Today we have a guest post from Dominique Molina. Dominique is President of the American Institute of Certified Tax Coaches, an organization of tax professionals who are trained to help their clients rescue thousands of dollars in wasted tax. In addition to her blogging and speaking engagements, Dominique provides CPA continuing education as a registered educator with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA).

Isn't working on your own fun? No boss breathing down your neck or micro managing your every move. You get the flexibility of working during your peak performance times, and taking breaks when you need them for say, surfing or kids' school activities.

While working on your own can be cost-effective and liberating, many people feel isolated and find it hard to focus. You may find yourself rushing down the hall to pop in a load of laundry which has piled up, or taking calls and meetings from everyone who thinks since you are home, you are available.

The other side of the spectrum may reveal that you are ALWAYS working. When I worked from home I found it virtually impossible to pass by my home office without stopping in "real quick" to send this email or finish that project. Suddenly I found my 40 hour work week taking 70 hours to complete; yet I was still only accomplishing 40 hours of work. Did I leave my discipline back in my corporate cubicle? I found myself constantly dreaming "if only I had more time. . ."

Since everyone has the same amount of "all the time there is" and we simply cannot have MORE time, the only solution is to more effectively use the time you do have. Choosing where to invest your time will help you get more done in less time, so that you feel you have more time to spend on the fun things. Here are 3 tips to making the most of your time so you can focus and get more done.

Tip 1: Track Your Use of Time - It is human nature to rationalize what we can't see. Tracking your time allows you to quickly see where you are losing precious minutes of each day and gives you the ability to spot the holes so you can use your time more wisely. For example, reviewing my time logs allowed me to see how much time I was wasting in traffic. Holding virtual meetings instead of physical ones created large pockets of "found time" for me to fill with something more meaningful.

Tip 2: Say NO! - When you choose to stop doing something, you free up time for something else. Identify the things that waste your time and don't help you complete your task list. Things like Facebook and online browsing hijack your time and evaporate it away into a vortex of oblivion. I find it helpful when I find myself wandering into this black hole of waste, to redirect my attention by saying to myself out loud, "NO, right now I am _____."

Tip #3: Put Your Important Things First - Consistent with the "80/20 Pareto Principal" most people waste about 80% of each day working on low level, low return activities. If this is you, consider what this pattern of behavior is costing you. You've got to plan your time for the highest value things first; otherwise they don't get done. This can be as simple as doing these tasks first thing in the morning before anything else.

It's up to you to take charge of how you invest your minutes and hours. But if you can master it using the above steps, it will feel like you CAN create more hours in a day.

Photo Credit: purplemattfish

Today we have a guest post from Camille Preston, PhD. Camille is the founder and CEO of AIM Leadership, one of the country's premier organizational and leadership development firms. She is a pioneer in the field of Virtual Effectiveness and the author of Rewired: How to Work Smarter, Live Better, and Be Purposefully Productive in an Overwired World. For more information, please visit www.aimleadership.com.

Workshifters enjoy great advantages over our office counterparts, but even we can get caught up in an "overwired" lifestyle. Overwired means moving at lightning speed - all day, every day - with our plates piled high and little time to pause, reflect and focus properly. Wouldn't it be great to work with better purpose and clarity? With renewed vigor and focus? Wouldn't it be great to rewire ourselves so that we work smarter, live better and be more productive in the New Year?

Yes, it would. This year, I am urging all of my clients to make one big resolution: to rewire their overwired lives. In my new book, Rewired: How to Work Smarter, Live Better and Be Purposefully Productive in an Overwired World, I explain what's got us so overwired, why we must unwire and then how to rewire. Here are 4 tips to get started on rewiring for wellness:

1. Stop running full out. Start recharging regularly

In order to rewire ourselves, we first have to stop the madness of going full tilt 24/7 so that we can unwire and recharge ourselves on a regular basis. The good news is that we don't have to go on a retreat; we can unwire in small but meaningful ways throughout the day:

• Start your day unwired. Have coffee before checking your smartphone or email.
• Before diving into your email and phone calls, take 5 minutes to review your schedule, look at the day and think things through.
• Have phone-free lunches. Do you really need to be available?
• Take a walk at lunch rather than surf the web as you eat at your desk.
• Unplug for 10 minutes or so every hour. Get up from your desk, stretch, walk around, step outside, etc. And leave your phone behind.

A few minutes here and there may not sound like a lot, but it all adds up. You will be amazed at the impact even these short periods of unwired time have on your rejuvenation.

