult. But he wasn't a good worker and I couldn't change him, so he had to go.

Nobody said optimizing is easy. Understanding that hard decisions need to be made for the well-being of your business is crucial.

Read: Onboarding and Training New Remote Employees in a Virtual Environment

Example 3

Some of the businesses I have worked with optimized cost -at all costs.

While cost management is a priority for a business and without it, you could go bankrupt, excessive account optimization is detrimental.

What ends up happening is:

The business owner soon finds themselves losing valuable employees because they don't pay them enough.
They are forced to replace and train a new employee every few months as a result.

In short, it sets you up for the endless hamster wheel of sifting through resumes to find equally valuable employees or training newbies.

If your goal is to increase in growth, that is no way to run a business. The outcome is almost always a bigger expense.

Optimize Employee Workflow

I've seen many businesses in the industry stagnate or run themselves down because they keep having to get new victims.

I mean employees.

Instead, it is better to optimize for the value you get from your current employees.

Think about it like this, optimizing your employees' workflow, processes, and intelligence would probably be much easier, faster, and will get more done so that they are worth more to you and in their resumes.

This way, you empower each other and everybody wins.

It sounds trite, but it is true.

Of course, this goes both ways, with companies and employees.

I have had experiences with employees who tried to squeeze money out of me by registering a day’s or two days of work for a half-hour’s task worth of work on our project manager platform Goleko, which taught me to be vigilant about bad apples in my business.

And how did I manage to curb all that?

Well, that will be in a future article.

Read: Hiring Great Software Developers from lesser-known areas

For these and more thoughts, guides, and insights visit my blog at martinbaun.com.

You can find me on YouTube.

How to ‘Hack’ the Polyfill Exploit

Martin Baun — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 12:31:14 +0000

The Polyfill Exploit didn’t need to happen.

And you can even increase the speed of your website.

Let's dive into the hows, whys, and most importantly, what you can do about it!

Why did the Polyfill Exploit happen?

To put it plainly, the Polyfill happened because a Chinese company took over a domain. That domain hosted a CDN version of the Polyfill (cdn.polyfill.io), which was later replaced with malware.

That’s it.

For an action so simple, it was devastating and affected millions.

What can you do about it?

There are two relatively straightforward ways to avoid these exploits in the future.

Read: Securing Your Servers in 2024

Integrity and Anonymous.

While including your scripts, add an anonymous and integrity tag with it.

To demonstrate:

    <script src="https://google.com/definitely_not_nsa_funded.js"

            integrity="sha384-..."

            crossorigin="anonymous"></script

This will ensure that your browser checks the script's integrity. If your script doesn't fulfill that, it simply stops.

This is a terrible way, however:

It is actually not that anonymous, and the CDN can still continue to track you.

If the integrity check fails, it breaks your website.

Read: Make it easy to do the right thing: A Team-Lead Initiative

Copy and Paste

Small trigger warning.

My second solution tends to be a bit of a contested subject, and I'm confident a number of you may disagree… But I believe this to be the correct approach.

I copy and paste all my CSS/JS into my static folder, and simply host myself!

Why?

I gain full control over my assets. That way, nothing gets suddenly altered whether maliciously, or unintentionally.
I avoid fetching resources from many different domains which would mean many round trips on the DNS server.
We can develop offline. This is particularly important for my team as my Ukrainian team members might not have internet because of the bombings.

Some people would argue that this method is slow but in my opinion, it’s the opposite.

Let me Explain...

Say, you have 10 different assets from 10 different domains. The client would have to fetch those 10 DNS domain requests from 10 different servers.

That would be 20 different requests, for 10 assets.

Very, very slow. Sometimes they will be cached, but in most cases, probably not.

To improve performance, I set up my own BunnyCDN which allows me to do one DNS fetch, while at the same time spreading worldwide in a matter of mere milliseconds.

Take it Up a Notch

If for example, I have two scripts, I would simply merge them saving me even more roundtrips to the CDN. That’s because the usually the slow part nowadays is not the megabytes transferred but the roundtrips to the server.

I understand it may be weird, but it gets the work done incredibly fast, and that’s what I aim for. So should you!

Read: User-friendly locks for Goleko.com| A Technical Article

You can find a video on my YouTube channel that will guide you on how to set up BunnyCDN to serve you just as well as mine has served me. Check it out!

Principles for Managing Remote Teams and Freelancers

Martin Baun — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 10:43:29 +0000

I lead a business that works in perfect harmony to achieve our ambitious goals. Here's some tips on how I do it.

Determine responsibilities.

Most employees want to do a good job, but it's hard if they don't know what is expected of them. You are expected to give clear instructions to your team, outlining their responsibilities. This helps guide them towards the future goals of the company.

You need to understand your role and what is expected of you before you figure out what is expected of your team in this new era of work. I like giving people autonomy after properly onboarding them. You can learn all about this in the article below.

Read: Onboarding and Training New Remote Employees in a Virtual Environment

Develop and structure an onboarding process.

New hires are often enthusiastic and understandably nervous on their first day on the job. Your onboarding process defines your employees' experience and influences their productivity right out of the gate.

I acknowledge the need for an effective onboarding process is more pronounced, as new hires cannot simply turn to their colleagues for clarification. An easy, step-by-step guide that helps new hires grasp and embrace the company culture is vital. For instance, assigning them an onboarding buddy would be a great place to start.

I have a short onboarding process tackling the tools we frequently use. I avoid complicated processes and using too many tools so people can explore and find their ways. Members of our tiger team are also granted responsibility over a particular subject, which I've found helps get them up to speed fast. I have written an article that should help you with this onboarding process.

Read: Onboarding and Training New Remote Employees in a Virtual Environment

Regularly get in touch with your team.

It’s easy to notice when one is overloaded while working in a physical location. This can manifest as skipping lunch, always staying late, or other noticeable signs. It's easy to miss these signs when working remotely.

I ask my employees how they're doing with their current workload. I inquire about how they meet deadlines and if they need more time.

I hold short daily status meetings where everyone describes their work and any problems they've faced. This helps me instruct them on the next course of action. These meetings are crucial in ensuring everyone is on the same path.

Let your team members pitch ideas.

Your employees aren't just drones to work tirelessly. They are unique individuals with traits that can be advantageous to your organization. Create a conducive and nurturing environment for them to thrive in. Allow them the freedom to be autonomous in their work and to contribute to the projects.

You may benefit from asking for input on what systems work best for your employees. You could also ask their opinion on how best to get work done. It'll likely improve their job satisfaction and productivity. Your employees are more than workers and making them part of the team will help the overall growth of your organization.

Transparency and trust.

Transparency is vital in every institution, whether on-site or remote. I cultivate a culture of honesty and openness by informing my team of overall decisions and strategies made on top. This makes them feel aligned with the company's big picture and tackle challenges with this goal in mind.

I achieve this by adding a clear "Why" and "What" to every task. This way, employees can understand why they're doing that task. The "What" is merely a suggestion, and if they can find a better alternative to reach the same goal, they're allowed to improvise.

I'm also open to feedback and criticism of the workflow process from my employees. The goal is to create a system that works well and is efficient for all of us. We have meetings to discuss the process of work and if there's anything that can be improved or overhauled. We change what doesn't work and replace it with what works. This swift process creates a level of trust and transparency in our team. We work faster and better due to the trust we've built.

These are the tactics of military commands that I've implemented in our software development workflow.

Clear reporting and communication.

A company runs on the efficiency of communication. With an in-house team, it is easy for employees to walk to your office to report their progress or if they have an inquiry. For remote teams, your employees may not know where you are or if you're available for feedback.

