Obviously not everyone is able to work remotely as many types of employment require employees to be at their office or travel to perform their tasks in person. But for those of us given the opportunity to work remotely then I thought it would be useful to share my experiences and give some practical advice by writing and publishing it on the web in the hope that I could give others helpful advice for adapting to remote working or managing remote workers.

I should warn you that there are a substantial number of self proclaimed ‘gurus’ on the Internet who will try and make you purchase e-books for vast sums of cash, believe me you don’t need to do this.

I am fortunate to be able to work wherever I choose and just about everyone who asks me what work I do wants to understand how I am able to work remotely. Don’t be fooled here I am still improving the science of remote working as each day I come across folks on the Internet who tell me about new ways and I am continually discovering new systems and ways that make my life simpler and make me more effective.

Over the past 7 years I have slowly but surely adapted my working methods to let me to do the majority of my work remotely with a portfolio of online tools and rigid self discipline. One afternoon whilst exploring the Internet I discovered Quickbooks online and this inspired me as to what just might be possible. The encounter with ’cloud’ based ‘on demand’ small business accounting software was a pivotal moment for me and the start of my ‘remote working experience.

I must state up front that productively working remotely is as much about the systems as it is about self management. Working remotely also means getting across to your team members, supervisors and clients as to what they can expect and how they will communicate with you.

In ‘Remote Working Part 2 – Things you should know about managing yourself’ I show you how to focus.