2. Stop letting technology use you. Start using technology

Because the wired world is always at our fingertips, we have conditioned ourselves to always be available to it. We can sometimes feel like technology is using us, instead of the other way around. But the great thing about technology is that we can use it to our advantage. The 2 most common complaints I hear from my clients are email overload and smartphone overexposure. Let's tackle email first:

• It's your inbox -- take control of it!
• Before opening anything, scroll through and delete all non-essential messages.
• Use your spam filter!
• Get off all those email lists. Unsubscribe and don't sign up in the first place.
• Create a separate email address just for junk mail, RSS feeds, newsletters, etc.
• Establish a clear protocol with clients and colleagues about when to cc so you don't get unnecessary emails.
• Train yourself not to respond every time you see the new email icon. Better yet, turn off that function. Even better, pick 2 or 3 times a day when you will open, read and respond to emails.

The smartphone is a bit trickier, as for many workshifters it is the only phone we own. You can't very well just turn it off or ignore it. But you can:

• Be liberal with caller ID.
• Let calls go to voicemail.
• Let callers know what your office hours are and when you will return calls.

By using technology properly, we can prevent it from using us.

3. Stop shifting clutter. Start organizing and simplifying

Clutter is distracting - really distracting. In fact, researchers at Princeton's Neuroscience Institute reported last March that clutter actually inhibits the brain's ability to focus and process information because it vies for our energy and attention. Just like when computers slow down when too many programs are open, we slow down when we have too much stuff demanding our attention. This is critical for workshifters! So, to think and perform better, get rid of the clutter and get organized:

• Take a look at your office or work area. Is it well organized or cluttered? Can you find what you need?
• Develop a system where you touch a paper or email only once. Throw out or file papers you don't need.
• Organize your supplies and files so you can find them.

Something draining or distracting you? Hide it or get rid of it. You want to create an energizing environment that helps you stay productive and focused, not distracted with clutter.

4. Stop worrying about work-life balance. Start doing more of what energizes you and less of what depletes you

Work-life balance is a tricky thing, especially for workshifters, where work and life occupy the same physical space. Instead of worrying about achieving work-life balance (whatever that is!), we should focus instead on doing the things we love and being with the people who energize us, avoiding the things that deplete us in the process.

Of course, there will always be things we don't want to do but have to, and there will always be people with whom we must interact, whether we want to or not. But try to think of your time as precious (it is!) and, as much as possible, be critical and judicious with the things and people who take up your time and attention:

• Who are the people who are draining your time and attention?
• If you have to deal with them, how can you do so on your own terms?
• What are the commitments you do not enjoy and that you could give up?
• Who do you love to be with? Who brings out the best in you?
• What do you love to do?

As much as possible, fill your life with the people and things that fulfill you, engage you and inspire you. Choose them, and you'll never worry about work-life balance again.

Resolving to rewire means making small but significant changes that can add up to profound productivity and personal fulfillment. Little tweaks here and there, consistently employed, can lead to big results.

Photo Credit: jaxxon

The Harvard Business Review never ceases to speak my language, reveal my deepest and darkest professional secrets and remind me that I am not alone. In a recent HBR blog post "Should You Stay Late or Go Home?" Ron Ashkenas reported that more and more employees are working longer "since there's always more to do than there is time to do it - [we've] gotten into the pattern of expanding [our] workday." But that was not the most surprising finding in the HBR article.

I'd always suspected it, been warned about it, but never knew how to avert it - getting locked into longer hours:

"But once you begin expanding your work hours on a regular basis, working 'normal' hours starts to look like slacking off. In other words, if you establish a pattern of staying late, your extended hours become the new normal."

Akin to a gateway drug, I'd say - when did an excellent work ethic and honorable commitment become a purgatory of excessive expectations? Being punished for working hard, for working late and, dare I say, for enjoying both when the task calls for it (at least not when forced nor expected to) is uncalled for.

I've never been a clock-watcher, neither as an employee nor as a manager. I've often felt that the clock is counterproductive. "9 to 5" is a great song and an even better movie, but as a set work shift, it's a precipice from which productivity falls far and hard, never to be recovered.

Workshifting is not only a luxury but also a necessity for many who've discovered the key to sustained productivity and expansive creativity. At the same time, workshifters are prone to over-extended hours regardless of by whom they're set. Balance is a fallacy when your "office" is 5 steps from your living room and accessible from anywhere in the house at any hour (thanks to our friend, Mr. Wi-Fi). "Going home" gets you literally nowhere when you're already there working.