A good practice would be to schedule specific times during the day when they can book short sessions with you. You could then provide them with a calendar so they know which slots are open. My team achieves this by holding the aforementioned daily status meetings. Clear reporting and communication go a long way. VideoFeedbackr can help you achieve this. It is designed to help you simplify your screen recording. Take care of every doubt today with the help of VideoFeedbackr.

Clarify the rules and goals.

It is vital to be clear about what each of the rules means. Rather than using adjectives like urgent, clarify that you need the work delivered by the end of the day or in two hours. Clarify when deadlines start and end.

I have commonly known essential work principles and core values that I live by, which help define our company culture. Though each team member works with a lot of autonomy, adhering to this culture helps ensure our continually successful results.

Productivity tools.

We all struggle with distractions, lack of motivation, and many other hindrances to productivity. Give your team tools that help you overcome this hurdle.

There are a variety of apps on the internet that help you focus and avoid distractions. You can also introduce them to white noise generators and LoFi music channels to help them set the mood for work.

Be aware not to make your workflow too "noisy." We in BaunIt keep things simple. We partition our workflow into 1-2 hour segments. These partitions allow for maximum concentration on the tasks at hand which results in a better quality of work. This prevents getting lost and boosts our productivity.

We use Goleko to enhance our productivity. It is a state-of-the-art project management tool with beautiful features that enhance productivity. We communicate, handle tasks, make edits and corrections, and progress various tasks all in one place. It is fast and user-friendly as well, which makes it an excellent choice for all of us.

Well-documented procedures.

Remote employees can't just walk up to their colleagues and ask how something should be done. Having clearly defined standard operating procedures (SOPs) for damn near everything makes things simpler. Experience tells me that it is better to keep it simple. Have task templates that you fill out.

Never overload your employees.

It is easy to distinguish between work hours and time to call it a day when working physically. With remote work, it is not so clear-cut. You could find some team members working longer, negatively impacting their work-life balance and long-term productivity.

In our team, we have two personality types. Some people have low self-drive. They need to be motivated with fun and exciting tasks that they'll feel nice accomplishing. The other is enthusiastic people who take on whatever assignments you assign and overwork themselves without complaining.

It is crucial to know your team and each of their personality types. If you have a personality one person and don't give them exciting tasks, they'll get disengaged, underperform, or even leave. Over-tasking a personality two-person, on the other hand, will lead to burnout.

Small things matter.

Such things as water-cooler chats and small talk at the office are generally viewed as distractions. Such informal interactions help bond your employees and prevent feelings of isolation, which fosters team spirit.

Encourage these informal interactions when working with remote teams. You can host virtual team-building activities or use your communication channels to host non-work-related social interactions. We have Friday meetings where we banter and discuss off-topic stuff. We play online games to strengthen our bonds.

Avoid micromanagement.

It's easy to fall into the dangerous trap of micromanaging your team. This often leaves your employees feeling like you have no faith in their abilities but that doesn't mean there's no place for it.

I micro-manage when I first hire a new employee. I make it known clearly to them that I will be doing less and less micromanagement as the days and weeks go by till we reach a point where they will be working autonomously. The less I do the better as this will allow more work to be done faster and better. I do this to help them get up to speed with the work structure before I let them proceed on their own.

I let my employees do their work and give feedback on their results but not on their process. If you have suggestions on more efficient ways to do things, approach it gently and explain why your way might be better. Give clear and sufficient guidance to get the job done. It is important to calibrate your instructions to each different team member, as some will need more guidance than others.

Look for opportunities for collaboration.

Remote workers often struggle with feelings of isolation. You can solve this by encouraging interaction among your team. Divide and distribute tasks into small groups rather than having one person do all the work.

Emotional support.

Employees may have different emotional setbacks affecting their productivity. We've established loneliness as a common struggle, while others may have personal issues affecting them.

BaunIt members are happy to have a professional who comes in once a quarter to talk to people and see how things are going. I've found that this helps alleviate a lot of their stress and ensure their well-being.

Provide remote-specific training.

The dynamic around working remotely is different from in-house work. You should train your employees on the skills they need to work effectively while physically separated. This has been the trend in most companies gravitating towards remote work.

We have multiple employees for the same roles. They work together on one thing, sharing ideas to figure out the best way forward.

Motivate your workers.

You usually need everyone in your team motivated to do their best. You can achieve this by setting goals and recognizing their success. I think it is vital to highlight whenever things are not going well. I am sufficiently direct and solution-oriented in these instances. Don't call people out in front of teammates. Let them know privately where they went astray and how to improve it.

Listen to your team's inputs and any issues they raise.

Create opportunities for people to move up in your company and encourage problem-solving, growth, and education. This lets them know you're involved and invested in their future with your company.

How to effectively manage freelancers.

Working with a team of freelancers rather than permanent employees has several benefits. They come with the required skill, saving valuable training time and resources. Their flexibility can also benefit large organizations that serve customers from different time zones.

Managing them can often prove difficult since they aren't familiar with your company culture. Here are some pointers on how to effectively go about it.

Positive relationships and communication.
It is crucial to maintain a positive relationship with your freelancers. This will significantly improve their responsiveness and the quality of work they produce.

Select a communication channel that they can all reach you on. Establish a required communication pattern, such as a compulsory weekly or daily check-in.

Define project details.
A freelancer is an outsider unfamiliar with your company's way of doing things. You should provide them with project details and guidelines on how to meet your expectations.

A great place to start would be the job description you use in the selection process. Define the scope of work and the deliverables you expect from them. Then, after onboarding, you can provide them with a reference document detailing any specifics relevant to their task.

Proper documentation.
Your freelancer team will need documentation to ensure that their work is up to date. This may be the tone and grammar your company needs for its publication. Developers may need directions to document their code or specific coding styles to follow. Documentation is not complete without the use of a proper document. ElegantDoc serves this purpose. Make Impactful Documents in Seconds and enhance the quality of your documenting process.

Freelancers are not employees.
Freelancers are independent contractors. They have the right to refuse any work you assign them. They also have the liberty to work on their schedule and take time off whenever it suits them.

Do not micromanage your team. Afford them the flexibility to work as they see fit, provided they submit their deliverables on time.

Treat freelancers as your business partners.

A freelancer is your business partner. You should think of them as an organization that provides a service to yours. Offer them the same courtesy you give a client, supplier, or independent auditor.

Use project management tools.
Project management software is essential when working with freelancers. It helps you manage tasks effectively, even when tracking multiple projects. This is why we use Goleko. It is a beautifully designed project management tool with communication provisions built into it. This makes it faster to get information across as compared to using emails. It also has the added advantage of allowing for proper tracking of the work done. This makes our work faster, more efficient, and easy to accomplish.

Set expectations and budget.
Have clearly defined expectations in place, as well as an agreed-upon rate. Provide extra pay when you give them extra work. When you respect the contract, they are more likely to deliver high-quality work within the agreed-upon timeframe.

Include freelancers in team-building activities.
Making freelancers feel part of your team is essential. You can have them undergo your organization's remote onboarding process so they understand your company's culture. You should also engage them in informal activities and interactions outside their scope of work. This helps build camaraderie and trust, which are stepping stones to a healthy long-term relationship.

Provide feedback.
Freelancers are self-employed and are thus highly motivated to turn you into a regular client. They tend to strive to deliver, so you consider them for future projects. Give regular feedback to ensure their work is up to par.

This also applies when the relationship turns sour and you stop working with the freelancer. Feedback on where they went wrong and how the issue can be avoided can help their relationship with the next client.

Respect their time and autonomy.
Freelancers often work for several clients concurrently. This means that you can't expect their constant attention or availability. It would be counterintuitive to micromanage their actions. Allow them to act independently while still maintaining strict schedules.

Know their strong and weak sides.
Freelancers often have a niche or two they are particularly good at and others they struggle with. You should make a point of finding out where each of their strengths lie. You can play to their strengths and ensure they constantly deliver high-quality work.

