Slack Tips: 7 Best Practices for Productivity, Focus, and Health

Last updated on December 1st, 2022 at 04:26 pm

In this post, you’ll learn how to transform Slack into the central nervous system of your productivity hub.

Note: Slack is my messaging tool of choice, but these principles apply to any messenger service.

With remote and hybrid work becoming the norm, messenger services are ubiquitous. However, few best practices exist on how to use these apps for work.

When we use the default settings, Slack becomes a distraction abyss.

It’s unhealthy to be anxious about this nebulous software application on our computers and phones.

To protect our productivity, focus, and yes, health, we need to be more intentional.

Let’s dig in.

1/ Supercharge Your Productivity Hub

Your goal: turn Slack into your productivity hub. The first step is removing distractions preventing you from doing your best work.

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Remote work experiments for a productive & happy life

Last updated on November 18th, 2022 at 11:36 am

Today I want to share tips on how to integrate remote work into your life.

While there’s no “right way” to structure your work and life, seeing examples of how others “counter-program” against the 9-5 can inspire you to tweak your schedule to live a happier, more fulfilling life.

I hope this guide inspires you to experiment with 1 or 2 small changes that’ll save you time, money, and make you more productive at work.

Note: Every quarter I publish an update on goals set for the year. You can read my 2022 Q3 update here.

The Research: Segmentors vs. Integrators

My colleague Alison Kaprielian recently introduced me to the concepts of “Segmentors” vs. “Integrators” in the context of remote work:

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A 4-step productivity system to banish remote work anxiety

Today I’ll show you how to banish remote work anxiety. You’ll get more done at work. More importantly, you’ll feel like you’re able to actually switch off when you’re not working.

Working remotely for 9 years has been incredible for my career and life.

For most of that time, I’ve also dealt with low- to mid-level anxiety. Never to the point where it was debilitating, but more like this background noise I’m unable to switch off.

Because I can work anywhere, anytime, it felt like there was always something I could be doing.

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6 Simple Steps to Improve Remote Onboarding, Boost Productivity and Reduce Employee Churn

Last updated on November 18th, 2022 at 11:39 am

I’m going to show you how to build a fantastic remote onboarding experience. This works whether you’re onboarding your first remote freelancer, or you’re looking to refresh your company’s entire onboarding process.

Employees are at their peak motivation during the first few weeks in a new role. They want to make an excellent first impression. Investing in onboarding keeps that motivation and morale high for the long term. This means a happier, more productive team that sticks with you through the highs and lows.

Unfortunately, remote onboarding is still nascent.

There aren’t defined best practices.

At best, companies try to “port over” their IRL onboarding experience but don’t account for working remotely.

Over the last 10+ years, I’ve worked 7 remote work roles. That’s 7 different remote onboardings.

Here are the 6 things that separate good onboarding experiences from poor ones:

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8 Questions Tech Leaders Ask in Interviews (That You Should, Too)

Today you’ll learn the exact questions to ask in job interviews, and why to ask them. These are the same questions tech leaders from companies like Slack, Eventbrite, Pinterest, and Atlassian ask. Copy them, win more interviews.

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A Beginner’s Guide to Navigating The Messy Middle of Your Career: Earn more money, become recession-proof, and drive results in 90 days

Last updated on November 18th, 2022 at 11:39 am

Today I’m sharing 3 frameworks to accelerate through the “messy middle” of your career.

Push through the messy middle quickly and you’ll earn more money, faster, and be happier at your job.

What is the messy middle of your career? It’s the volatile period filled with uncertainty and struggle. As Brian Balfour put it:

Everything is always changing. New roles and functions are always emerging, the underlying knowledge for tech is accelerating, nothing is a linear path. As a result, navigating this part of the journey is chaotic and volatile (source).

This period is critical. The middle makes or breaks a career.

Unfortunately, because there’s no clear narrative arc (hence the “messy”) people rarely talk about it. Or they put too much stock in Steve Jobs’s idea that “you can only connect the dots going backward.” (Arnold was guilty of it, too.)

Instead, here are 3 frameworks to grab the reins of your career and navigate through the messy middle:

Develop a clear hypothesis for your next role
Set yourself up for success in the first 90 days (avoid these mistakes)
Capture upside and limit risk in your career

Let’s jump in.