Askenas has some sound advice on this matter for workshifters and traditional employees alike:

"Reflect on your goals - both professional and personal. Think through the aspirations you have for your career and your life. What do you want to achieve? What are the priorities? What gives you fulfillment? It's remarkable how many people wander through their careers without a sense of 'true north' to guide their decisions. As a result they lack criteria for determining whether to invest more time in work."

It all comes to down to this: be the CEO of your own career, learn yourself and lobby for the systems and methods that work best for you.

"Remember that if you don't take conscious control of your own work hours, the work hours [and others' perceptions thereof] can easily take control of you."

Are your hours expanding while your productivity wanes?

Photo Credit: cwaunion

I recently heard about the tardy policy enforced at a friend's former workplace. If she was late to the office twice in one week, she was publicly shamed at a team meeting, where the rest of the group would be told, "Susy is ineligible for the weekly recognition award because she was late twice this week." (Name changed to protect the guilty.)

I disagree not only with using humiliation as a means of punishment/motivation (it borders on being grounds for a hostile workplace lawsuit) but also with the practice of marking tardies when it just doesn't matter. Grown-ups should have more important things to worry about than beating the clock.

Why stress out your workforce over something that doesn't affect your business?

Sure, when you do shifts, like in a factory or a hospital, you have to arrive on time to keep the organization running smoothly. In those cases, productivity - and people's lives - may be adversely affected by tardiness. The assembly line must be staffed and the night nurse relieved on time, or problems will arise, no question about it. But in an office environment, does it really make a difference if Susy sits at her desk from 8 to 5 exactly, instead of from 8:05 to 5:05?

I feel pretty lucky to work in a performance-based environment. No one polices me to make sure I'm at my computer (either at the office or at home) at any certain hour. Instead, I'm required to account for my workload, deliver projects on time, be available for meetings and collaboration and help our company attain its business goals by doing the best job I can. I'm treated like an adult, instead of like a school child.

I remember the days of skipping breakfast and running yellow (okay, red) lights to get to work on time. I don't think my employer benefited from my racing into work panting and sweating; the time I saved getting to work "on time" was usually wasted cooling down and regaining my composure before I could concentrate on my tasks. And I remember feeling embarrassed if I was late for some reason - often a reason that was beyond my control - which could bring down my morale for the rest of the day.

I'm much happier workshifting

Now, I start work when I'm ready to start work. Sometimes I start early in the morning, and sometimes I start a little later in the morning. Sometimes I start when I have a meeting to attend - and I don't mind hurrying to be on time if that's the case, because people are depending on me. Sometimes I work and attend meetings from home, and sometimes I work and attend meetings at the office. In either work environment, and no matter what time I start, I get the job done.

I end my workday when I've done the day's work, sometimes early and sometimes late. I probably work late more often as a workshifter, but I don't mind because it's my own choice to do so; I take pride in finishing my work and reaching my goals on my own terms.

By its very nature, workshifting has to be performance based. When your manager isn't physically present, you have to be trusted to do your work, and you are judged by your work alone. You don't win points just for showing up - you win respect by showing people what you can do.

It takes some maturity to manage your time by yourself, but then, workshifting is for grown-ups, isn't it?

Photo Credit: alamosbasement

When we do the 9 to 5 thing in an office environment, our time isn't always our own. We're told when to show up in the morning, when to break for lunch (and how much time we're allowed), and told when it's acceptable to go home. While we're expected to manage our time in an efficient way, our tasks are often delegated to us with an expected timeline - so we know what we're up against.

When we're workshifters, our sense of time tends to go out the window. We have the advantage of starting work when we want, prioritizing how we want, taking breaks when we want, and finishing up when we want (deadlines notwithstanding). We have access to our office, our files and our emails at any time. We don't "have" to shut anything off. And this can make managing our time very challenging. How do you strike a balance between working all the time and shutting it down? How do you make sure you don't spend all day perusing your Google Reader when you should be working? Let's look at both sides.

I'm playing when I should be working

We've all done it - gotten sucked down the rabbit hole of Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and YouTube. It starts out innocently enough - we click one interesting link, and before we know it, we've followed the yellow brick road straight into the Land of Procrastination. The truth is, there's a lot of value to be derived from spending time on social networks, and reading news and blogs. It's professional networking, socializing, business development and training all wrapped into one. But it can get away on us if we aren't careful.