Hold live meetings with freelancers.
It is crucial to check in regularly with your team of freelancers. One such way would be by holding live meetings. Remember that a freelancer's time is valuable, and scheduling emergency meetings may not work for their schedule. Ensure that you inform them of any meetings well in advance.

Rewards and recognition.

It is vital to keep in mind that freelancers are human. They can take time off or have a sick day. They need the recognition that their work is crucial. Reward their successes and milestones. Though you may never meet them in person, it is vital to cultivate a personal relationship with them.

How to share vulnerable data with remote workers and freelancers.

You'll often need to send sensitive information, such as passwords, securely to company software. Due to the abundance of malicious individuals on the internet, it is crucial to utilize a tool that ensures the privacy of such sensitive communications.

Goleko is an ideal solution as it has an integrated communication system created within it. It allows for communication between team members working on a project without the fear of information leaking out to unauthorized individuals. It also has the added advantage of tracking all projects that have been completed and making real-time edits and adjustments.

Summary

Leading a remote team can prove hectic, as managing people you hardly see is challenging. Maintaining clear communication is vital for remote teams. Transparency, trust, motivation, and providing emotional support enhance the productivity of your remote workers. Productive workers are crucial to the success of any organization.

There are often several issues when managing freelancers. This is mainly because they are not familiar with the company culture. Clearly outlined project scopes and details help get the best out of freelancers. Treat them as business partners and respect their autonomy.

Read: 7 Tips for Effective Communication in Remote Teams

This will also help you improve remote management. Check it out, and thank me later!

For these and more thoughts, guides, and insights visit my blog at martinbaun.com.

You can find me on YouTube.

Six Principles of Effective Writing

Martin Baun — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 10:29:50 +0000

Experience is the best teacher. I’ve learned much from writing numerous articles over the past few months. These lessons have shaped my writing and helped me improve my content.

These are the most impactful lessons influencing my writing journey.

Balance perfection with completion

Perfection in art is impossible. Completing a creation is better than searching for perfection. It allows you to learn, analyze, critique, and grow. Chasing perfection leaves you unfinished. You never grow or improve because you don’t make mistakes to learn from. We learn more about ourselves from failing as we do from our successes. Sometimes even more. Stepping out of our comfort zone allows us to engage with different writing styles, thought processes, and complex topics. Chasing perfection in one writing style obstructs our ability to improve our writing skills, range, and critical thinking.

I write a lot of technical articles. I write them to educate people on various aspects of software development. I'm never concerned about my grammar or sentence structure. The goal for me is to educate and teach. I have my writer helping me with edits, proofreading, and structure. I like completing these technical articles above being correct. Revisions are easy to make after finishing the article. I'd never get anything done if I chased perfection. I'm doing writing practice, especially with scripts or my YouTube channel. The goal remains to complete as many tasks as possible. My writing skill continually develops doing this and I'm excited to see where I reach. An excellent way to achieve this is by maintaining your productivity. I have written an article to help you with this.

Read: Practical Tips to Maintain Productivity.

Subject First

I like focusing on the subject matter. Do not write on topics that you haven’t properly researched or at the very least consulted on. Having a focused point allows you to create the best you can. Writing from an unknown produces substandard work. I prioritize giving my audience the best quality content I can. My approach to this involves planning every step. I do my research, outline, and then write the content with the guidelines I made. This allows me to give my readers content that is easy to ingest and answers every question they have. Clarity is the biggest goal I'd like to achieve. It separates the average writers from the best. The ability to connect with the readers through text is underrated.

Push yourself to create the best you can through your research and diligence. It's best to create a draft that you can revise as needed. This will help you improve your comprehension to make essential alterations. I like staying focused on the subject and using evidence-based examples to drive the point across. It is a strategy that helps me deliver much better content than I used to. I'll explain a concept and then give a practical example with evidence. This has increased my motivation to write well and provide knowledge to my readers. I ensure everything in my videos and articles follows this formula. It's become a distinct part of my writing style and I'm excited for more growth. I have written an article that can help you make excellent drafts focusing on the subject matter.

Read: Make It Beautiful: Preparing Understandable Content Briefs.

Visual Content helps

Visual content helps the creative process. It can be anything from videos, pictures, a play, or a recital. Take a topic you’re interested in and add a visual aspect. It will help you build a narrative to spin and develop into a wonderful story. You can only create what you can visualize. I've taken this idea further by adding images and embedded videos into the articles. The reader's perspective is crucial to how well or badly your content is received. Doing this makes my content a bit lengthy but it also makes it more enjoyable to read.

I make sure to use images and videos that are relevant to the article. Context is key. Placing images in the article for the sake will make it a joke. These visual concepts are meant to supplement your writing. I place them in the correct context where they are required. Placing them aimlessly has the potential to make your content an enormous meme. I like writing the content in totality before placing visual aids. This is a rule that I follow to ensure the visual aids are placed correctly. I've seen good returns, especially in my technical content. A simple image or video showcasing all I'm explaining helps my readers understand the point I'm driving across. I knocked out two goals at the same time which is pretty sweet.

Prepare the article title and the image cover before writing

The title is important. It tells everyone what to expect in the written text without giving everything away. It has to be interesting enough to captivate them to find out more. The cover adds to the title. It paints a picture that prompts one to find out more. Together, they work to enchant curiosity in the reader. I like making a title and seeing what I can write from it. It's not the most conventional way to do things but I enjoy the challenge. There's no explicit design or logical order to follow in writing. Creativity and getting your point across is the way to go.

The article image is something I created after writing. It goes against what I have detailed in the heading but I have a good reason for this. I have someone else to create these images for me. I focus on the writing and finetuning of the article. I then get them to make a fitting cover that works with the article. Doing things this way doesn't affect the quality or discourage any creative process. It is a formula that works for me. Creating the article thumbnail is a fun process and so is formulating the title. It gives you a bigger picture of the main points and what to focus on. I can then write about these main points to my heart's content. This is how I get into my element to produce the best work in all I do. I have written an article explaining beautiful principles to help you create wonderful thumbnails.

Read: Thumbnails that Rock! 6 Principles to Follow!

Keep writing even if it’s hard

Nothing good comes easy. Writer’s blocks are common and sometimes you won’t resonate with what you make. Keep pushing through and you’ll discover deeper recesses of your creative prowess. It will find you if you want it bad enough and try hard enough. That’s the basic principle of trying no matter how hard it is. It's hard to admit that you don't have it on any day. The lack of creative workflow and progress can be tough to stomach. The cognitive load alone is enough to make you shudder. These instances are quite common. I've had numerous backs and forth between absolute excellence in my writing and no words to formulate an introduction.

There are days when writing a paragraph is the hardest thing to do. You'll be in the zone on other days and create lengthy texts with good suave words befitting an excellent poem. It's the good and rough that everyone experiences in this writing journey. These variations can occur at any stage in your writing, making it hard to predict and manage. One helpful thing I do as a writer is to take advantage of my peak creative days. I do everything to write and impose my will into the content. This gives me some leeway on my slow creative days.

Writing on such days is hard. There's no way to sugarcoat it. You'll find yourself writing shorter text comprising words and ideas that don't resonate with you. The length of the text is often abysmal and you feel like canning everything. These are the days to double down and push yourself to the limit. Do the opposite of that little voice trying to get you to quit. Days like this can define your character and resolve, building an extensive map of the writer you'll become. Keep going strong. This will help you break through some of the barriers. You'll thank yourself for always pushing even when you didn't feel like it.

Take Feedback and improve

You cannot critique yourself to greatness. You need the opinion of others. Listen to their critiques and feedback. There’s a tool and tip in them to help you get better. Take it on the chin, make changes, and grow. Study the patterns of what makes your articles succeed and fail. These criticisms will help you have the best idea of where your content stands. Do not take it personally. This will help you improve and push your content to the best level. Take the writing advice you receive and use it to enhance your content.

