Remote Project Management Tips

If you are like me then you agree that working from home isn't as lucrative as it seemed for the first few days of "social distancing". I am taking this opportunity to explore and learn a skillset that I am sure will be useful in future - remote project management!

As it goes with any guide, I am not the know all but here's somethings that worked for me. Give them a try and let me know your thoughts by leaving comments on this post.

Take care of yourself - After 5 weeks of lock-down, if I learnt anything its that you have to put yourself first. Block time for yourself so that gives you to recuperate and be more productive.
Knock Knock - Block sometime on your calendar to just ping your team and chat with them. Ask what's happening with the project and otherwise. Offer any support they might need. This is equivalent to you just passing by them in the hallway and stopping by to say hi :)
Sock the blockers - This is when you put to use your "risk detector" goggles (if they are available please send me a pair too). Look carefully around the corners. During these stressful times, we are distracted by family, children, mental stress, health and even death! So assume that people are making assumptions as they don't want to feel "blocked". All good intentions but as a program manager, its your job to bring in that clarity and shine the light on those assumptions.
Celebrate (more often) - Empathize with your team that working remotely is hard especially when you aren't used to it and its a stressful period. So cheer your team up by often dropping by encouraging notes in chat channels or emails or over calls. Make it a point to celebrate more to keep the team morale high.
Organize Now - If you are a program manager, you might be organized enough but make sure you set reminders for yourself to follow up on tasks. Make it as seamless as possible so that you don't have to ping people per say. Not that pinging is bad but as you are pinging for everything, chat isn't the most effective medium of communication at the time. Most likely its going to be unanswered. Try these follow up tips on Outlook (External Link)

Stay tuned for more updates, I'll update the post as and when I find more tips! You have some then please comment on the post.

Updated 4/16 with experiences from past 5 weeks of lock-down and remote working.

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