My best advice for managing your online time is to set a timer. I use the alarm on my iPhone, but you can use anything. How about setting up a playlist in iTunes that runs for 30 minutes? Then when the music runs out, it's time to move on. Setting a timer of any kind means you don't have to watch the clock, and you can fully immerse yourself until time is up. And to avoid the rabbit-holes (clicking one link after another and following the shiny objects until you forget what you originally set out to do), when you come across an interesting link, right click and open it in a new tab. DON'T look at it - finish what you were reading or watching. If you run out of time, save the link to a tool like Instapaper.com or Delicious.com, and the next time you have "Internet" time, hit those bookmarks first. Your online time will now have direction and focus.

I'm working when I should be playing

The flip side of this, of course, is that we workshifters, in our quiet, distraction-free environments, will tend to just work and work and work, often until well AFTER the cows come home. We feel the need to be "always on", just replying to that one more email at 10pm, or running up to the office to "quickly" double check on a client deliverable while our kids wait for us to watch Toy Story 3 with them. It's easy to be attached to your work when your work is right there with you. We also tend to stop taking breaks, to the point where 8 or 9 hours will go by and we'll notice we haven't gotten up from our chair, or had lunch, or a drink of water in all that time.

Again, setting timers can help with this. Set a timer for once an hour if you have to, to remind you to get up and move around, take a break, stretch, and get some water (most of us walk around in a state of partial dehydration, which is why we feel so tired all the time. Hydrate!). As for "after hours" working? Stop it. Unless you have a client deliverable due the next morning and you HAVE to work late (that happens to all of us once in a while), then stop. Turn off the computer. Turn off the email notifications, or put your phone away (lock it in a drawer if you have to). Go hang out with your spouse and kids. Go out with friends. Take the dog to the park. Watch something mindless on TV. The world will not end just because you're not workshifting in it for a while. And you'll come back to your desk the next morning feeling more refreshed and less stressed, I guarantee!

Good time management is achievable. It takes some time, and some effort, and above all, discipline. Give it a try, and let me know how it goes!

Photo Credit: dnnya

Technology enables us to work remotely in all sorts of places that not long ago would never have been considered suitable - bedrooms, hotels, airport lounges and so on. This has given many people the freedom to ditch the commute and live in a location of their own choosing, but it also brings its own challenges. Chief among those is the danger of being constantly "at work" when there is no clear delineation between on and off time.

Many of us who are workshifting are doing something we are passionate about. We have given up jobs that failed to fire us up in order to freelance or set up a small business that uses a talent. In my own experience, I don't feel I'm "working" in the same sense I was when I was employed; I am simply expressing myself in a way that feels natural, so working at what would traditionally be considered odd hours is not particularly a problem.

Despite this, after a while I started to feel that I could be more creative and productive if I chose my work hours more carefully and actively planned to get out of the house. I found that meeting people, and not necessarily people connected with my business, gave me a boost that never happened at my desk. I therefore pop out to meet a friend for coffee these days at whatever time suits us both.

I've come to believe that successful workshifting means creating your own schedules, regardless of the conventional 9 to 5. The most creative workshifters learn to switch on and off at any time in order to meet deadlines and - more importantly - give their brains a break and fuel their imaginations.

This ability only seems to come with experience. Most new workshifters stick to their old office patterns for a while before becoming more aware of their freedom. I'm interested in this way that work is developing and how the boundary between so-called work and leisure is blurring.

How do you mix up your time? Does it feel different from what you have done before?

Photo Credit: Andrew Huff

I have a confession to make. This time of year I tend to get distracted. I think it's the perfect weather that draws me away from my screen and towards the ocean or the first tee.

Can you relate?

The workshifting lifestyle is both a blessing and a curse when it comes to flexibility. True, you don't have to be chained to a cube breathing recycled air, but you still have responsibility to get work done.

To solve this, I've found it works best to create boxes of time in my day that are allocated with no distractions. I also leave time for getting outside or away from my laptop and phone. When I am in do-not-disturb mode, I don't check email, Twitter, blogs, Google+ or Facebook. I don't answer the phone or talk to people. I work.

This way, I can be disciplined and ultra-productive without driving myself crazy or burning out. When I take the DND sign off my desk, I'm looking to quench my everyday-is-Saturday thirst.

Timeboxing and quiet hours have been well documented. Here are a few good resources to help you stay productive:

• Pomodoro Technique
• Time Blocking
• The Interruption Tax

It may take some trial and error to find out when you are most productive and when you are most prone to distractions. I tend to work better in the mornings and late at night. A good friend of mine is the opposite - she likes to begin and end with downtime and crank through midday uninterrupted. Once you have a feel for your natural routine, set your calendar and turn yourself loose.