Receiving feedback shows that people have an invested interest in your work. I am a big proponent of giving and receiving feedback. Ironing out the edges to produce the best content is all I want. Feedback is essential to achieving this. I have taken this further by using screen recording software to give and receive feedback. This has drastically improved the efficiency of our feedback mechanisms. I use VideoFeedbackr to achieve this. It helps me give and receive feedback hassle-free. True growth is achievable by pruning the unsightly aspects of your writing. Proper feedback will prune this for you, allowing you to grow as expected. Prioritize your growth. Strive for continuous development. Take the feedback on the chin and use it to grow.

Take away

Everything has its challenges and writing is no exception. These six principles can help you overcome and improve your writing to better levels. I have learned these principles in my writing experience and I’m learning more as I go on. I hope they can help you grow to achieve great things on your creative journey.

FAQs

How can I best implement feedback for my growth?
You should take feedback positively. You can't grow when all you do is fight against the feedback you receive. You can use the feedback to assess the brevity of your work. This will help you make changes to make your work outstanding.

What’s the best visual concept to use?
Use the visual concept that makes the most sense to you. You can use analytics or your creative process to achieve this. Make it something you appreciate and enjoy.

What strategies can I use to overcome writer’s block?
You can study a different topic, go for a walk, or take a short break. Writer's block is frustrating but not permanent. Take some time off and let your creative flow replenish itself.

Is writing a skill that can be improved?
Yes, it is. The more you write the more you pick up. Writing is a skill that improves with continual practice like any other skill.

Where can I learn more about writing?
You can learn a lot. You can learn sentence structure, paragraphs, tenses, and creative styles. Writing has a lot to teach. You'll pick up things as you go and see your ability improve over time.

For these and more thoughts, guides, and insights visit my blog at martinbaun.com.
You can find me on YouTube.

Becoming a Better Writer

Martin Baun — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 10:30:29 +0000

Writing is an art form that allows you to teach, inspire, and educate using your words and creativity. It seems simple to plug and play till you discover the nuances behind it. I am still grasping some of these nuances myself, but I have the help of my writer to point them out.

These are the six principles to follow to become a better writer.

Perfecting the basics of language, grammar, and punctuation

This is something that challenges everyone even the seasoned vets of the language. English has a lot of nuances in language, grammar, and punctuation. It can be challenging for a non-native speaker to grasp these concepts. Homophones were the most challenging concept for me. Flower and flour are pronounced the same yet bear different meanings. Bear is an animal, but when 'to' is placed before it, it becomes a verb meaning to have or nurture. These are some of the nuances that come with the queen's language.

Grammar is about accuracy and being correct. It's not as complicated as the gender system in the French language, but has its difficulties. Sentences must be structured correctly, placed in a timeframe, and delivered as required. These things take time and practice to learn and perfect. I was fortunate enough to be born in an English-speaking nation. This has given me an indirect advantage. I've had years of practice in school and in my time. Learning and perfecting these nuances can be done in several ways. I liked reading short stories and writing my own. I found it easy to pick up on synonyms, writing styles, and the different ways to use language, grammar, and punctuation. I coupled this with writing my own stories, which was good practice. You don't have to write every day or read everything you can find. Starting small and building up on it over time is better. I've learned new words from newspapers, articles, and novels. These are all excellent resources to help you get a handle on these aspects. I have written some simple articles that can help kickstart your learning. You can access them on my blog MartinBaun

Create your unique writing style

Writing is a creative art form. You may not know it, but everyone has a unique way of expressing their work. Authentic writing is good writing. I developed my writing style by picking up my pencil and writing. The first time you write something creative will be the first time you nurture your writing style. Some people are very factual while others are abstract. Some are conversational, and others mix multiple styles. I love writing factual aspects in a simple and conversational style. I also like writing narratives in a first-person point of view.

I've learned different writing styles for multiple purposes over the years. There's a specific style for writing reports, essays, and articles on varying topics. It takes time to develop any writing style. Practice is essential for this. I used to write a chapter per week when creating my short stories. This allowed me to hone my skills and improve my creativity. Writing became second nature and I gradually improved at smaller intricacies like passive voice, tone, and ideology. It also helped that other people got to read my short stories and give honest feedback to me.

Your writing style will enamor some and repel others. Stay focused on your goal and keep practicing whenever you can. It's better to be a good original than a cheap imitation of someone else. Don't use similes, idioms, metaphors, or riddles you don't understand. You can try your best with your abilities. Your best will be reflected in the work you do. Put in the work and you'll see your style grow into an extension of your being. You can learn more about this from another article I've written.

Read: Six Principles of Effective Writing

Practice often

Practice makes perfect. This applies to writing as well. I used to write a chapter of a short story per week. It didn't have to be a New York top seller or anything ground-breaking. I used this as an opportunity to improve my writing skills, creative skills, and story-telling. This allowed me to bypass writer's block as I had an entire week to add to the story. You can create a practice plan to help develop your writing skills, creativity, and storytelling. You can start by writing down the various homophones as I did and learning where to use one word over the other.

You can also watch funny and educative shows that help improve your grasp of the language. I used to watch 'Mind Your Language' when I was younger. It helped that it was a show with foreigners learning English as a second language. It was both educative and entertaining. I picked up good foundation points from the show and applied them to my learning. I practiced using some new words and learned how to use them in writing.

Ideal practice involves learning new aspects and applying them. You can learn the language from anywhere and spend a few minutes practicing it. This will help you improve your writing and speaking. Write often, read your writing, ask for feedback, and you'll see your work improve consistently. Bruce Lee often said he doesn't fear a man who's practiced 1000 kicks. He truly fears the one who's practiced one kick a thousand times. Your effort in practice will bear fruit for you. Practicing requires a lot of commitment and dedication to handle. This needs you to remain productive and driven. I've written an article to help you do this.

Read: Practical Tips to Maintain Productivity

Read widely and research your topics

Reading widely exposes you to different writing styles, content, and information. There's a lot of knowledge you can obtain by reading a lot. This knowledge is available in books, magazines, and online content. You can learn much on Reddit and the various subreddits it has. These sites have great information for you to enjoy and pick up on. Reading a specific topic or subject and writing it in your own words is a good way to learn the topic and practice your writing. It's what I've been doing for the past few months and I've seen great dividends from it.

It expands your knowledge, makes you more versatile, and improves your writing. This is what we call a trifecta of benefits. A good example was when I had to research and learn about global variables. Learning the technicalities of it in software development and writing about it improved my knowledge and made me a better writer at the same time. The colloquial term is having range. You don't want to be a one-dimensional writer who excels in one niche. It'll be a kin to bringing a knife to a gunfight. Things will probably go wrong for you. Improving in other aspects widens your range and makes you suitable to handle different forms of writing. I enjoy writing. Improving my writing often is something I look forward to.

Knowledge is power and having a lot of it is beneficial to improve your writing skill. You can learn about global variables like I did by reading it below.

Read: LOVE global variables, sometimes

Accept feedback and continuously improve

You can gauge your improvement as you continue learning and practicing. External feedback is essential to your learning process. I started receiving feedback on my writing when I was young in school. We were required to write short descriptions of our families, pets, and more. The complexity of my writing requirements evolved as I grew. I still receive feedback on my writing and remains a vital part of my writing.

Feedback is meant to make you a better writer. Don't take things personally. Accept feedback and apply it to improve the quality of your writing. Getting better is the main goal and doing everything you can is a prerequisite. Incorporate writing principles. Principles like planning topics, writing prompts, sentence structure, and message delivery. It's not enough to write. Ensure the text makes sense, reads well, and delivers the message.