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7 Powerful Ways To Boost Career Growth While Working Remotely

Last updated on August 14th, 2022 at 09:56 am

Today, I’m going to share my favorite tips and tools for working remotely. This list has been refined after:

After 9 years of remote work
In 7 different roles
Across multiple industries

Only 16% of companies are fully-remote businesses¹. Companies will spend the next 20-30 years addressing working remotely challenges. This means it’s our responsibility to create a great remote work experience.

By optimizing how you work remotely, you’ll drive more impact, get promoted faster, and earn more money. Plus, life is just more enjoyable.

The problem is most people treat remote work as working at the office… but at home. It’s not. Instead, they need to rethink every aspect of their work processes, routines, and cadences from a remote-first mindset.

Note: if you’re looking to land your first remote job, check out my article here. And if you’re trying to break into tech, read this first.

7 Tips for Working Remotely (That No One Talks About)

Remote work is a skill. The better your skills, the more successful you’ll be in a remote-first career. Here are 7 tips to improve the skill of working remotely:

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The Best Tech Jobs With No Experience Required (and How To Get Them)

Last updated on March 6th, 2023 at 05:07 am

Friends have asked: “How did you get a tech job with no experience in tech?” Usually, they have a younger sibling or cousin looking to make the jump into IT or tech. I made the career switch in my 30s. If I can do it, anyone can.

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10 Remote Jobs With No Experience Required (and How to Land Them)

Last updated on March 6th, 2023 at 05:06 am

Remote work is here for good.

When you’re not bound by geography or time zone, you have functionally an unlimited number of job opportunities. But if you’ve never worked for a remote company:

Where do you start?
What jobs are good?
Which ones pay well?
Which ones are scams?
Where do you find these jobs?
How do you stand out when you’re competing with anyone with Internet access?

In the last 10 years, I worked 4 different jobs in different industries (Hollywood, online education, technology). These jobs had two things in common:

They were all remote
I had no experience in any of the roles

But along the way, I met other ambitious people who followed this alternative career trajectory. They made remote work a critical component of their careers. They started with little to no experience. And many were also breaking into the tech industry for the first time.

Remote jobs with no experience required

Reflecting on our combined experiences, I realized: there are great remote jobs with no experience required out there. You just need to know what they are, where to find them, and how to stand out when applying. That’s what we’ll cover in this post.

First, we’ll talk about remote jobs to avoid.

Next, we’ll dig into 10 remote jobs with no experience required.

Finally, you’ll also learn principles to stand out when applying for ANY remote job.

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Add Freelancing to Your Career Management Arsenal

Takeaways

If you only have a minute, here are the takeaways:

Remote work is here to stay. With your next role is unbound by geography and time zone, the job marketplace is functionally limitless. This changes how you manage your career.
Transactional relationships between employee and employer, e.g. “tours of duty” will become more common, and the quality of “gig-work” will continue to improve.
This future isn’t some panacea. Like everything else, there are tradeoffs. For example, more autonomy but less security.
If you’re curious, an easy way to sample a “tour of duty” is switching from an employee to a freelancer within the company.
This can be great for your career if you see yourself as CEO someday, or you’ve worked at the same company for a long time. If your current priority is work/life balance, however, then stick with your employer until you’re ready to focus on your career.
As a freelancer, your hourly rate will likely go up, but you’ll likely owe more in taxes and they’ll get more complicated. You’ll also have less job security with each client.
If you’re a freelancer in the US, expect health insurance to get much more expensive. If you become a resident abroad, chances are you’ll be entitled to some public health services covered by the government.

—

Remote work is here for good.¹ This changes how we manage our careers.

When your next role is unbound from geography and time zone, the marketplace is functionally limitless. This accelerates the changing employer <> employee relationship, away from one based on stability and loyalty, towards a transactional exchange.

In other words, less monogamy, more swiping.

Chris Ming

1/ Supercharge Your Productivity Hub

The Research: Segmentors vs. Integrators

7 Tips for Working Remotely (That No One Talks About)

Remote jobs with no experience required

Takeaways