What are your 2 cents?

Photo Credit: lazylikewally

Al Pittampalli and The Domino Project have recently published a book, "Read This Before Our Next Meeting," focused on the modern meeting and the importance it plays in businesses success. Al provides strategies on how to replace mediocre meetings with well-managed, productive meetings.

With Al's permission we have been allowed to share this exclusive excerpt from the book:

Sometimes, when I'm called into a meeting, I wonder what could possibly be so urgent that it pulls me away from my real work. As with the yellow "BREAKING NEWS" banner that appears on CNN every time I turn it on, I'm skeptical. And after the meeting is over and I'm forced to confront the truth that no, there was no real urgency, I'm disappointed, angry. I feel betrayed.

Once we're exposed to the callous indifference of a false-urgent meeting, we begin to question everything the organization does. If management is willing to regularly tolerate such an affront on our productivity, why bother?

Meetings need to be less like the endless commercial breaks during a football game, and more like pit stops at the Daytona 500. Sure, even these stops slow momentum, but not for long, and only in service of winning. Quick high-energy transactions to refuel, to change the tires, to allow the driver to do the work better and faster--that's the type of meeting that people will walk away from with a continued sense of urgency and energized with a feeling of aliveness.

Maybe even more unsettling than the false-urgency problem is that meetings have become a tool to delay decisions. They have become our default stalling tactic.

I fear we have become politicians.

I recently saw a town hall meeting on television, featuring a candidate for state senate. When confronted with questions from the audience that would force him to make tough decisions, he dodged, and instead scheduled future meetings. Not surprising for a politician desperately trying to hold on to votes.

But this scenario is eerily similar to ones I've seen in our organization.

Like all human beings, we're terrified of making decisions. In the face of pressing, difficult decisions, we stall. Meetings are a socially acceptable and readily available way of doing so.

This is why we find them so useful. Meetings provide a forum for us to gather more and more intelligence indefinitely, and the emotional assurance from surrounding ourselves with others alleviates the fear (at least temporarily).

We have to remember that we can never guarantee a good outcome, no matter how much planning we do. Thoughtfulness is important, but so is speed. A system that allows the use of meetings as a stalling tactic leads to a culture of indecisiveness that is no longer acceptable.

The system is broken. But it's not too late to fix it.

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Want to learn even more? In addition to picking up a copy of "Read This Before Our Next Meeting" you can join Al Pittampalli and change expert Seth Godin for a webinar, sponsored by GoToMeeting, on why embracing change is more critical than ever - and how the Modern Meeting can help.

The webinar is on Thursday, August 18 at 10a PST / 1p EST. To register, click here.

Distractions are one of the most common reasons people think they can never workshift. They believe that when left to their own devices - working from a home office, coffee shop or wherever - they would be far too distracted by trivialities and would never be as productive as they are when working in an office environment.

While it's true that it takes some effort to be focused and productive when the boss isn't looking over your shoulder, I think that once people get into the groove of workshifting, they actually find they are more productive.

After 6 years of being a full-time workshifter, I can tell you that I am able to finish 8 hours' worth of work in just half the time. That's how laser-focused a quiet, remote space makes me, and it's not all work and no play that allows this. In fact, I need to embrace certain distractions as I work to be so successful. I call them "healthy" distractions - things that help me overcome creative blocks, work through problems or just take a much-needed brain break.

Social Networking Isn't a Distraction - It's a Creativity Booster

Some people are going to disagree with this, and that's okay. I've read tons of blog posts about how social networking is one of the biggest distractions to "real work" there is. Instead of getting actual work done, we're goofing off on Twitter, poking around Facebook and hanging out with our Google + friends. I myself have been guilty of these pastimes on occasion.

But I do think social networks can be a great creativity boost. When I'm working, I regularly have Twitter open in the background. The message stream flows by and I usually just ignore it. But sometimes, I need to stop working and think a bit. I could either sit and stare at my screen, waiting for my muse to strike - which rarely works - or I could flip over to Twitter, where I scan through posts and click a few links. I think about something completely different for a few minutes, and often that's just what I need to snap an idea into my head.

The people I follow on social networks serve as my inspiration. It works every time.

(Note: if you're worried about getting sucked into social networks - an easy thing to do - set a timer for 10 minutes when you take your inspiration breaks. This way you'll know when it's time to get back to work.)