Doing this will help you improve your writing. Do not be a perfectionist. Learn, fail, try, and keep going. Writing mimics life. You learn through experience and get the most experience by writing and learning more. Don't be too fixated in your ways that you ignore great advice. Criticism is good. It doesn't mean you're bad when you get it. It's meant to make you less abysmal and improve your work. I have recently started receiving feedback in video format. It is a fast and efficient manner to receive feedback that can be beneficial to you. I use VideoFeedbackr to facilitate this. VideoFeedbackr offers Screen Recording Simplified

Start a blog to practice writing

This isn't a conventional way to practice but I stand by it. A blog gives you more leeway to practice different styles of writing. I created my blog and have written over 30 articles thus far. I started this blog as a hub for software development and technical excellence. This is my area of professional expertise and it was an easy choice for me. I have since diversified my writing. I've included helpful pieces like this and other thought-provoking pieces.

Watching your blog grow is addictive. It's more motivating when you see people engage with your writing. You can start writing about topics you're confident in. You can build your confidence during this phase before diversifying your writing skills. I am no Mozart but I'm on the right path. Your blog will keep a detailed collection of every article you've written. It'll give you a detailed timeline showcasing your growth from one post to the next.

Starting a blog is a scary prospect. It's understandable to be hesitant about it. Take the leap of faith and push through with it. You'll eventually see good returns as you make big leaps in your content. You can see a practical example of this by visiting my blog. There's a definite growth from one article to the next. It is my writing area to produce my best work. I take this further by incorporating my writing into a systematic approach. I utilize Goleko for this. It helps me Manage Projects Better and organize my writing.

Takeaways

Writing is a skill that can be nurtured through practice and consistency. You can optimize your writing process and learn various words and phrases to improve your writing. You can incorporate good practice by writing 500 words weekly on any topic you desire. Take time to proofread and revise your text. Apply the feedback you receive from friends or superiors. You can incorporate writing aids to help you improve your writing. Aids such as Grammarly can help you improve your grammar, tense, and sentence structure.

Keep pushing at it and learning new ways to improve your writing. Research widely to get inspiration for story ideas and use them when writing and practicing. Outline your writing points. Write and rewrite as necessary. Every step will help you improve and in time you'll become an excellent writer.

FAQs

What is the benefit of first drafts when writing?
First drafts are written text that hasn't satisfied the quality you want. They are liable to edits, changes, or scrapping. They can be used as a guide but that isn't an optimal use of time. It's better to use an outline to help guide your writing. You can see an example outline when using checklists.

What are the tips I can follow to become a better writer?
Practice as much as possible. Read widely and implement the lessons you learn from your failures and feedback. This will help you optimize your writing and continually improve over time.

For these and more thoughts, guides, and insights visit my blog at martinbaun.com.
You can find me on YouTube.

True Teamwork in Software Development

Martin Baun — Thu, 11 Jul 2024 09:54:57 +0000

I'm a software developer by passion. I've had the privilege of leading development teams over my decade-plus career. Everyone tends to focus on the coding, technical aspects, and building software to be proud of. All these are vital but can be optimized with proper teamwork and collaboration. Experience has taught me how to instill true teamwork.

This is what worked for me and my team.

Shared Goals and Objectives

I have morning meetings with my developers. It's of extreme importance to keep these meetings as short as possible. We keep these meetings capped at 10 minutes. This means that only (10*5=50) minutes of productivity is "wasted" coordinating. It means if we save 1 person 1 hour a day it is a win. A lot of businesses do 30-minute meetings as standard, and that would be very wasteful.

We avoid unnecessary meetings. We like keeping things simple with our ten-minute morning meetings. The best way to keep things moving for us is to give responsibility to my developers. Each is responsible for their tasks and figuring out how they'll handle them. Everyone can reach out and seek assistance where they need help. We try to specialize and give ownership. We primarily utilize asynchronous communication using VideoFeedbackr where it's needed. This is our fun and efficient spin on making Loom better. You can try it for free. We have a dedicated Jitsi server for synchronous meetings. We use it when asynchronous communication cannot suffice. It is awesome and gives us one room to hold our meetings. It is a virtual home that doesn't need new URLs for new log-ins. I have written an article that dives deeper into this topic.

Read: 7 Tips for Effective Communication in Remote Teams

Collaborative Teamwork

Our team's goals remain the priority during development. This was the case when we were developing Goleko. Goleko was a massive undertaking for me and my developers. It necessitated trust, open discussions, innovation, and resolve from every team member. We worked together in every step to its fulfillment. We broke the lines between the teams. There wasn't a back-end or front-end team. We handled our tasks together with active contributions from each other.

This strategy proved to be amazing as we saw the pitching of innovative ideas from my team members. Everyone was professional and respectful of the ideas that were pitched. We communicated crucial feedback and helped each other where help was needed. Collaborative teamwork ensured that everyone was on the same page. No one was left behind during this process and this enhanced our productivity. People can manage their projects better using Goleko. This is due to everyone treating each other as teammates during development. We've kept this approach in other developments we've made. It is a team approach that serves us well and ensures we keep producing at a high level. I have written an article showcasing how team members can collaborate.

Read: Feedback with Asynchronous Video: Productivity with Screen Recording!

Empowered and Autonomous Developers

I have empowered my developers to work autonomously. My developers are qualified enough to work well without supervision. They have created a seamless collaborative approach with each other. They communicate their perspectives with each other, offer supportive feedback, and work closely to produce quality software. I receive updates on the progress of the developments. I give input on major choices we need to make. They handle everything in the team. I've encouraged this type of autonomy throughout the team. It keeps us moving forward without any hitches or delays.

This autonomy has allowed my developers to express themselves in the projects. They take full ownership and use our team's intent to achieve the goals. They contribute innovative ideas and value to the design and development. Every developer on my team has our standard operating procedures (SOPs). They know how we do stuff. My developers have taken the initiative, especially when maintaining our products and services. They are exceptional at this and have handled complex projects associated with it. They have delivered good and robust solutions to some of the errors our products experienced. Their communication skills with each other have continuously developed, enhancing their teamwork.

I'm a firm believer that autonomy enhances effective teamwork. It has brought everyone on my team closer. They actively seek each other's help and contribution to achieve our goals and objectives. I have written an article that can help ou empower your developers to create beautiful software.

Read: Software Developers Can Build Beautiful Software

Open Communication and Feedback

I have mentioned our communication principles when discussing our shared goals and objectives. One aspect of our teamwork lies in how we give and receive feedback. We use VideoFeedbackr to offer feedback on our tasks and projects. We are a cohesive team that desires excellence above everything else. We demonstrate this in the constant evaluations we do for our projects. All feedback is designed to strengthen our handle on the projects.

Everyone is free to give feedback to help improve the projects. All feedback given is taken positively by all team members. This enables us to identify areas that need improvement and engineer workable solutions to complete our projects on time. Receiving feedback doesn't mean you're failing. It is to help you improve the project, which is the point of our team collaboration.

VideoFeedbackr has helped us improve our software projects. We provide feedback hassle-free. This has helped us design creative solutions to many issues we faced. Progress is impossible without proper feedback. Our goal remains our focal point in everything we do. We don't have egos in our team. Everyone is hungry for us to achieve our desired goals. The feedback comes from a place of love and desire to succeed. This common mindset has improved the teamwork in my entire team, let alone the software development team. This relentless pursuit ensures we take all feedback correctly and implement it for the better of our team. It is an attribute I'm very proud of.

Celebrating Successes and Learning from Failures

Software engineering is a team sport. You can work alone and succeed but working with others greatly improves your chances. I make it a point to congratulate and acknowledge each time all my team members do a great job. They work hard and give everything to their craft. I'm the first to point out what they did and give them the props they deserve. This has cultivated an environment where they can freely contribute their ideas and work on implementing them.

Conversely, I promote the principle of learning from your mistakes within the team. Castigating and berating are strategies I do not comply with in my team. Failures and mistakes teach us the most important lessons in anything we do. I give chances and leeway to my team members as I know they learn from each failure and mistake. The skills they learn from their mistakes make them better. This translates into our overall team performance. Growth is possible through mistakes and overcoming your failures. This is how my developers and writer have found their strength in their responsibilities and work.

Doing both has helped me keep my team together and better engaged in their work. It is a wonderful feeling to see everyone willingly contribute to the team. We celebrate and grow together. It is a wonderful environment we've built. We're seeing continued benefits from it.

Takeaway

Teamwork is an essential component of any software development team. It helps teams accomplish their tasks, goals, and objectives. You can enhance your teamwork skills by incorporating principles like open communication, timely feedback, support, and cultivating a learning environment. True teamwork can be the difference between good and great. Two heads are better than as they say. Collaboration can be the final piece to move your venture to its proper heights. Consider adopting it. You might see the output you always desired.

FAQs

Why is teamwork important in software development?
Teamwork makes all tasks and activities easier to handle. Working together gives you a better chance to succeed in whatever you're working on. It improves mood, accuracy, and efficiency. It's just like the saying goes. A problem shared is half solved.

How can we enhance collaboration in software teams?
You can enhance collaboration by implementing principles that promote collaboration. Implement the use of open communication, proper feedback, cross-function collaboration, and a nurturing environment. This will take time to root but will give you the best outcome when set.

What skills are needed to enhance collaboration?
You don't need specific skills to enhance it. Everyone needs to be willing enough to be a part of the team and system. This willingness is what makes it possible for collaboration to take place. Everyone should commit to the set plans and the goals of collaboration will be achieved.

What are the benefits of collaboration in software development teams?
You get things done efficiently. This is the biggest benefit of collaboration in software development. Other benefits are better learning, fewer mistakes, and more time to improve the software and skills. Teamwork and collaboration have a lot of benefits to offer.

For these and more thoughts, guides, and insights visit my blog at martinbaun.com.

You can find me on YouTube.

VideoFeedbackr: Record your Screen Well!

Martin Baun — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 10:08:31 +0000

Frustrations and a desire for quality push us every day. Making our lives easier has been the driving force behind most inventions and technologies. I enjoy using simple and efficient tools. I desire to simplify screen recording for myself and everyone.

This is how VideoFeedbackr intends to achieve this.

VideoFeedbackr: Free Screen Recorder Best Uses

I've had an enjoyable experience using VideoFeedbackr. Bias aside, solving the issues that infuriated me with the other screen recording software makes me want to use it often. In doing so, I've noticed some great uses for VideoFeedbackr. Just as the name hints, I've mainly used it to give feedback to my employees. I've given feedback on developer tasks like coding and software testing. I've used it on the content we make in our team. Providing feedback in this manner eliminates misunderstandings and vastly improves understanding.

We've used VideoFeedbackr a lot to give feedback to each other in the team. We've already planned to expand on this feedback mechanism outside our team. VideoFeedbackr is simple, fast, and efficient enough to revamp University and Higher Education learning. Most lectures are conducted online. We can take this further by enhancing the grading and assessment structure. Professors and instructors can save a lot of time by giving the students assessments and directives via video feedback. The students will then have a video file with a detailed explanation of how to improve. Attention spans are getting smaller with time but people still find videos interesting. I've gone into more detail about this in the article below.

Read: Video Feedback in Universities and Online Learning Environments!

We have started using VideoFeedbackr to improve our customer experience. We're doing this by implementing it in customer support. I know how frustrating it can be to type a detailed explanation of the issue plaguing you only for customer support to give a poor or completely unrelated response. We don't have a call center yet, but we have VideoFeedbackr. Our customers can now record their screens and show us what's ruining their experience. We also use VideoFeedbackr to replicate the error, formulate the fix, and test it. We record this process for documentation. We then make a recording for our customer with the solution to their problem. It's taking the best attributes of call support and improving on it.

Screen recording is great but has its weaknesses. Let's discuss weaknesses I've noticed with screen recording.

Where Screen Recording Fails

Nothing is perfect. VideoFeedbackr is excellent in its role but awful at others. I've made notes on giving criticism and performance reviews. You can use it here, but its effect can vastly exaggerate or diminish what you're going for. Since it's a screen recording software, the person on the receiving end cannot decipher your mannerisms, body language, and more. They can only receive criticism in a tone they're either grateful or terrified by.

I've tried using VideoFeedbackr to give performance reviews. It was a total waste of time. I've found synchronous meetings to work better for this. You get to see each other, have a read on body language, and have a better interaction. The person getting criticized also deserves to offer their point of view. This is a delicate operation and VideoFeedbackr has some holes in its service provision that make it unsuited for this. Video feedback can do other things like improve your team's productivity. You can learn more about these dynamics from the article below.

Read: Enhancing Productivity with Video Feedback in 2024.

VideoFeedbackr: Practical uses

VideoFeedbackr has numerous practical uses. These are some examples of how we've used it. You can find more ways to use it. The possibilities are only limited by our imagination and intentions.

Code Reviews and Testing
We use VideoFeedbackr to enhance our developer output. We've been using it to review code and check on testing. My developers record the codes they've made and send the video to our developer channel on Telegram. Everyone there can watch the video and give suggestions on where to improve, remark on the quality, or approve the code as is. This eliminates the delay we once had with reviews.

We do the same for testing. We pride ourselves on our rigorous testing process. Review and feedback is a vital step in maintaining the quality of our testing. This has been one of the best uses for VideoFeedbackr. Our software has provided great service to our software team. Is this self-serving software? Or SaaS to itself? Anyways onto the next uses.

Content Creation
I am also part of the content team's Telegram group. I share videos of pre-released content to get answers on things I don't get or to give feedback and suggestions about things that can be changed, added, or removed. We've shifted this feedback to Goleko and kept the Telegram group for brainstorming. We have improved our content quality and work efficiency by implementing this type of feedback. You can use Goleko to do this in your remote team. It's an excellent project management tool to help you manage projects better. Elevate Productivity, Team Morale, and project overviews.

We've started pitching ideas using it. We share videos of an idea and the potential benefits we can get by pursuing it. We get to watch the videos, understand the thought process, and give appropriate feedback. Our content team is working harmoniously to achieve our goals and intent, and VideoFeedbackr is a vital component of this.

SOP Alternatives
This is a recent administrative revamp in my team. Goleko has a project called How We Do Stuff. I invite my new employees to it. It contains all the operational procedures we follow on the team. I then clone the Onboarding project for my employee where I handle all the administrative aspects like contracts and personal details. It was previously hectic for all employees to understand everything captured in the How We Do Stuff project. The SOPs were all in written text. I noticed a stark difference in interpretation from one employee to the other.

We have since used VideoFeedbackr to record videos explaining the SOPs. We have placed a video under each SOP that further explains the innuendo in the text. Every new employee can watch the corresponding video after reading the text to improve their understanding. You don't need to read the text. These videos have become good supplements and in some instances, replacements for our traditional SOPs.

I've written an article that details every aspect of our onboarding process. It contains what works for us that might have solutions to remote work onboarding hitches.

Read: Onboarding and Training New Remote Employees in a Virtual Environment.

Meeting Enhancements
VideoFeedbackr has been excellent at supporting our daily morning meetings. We get to discuss vital aspects in the progress meetings and use VideoFeedbackr to handle the tasks and projects as expected. This allows us to keep our meetings short, concise, and targeted toward specific goals. VideoFeedbackr then handles the rest of the task and project-specific tasks and responsibilities.

It works well in this support role and we're seeing the benefits in our results.

VideoFeedbackr Tutorial

This tutorial guides you on how to help you record screens for all these and more uses.