(Don't) Step Away from the Sofa

The lure of the sofa - I remember this affliction back when I worked in an office. The 3 PM Snoozies, I called them. They'd creep up on you mid-afternoon, and it would be hard to keep your head up. All you could think about was a little 5-minute nap and how good it would feel. But of course, you couldn't be caught sleeping at your desk, so you would grab another cup of coffee and work through it.

Now that we're working from home, the sofa is right there. It seems so soft and warm. The cat looks so comfortable sleeping peacefully in your spot. But you know what? It's okay to take breaks. It's okay to give in to the 3 PM Snoozies once in a while. So go and lie down for a few; rest your eyes if you need to.

Sometimes a 15-minute power nap is all you need to reset yourself so you can be productive the rest of the day. Don't feel guilty about it - think of it as a productivity booster. Give yourself permission to take a mini-siesta if and when you need to. That's one of the perks of working from home - so use it!

Appreciation Is the Best Healthy Distraction of All

Sometimes, I'll stop working, sit back from my desk for a few minutes and just look around me. The dog rests peacefully at my feet. I am surrounded aby photos and reminders of my loved ones. I have my work environment set up exactly the way I want it. I can look online and see so many friends and colleagues that are doing amazing things. And I'm incredibly grateful that I have the ability to choose this lifestyle, grateful for all of the opportunities that it has afforded me. And I'm appreciative of the people and the technology that supports me in this choice.

So once in a while, just stop. Give a little thanks to the people and things around you that have allowed you your workshifting life. Gratitude really is one of the best distractions there is, don't you think?

What about you? Do you have healthy distractions that help you workshift better?

Photo Credit: tomsaint

Workshifting is not always a solo act. In many cases, you work as part of a team of people who are in geographically diverse locations. And sometimes, you're in charge of those teams. Managing people can be challenging at the best of times, but when you can't be in the same room with them you face even bigger obstacles. Misunderstandings arise much easier when you can't look someone in the eye, and it can be much more difficult to track individual progress.

Here are some things I've learned about managing when your team is located in multiple locations. 

Be Flexible with Schedules

One of the things that people like best about workshifting is that they have the opportunity to set their own hours. Some people are morning people, some work best in the afternoons, and some are night owls. Giving your team the flexibility to choose their ideal work hours can be a really effective perk. It allows people to work at the times that work best for them, but ultimately it allows them to be more productive. And it works well for me as a leader, too. If I have a team member that likes to work late at night, and I'm a morning person, then I know that deliverables will be in my inbox when I get to my desk in the morning. Of course, being flexible with schedules works both ways. If I DO occasionally need someone to be available for a morning client meeting, then planning that in advance ensures it can happen. The important thing is to discuss schedules in advance, so all parties know what to expect. And if things change, then nobody is thrown off completely.

It's All in the Details

The biggest issue with working remotely is that you have to rely on remote forms of communication. In an office environment, you can just call someone into your office, have a quick chat, and send them off with their tasks. But in the workshifting world, these conversations have to happen over email, instant message, or the phone. By removing the physical presence from the equation, there's a risk that tone and sentiment can be lost, and the finer details can get confused or overlooked.

There are a few ways to combat this. First, try to find ways to connect face to face when you can. Video chat is becoming more accessible for people, so using video chat or setting up a virtual meeting for your team can be a great way to connect with people face to face when you need to. And always follow up these conversations with an email to the team that captures the highlights of what needs to be done. Then, keep the lines of communication open - literally; be available via chat or phone so that team members can contact you right away if they need clarification or have a question.

Use Collaboration Tools

It's wonderful that we have so many tools available to us now to help us communicate and collaborate remotely. I can't stress enough how important file sharing and collaboration tools are for running effective teams. Email was once our only choice for file sharing, and it was wildly ineffective. File attachments were too large to email. Version control was nearly impossible. Things went missing and much time and money were wasted.

These days, tools like Google Docs and Google Calendar are brilliant ways to share information among teams and maintain current versions of information that everyone can contribute to. Dropbox is a wonderful method to share larger files like videos or graphics without bogging down people's emails. These tools also allow you, as a manager, to track peoples' progress in real time, without "bugging" them for updates continuously, because you can access the most current versions of whatever is being worked on. Using collaborative tools will save huge amounts of time and help your team be more creative on the fly. And we could all use less email, right?

These are just a few ways to help you run projects more smoothly in the workshifting world. What it really comes down to is communication. Be clear in your instructions, flexible in your scheduling, and communicate well, and you will have a happy and productive remote team.

Photo Credit: C.C. Chapman