Accessing VideoFeedbackr
VideoFeedbackr can be accessed from your web browser. It works well on Windows, MacBook, and Linux. Open your browser. Type in VideoFeedbackr. It will take you to the landing page. Press the record button to record your screen.

Record your Screen
VideoFeedbackr will allow you to choose the specific screen or window you wish to record.

Stop recording the video. Upload it to the server. The recording will then be uploaded to our servers after you stop recording. Choose the duration you want the video to be saved.

Downloading
The unique shareable links allow you to select a couple of options. You can download the video and use the link to share it with anyone you want. The person who receives the link can watch the video by following the link.

The unique link can be copied as shown above and is automatically copied to your clipboard.

Terms and Conditions
We reserve the right to host videos on our servers. We review reported videos and reserve the right to remove them from our servers. We also give you the option to delete them yourself. You'll receive a notification of this issue.

For these and more thoughts, guides, and insights visit my blog at martinbaun.com.
You can find me on YouTube.

Time Management Hacks for the Overwhelmed Tech Student

Martin Baun — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 10:05:57 +0000

Time management is the scourge of our progress and output. It affects us in work, life, and school.

These are tips to help you manage your time as a tech student.

Habit stacking

Habit stacking is an underrated hack that students rarely use. It is a skill I subconsciously use to boost my productivity in my daily endeavors. It allows you to handle multiple things at the same time. It is a timesaver that is so simple to implement and stick to. One of my favorite habit stacks is having coffee as I handle deadlines and administrative duties for my remote team. I enjoy my morning coffee and log into meetings with my remote team with a big smile. Another example of habit stacking I do is writing my YouTube video scripts while enjoying my break from the hustle of my work.

The principle of habit stacking is placing symbiotic tasks together, allowing you to multitask efficiently. You can use this principle in various ways as a student. I would practice coding before bed, or study a specific short topic on my coffee break. You'll knock down two birds with one stone doing this. You'll notice your time management and productivity steadily improve. Habit stacking is a game changer that will help you stay focused. It has been a great addition to my routine and will improve your time management. I have written an article to help you build on habit stacking.

Read: Action Breeds Clarity

Time blocking

Time blocking is a core time management hack I live by. It is a simple and efficient way to manage time, prioritize tasks, and prevent procrastination. It forces you to be accountable for how you spend your time. It also reveals bad habits we have. It's no secret we tend to extend our breaks or push our work back to do other things. This is the worst productivity killer as we unconsciously train ourselves to put off vital tasks for pleasurable activities. I've seen people become overwhelmed with their workload because they didn't properly manage their tasks.

I like to focus on one task at a time. I have to-do lists for each day and week that I adequately distribute in specific time blocks. I focus on one task and do it to the best of my ability. I don't give myself the leeway to spend too much time on a task. These time blocks force me to use my time efficiently. I pair this hack with time tracking to ensure I use my time properly. I've incorporated checklists into this strategy. They detail the important aspects of the project that require my attention. Checklists are a good way to increase productivity. They guide your work and ensure you don't waste your time.

You can make a to-do list with a checklist breaking down what to do. Students feel stressed when they have to balance numerous subjects. You can make this simple. Allocate time to your studies, have each topic with its delegated time slot, and watch your workflow improve. You can also get software to help you manage your time. I use Goleko in addition to checklists to handle all my tasks and responsibilities. It helps me Manage Projects Better. You can learn more about checklists in the article below.

Read: Boost Productivity With Checklist

The Pareto Principle (80⁄20 Rule)

The Pareto principle is a favorite of mine. It challenges you to decipher which tasks produce the best results. Doing these tasks first tends to produce the best outcome. I like working on developing software and offering services to my clients. These are 20% of tasks that produce 80% of the results. You can divide these tasks based on their importance. Break these tasks into smaller sections. Checklists are excellent for this purpose. This helps you focus and stay on track with the set goals.

These tasks are usually academic for students. You can pick the topic with the highest return. This is your 20%. Then divide the topic into specific objectives. A study guide is perfect for this. You can refer to previous academic year assessments to gauge the high-yield areas. You can use your study sessions to hammer the content and decipher areas that need to improve. You can take this further by forming study groups. This will help you cover more as everyone is assigned a topic to teach and explain. You can do this for any critical task to produce the best results. You'll be able to accomplish your goals and enhance your productivity.

The Pareto principle allows for good time management. It helps you stay organized with a healthy work-life balance. It will help you handle simple tasks, reduce mental fatigue, and decrease stress. You can improve time management on your group projects by using screen recording software to give feedback. You can improve time spent on back-and-forth by giving excellent feedback on specific tasks. VideoFeedbackr is an excellent choice for your needs. Give feedback hassle-free while saving your valuable time.

Eliminate Distractions

You can plan your day with a manageable amount of tasks. We overestimate our capabilities and end up frustrated when things don't work. Task management is a key principle to follow. Prioritize your tasks giving them different levels of importance and urgency. Saying you'll study for 10 hours is a lie. You'll probably procrastinate for 5 hours simply trying to start anything. This stunts your academic and professional life. It also grossly inflates the time you spend on tasks.

It is better to set realistic and achievable goals. You can plan to study for 6 hours. You can divide these 6 hours into three 2-hour blocks. This will give you a better chance to study. Doing it this way also gives you reasonable rest times. These are vital for stress reduction and management. You can use productivity apps if they help you stay focused. Enhanced productivity is achievable by using your time well and proper project management. College can be a stressful place without effective time management techniques. I find using interesting documents helps me focus more. This is why I use ElegantDoc for all of my softcopy needs. It lets me Make Impactful Documents in Seconds allowing me to have fun and keep my focus as well.

Distractions are everywhere and it's vital to keep yourself focused. Accomplishing goals is addictive. You can finish one thing at a time daily or weekly. This will help you keep track of your progress. It will help you reduce stress and give you enough time for adequate sleep. Good time management skills are the key to seeing this type of success.

The Starting Principle

The starting principle deciphers whether a task is pursuable in your current mental state. It is excellent for tasks you loathe or aren't looking forward to. I have used it to great effect and seen great results from it. You give yourself 5 minutes to work on that task. You can then determine whether you want to continue or not. I stop doing it if my view on it hasn't changed. This is one of my best time management tips. It prevents you from spending time forcing yourself to do a task. I prioritize quality in everything I do. Forcing yourself to do a task you don't want to do is counterproductive. You'll take regular breaks and get easily distracted.

Many people find themselves powering through a task to meet upcoming deadlines. This is the wrong approach to follow when striving for excellence. You can refer to your long-term goals as often as you can. They will help formulate practical tips to keep you focused and on track. Forcing yourself to do a task for the sake of it is detrimental to your well-being and reduces your productivity. Compromising quality and wasting time is something a student should fight with every part of their being. This starting principle will help you avoid this. Value your time and energy. It is the first equity you have to showcase to the world. No one will value and respect it if you don't yourself. It's vital to keep your productivity up to ensure proper time management and efficiency. I've written an article to help you accomplish this.

Read: Practical Tips to Maintain Productivity

Take Aways

Time management is easy with a few adjustments. Taking time to habit stack, allocate time, and implement productivity principles. Keeping yourself focused by eliminating distractions also helps. Take time to use your mind and time the right way. It will see you achieve more and in less time. It’s not hard to build efficiency as a student.

Mastering time management is a gradual process. It needs discipline and commitment on our part to make it achievable. Students can plan their days well and have a better experience in college and university. We have 24 hours in a day. Time management strategies make these hours more than enough to do most things. We need to make things simple for ourselves and these tips should help.

Everything you want is on the other side. These tips make it easier to achieve and sustain. You can implement them into your routine. You'll see your productivity soar to new levels. You can be consistent enough with it. The results will validate your choice.

FAQs

What are the best strategies to use to improve time management as a student?
Students can improve their time management with proper discipline and planning. Habit stacking, setting reminders, and using principles like the Pareto and Starting principles help. Consistency is the determining factor of how well everything works.

What are the best tips to prevent distractions?
You can keep yourself focused on the tasks at hand. You can prime your location to maximize your focus and productivity on your tasks. This will help you maintain focus. You can keep your phone away and find a secluded place to focus. You can assess what takes your focus and do your part to eliminate it.

How can I best use the Pareto principle?
You can divide tasks based on their importance. Break these tasks into smaller sections. This is your 20%. Then divide the topic into specific objectives. Then divide the topic into specific objectives. A study guide is perfect for this. You can refer to previous academic year assessments to gauge the high-yield areas. You can use your study sessions to hammer the content and decipher areas that need to improve.

How can I best use the Starting Principle?
You give yourself 5 minutes to work on that task. You can then determine whether you want to continue or not. This will prevent you from wasting time on tasks you aren't happy with. It is a time management tip for students and professionals. Those 5 minutes are enough to save your time, energy, and motivation.

How can I properly allocate tasks for the best efficiency?
You can assess which tasks need the most attention. You can then plan your time into manageable time slots. Doing this will allow you to work on tasks in their priority order. You'll see good returns in your efficiency doing so.

For these and more thoughts, guides, and insights visit my blog at martinbaun.com.

You can find me on YouTube.

Loneliness and Liberation: The Ls of Remote Work

Martin Baun — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 10:04:20 +0000

I’ve been in remote work for over a decade and experienced a lot that it has to offer. I enjoy the freedom to work from anywhere in the world. I've had months where I've been in more than two different countries and sometimes continents. This sounds fun and it is, but some demerits exist with it. Everyone highlights the good without the bad and for good reason.

I want to showcase both sides in totality through my extensive experience.

Isolation and Loneliness

Isolation and loneliness are the hallmarks of remote work. You may not realize how isolated you are until you see an empty room with your computer and no one around. Physical offices have people working in one building who can interact with each other. This gives a sense of belonging, making the work hours bearable and occasionally fun. Working remotely eliminates this feeling. The sense of community is lost and you are left to work alone wherever you are. This has its challenges, especially on your mental well-being and motivation. Your productivity can be affected adversely as you lack the visual stimulation of a bustling work environment.

I've had this isolation blur the lines between my work and personal life. I'm no stranger to carrying my laptop to the coffee shop to do some work. I've taken trips and gone on strolls while handling some light tasks. These are traditional places to go and interact with other people. Work-life balance suffers and can be lost without any intervention. These are just the demerits I've seen in my experience. I know others who have become completely absorbed in their professional lives. There's nothing wrong with being enamored by your work as I am a workaholic in some respects. It's easy to lose the balance in your professional and personal life. I have cues to mitigate this and make remote work great despite these issues. I'll speak about it after the better side of remote work. I have written an article that can help you stay productive in your remote work.

Read: Practical Tips to Maintain Productivity

Liberation

Freedom and liberation are the other side of remote work. This is the more shared side of remote work. Everyone tends to focus on the positives and with good reason. Staying positive allows us to enjoy our time and situation. Remote work has excellent positives. Just as working in a traditional office setting has its benefits, it also has its demerits. A daily commute to the office, an unappealing office space, and even co-workers you can't stand. Some people don't like these things and thrive on remote work.

I travel a lot and enjoy working from whichever location I choose. I have the freedom to see new places, create new social connections, and enjoy a fulfilling work-life dynamic. Being tethered to a singular location is something I dislike. Working in new locations renews my motivation and productivity. I get to enjoy my work and time at the same time. It also saves me a lot of money on taxes paid for having a physical office in any country. This is a great benefit that I enjoy as a team leader. The benefits of liberation may seem less but have more weight. I enjoy remote work and wouldn't have it any other way. I have adjusted my process to maintain my productivity and well-being. Hopefully, these tips can help you. I have written an article that details how I manage my remote team.

Read: Principles for Managing Remote Teams and Freelancers

Balancing Remote Work

A good balance can be achieved to make remote work an enjoyable process. I have morning meetings with my employees before I start my workday. These meetings give me the boost to kickstart my day and allow us to interact. We do this using synchronous videos. We use Jitsi to communicate during these morning virtual meetings. I have also enlisted screen recording software to give feedback on all tasks and projects we do. It allows us the opportunity to simulate a wonderful work environment with technology. I created VideoFeedbackr to help us record our screens hassle-free.

I've also been planning my travels to destinations I like with people I like. This can be to see a friend, my relatives, or my partner. This allows me to enjoy the change of scenery without the loneliness and isolation. This has helped me enjoy my flexible work life as I can go out and enjoy my time with my loved ones. I encourage my team to do the same and enjoy their weekends to relax and blow off some steam.

I also use checklists and to-do lists to keep my tasks organized. It keeps me on track with everything I need to do and ensures I remain sharp. My productivity levels are maintained and so are my remote workers. I have implemented these checklists in the projects we do in our team. It has helped improve everyone's productivity. We've simulated a traditional office environment using technological advancements. These checklists ensure we all have time for other extracurricular activities and plans. We all have time to enjoy with our loved ones and remain productive and efficient during our work week. It is a simple addition you can implement into your remote work process.

Read: Boost Productivity With Checklist

Best Practices

These are some of the things you can do to help you make your remote work journey a smooth transition.

Planning
Planning helps. You'll have a lot of autonomy and freedom. You won't have much following up and this can make you complacent. I set clear workweek agendas and tasks that I want to accomplish. I then break them down into a to-do list in the preferred completion order. Afterward, I create a checklist detailing the important aspects. This keeps me focused on the goal and keeps me accountable.

Optimized Work Environment
Optimize your work environment. Eliminate distractions and give yourself the best chance to fulfill your tasks. I like playing some music as I work. I can work in a coffee shop and keep my focus and productivity high. My writer prefers working at night with no one around him listening to his music. It would be counter-productive for me to enforce my process on him and vice versa. We have optimized our operation further by using ElegantDoc. It lets us Make Impactful Documents in Seconds. It is a fun and awesome way for us to share wonderful documents with each other.

Work-life Balance
Working remotely means you can work till you drop. You don't need to clock in or clock out. Plan your day well and you'll have time to yourself. Don't become a fully-fledged workaholic corporate pawn. Work on your efficiency and time management. This will help you make the right decisions and leave you happier and more fulfilled.

Take Away

The remote work landscape is growing continuously. It continues to take over the corporate landscape. We cannot ignore it or assume its influence. Traditional work may get absorbed into remote for most non-essential sectors. We need to learn all we can and adapt to the changing landscape. The workspace is shifting to the digital space. The benefits of remote work outweigh the demerits as I have shown. The demerits aren't to be taken lightly. We need to do our best to stifle them.

The remote work era is upon us. We can get on board with it or let it run us over. You can transition your team to remote work by using some helpful software. Goleko simulates the work environment and helps you run things like you would have. Bring the environment to your home office as you manage your projects better. It will help you properly transition into the remote work environment. This is a new way of doing things and it's time to embrace it.

FAQs

How can I deal with loneliness when working remotely?
Try having a support system around you. You can work from home or around your family members.

How can I stay productive when working remotely?
Plan. Create a to-do list and plan your work. Keep your environment primed for productivity and work.

How can I adjust my schedule to fit remote work?
Check your tasks and analyze how much time is needed for them. Divide them into workable hours and create a schedule around them. This should free time for you to do other things.

What are the best ways to work remotely?
In an environment that allows you to stay productive and efficient. You will do your best in an environment that promotes this.

For these and more thoughts, guides, and insights visit my blog at martinbaun.com.

You can find me on YouTube.