It starts off so promising.
You land a remote job. Suddenly, pants are optional. Your commute is 17 seconds. You’re high-fiving yourself between Zoom calls and wondering why everyone doesn’t live like this.
But then… the creep begins.
Days blur together. You realize you haven’t spoken out loud in five hours. You start narrating your internal thoughts just to simulate human interaction. Your plants are your coworkers now, and you’re dangerously close to giving them job titles.
Sound familiar?
Let’s talk about how to do remote work right. Because yes, flexibility is amazing. But isolation? Not so much. Here’s how to stay productive, plugged-in, and (mostly) sane without accidentally becoming a full-time pajama goblin.
Step 1: Stop Living Entirely in Slack
Slack is great. It’s where you share memes, brainstorm with your team, and post the obligatory “good morning!” with way too many emojis.
But if Slack is your only source of interaction? That’s a problem.
When everything becomes asynchronous, relationships can start to feel transactional. You lose tone, nuance, and the whole “Hey, how was your weekend?” vibe. Before you know it, you’re interpreting someone’s lack of exclamation points as passive aggression.
Fix it: Make time for actual face-to-face calls — not just Zoom status updates. Book a weekly “coffee chat” with a teammate. Hop into a virtual coworking session. Talk to people like they’re people, not just avatars with reaction gifs.
Step 2: Schedule Social Time Like It’s Work
You schedule your meetings. You schedule your project sprints. You schedule your grocery delivery window like it’s a military operation.
But your social life? That’s on vibes and wishful thinking.
That’s how you end up watching Netflix at 1am while text-asking your friends “any plans this weekend?” like you didn’t have 6 full days to figure that out.
Fix it: Be proactive. Put hangouts on your calendar. Message friends during the week. Join a club, sports league, book group — something where people expect you to show up. Treat your social life with the same respect you give a sprint planning meeting.
Step 3: Build Rituals That Separate Work from Life
When your home is your office and your kitchen is your break room, things can get… fuzzy. Before you know it, you’re answering emails from bed and calling it “flexibility.”
This is how you accidentally end up working at 9pm because you “took a long lunch,” but really you just fell into a TikTok wormhole for 47 minutes.
Fix it: Create a fake commute. Take a morning walk. Change clothes (even if it’s just from sleep sweats to work sweats). Light a candle when you start your workday. Blow it out when you finish. Rituals tell your brain, “Hey, we’re doing a thing now.”
Step 4: Actually Use Your Camera (Sometimes)
Look, nobody loves turning on their camera at 8:03am when they’re operating at 40% consciousness and 3% caffeine. But seeing faces matters.
Working remotely can feel like being in an ongoing group project with 12 mysterious usernames and one guy who only responds with “lol.” Turning your camera on — even occasionally — humanizes the experience. It builds trust, improves communication, and proves you’re not a sophisticated AI sent to write reports on demand.
Fix it: Set boundaries. You don’t have to be on camera 24/7. But for team meetings, brainstorms, or 1:1s? Show your face. Even if it’s a little puffy. Your coworkers don’t care. They’re puffy too.
Step 5: Host Something (Even If It’s Silly)
Don’t wait for your company to do “virtual trivia night” again (which no one showed up to except three interns and someone’s cat). Start your own thing.
Lunch & learn? Game night? Friday meme roundup? A 15-minute “Show & Tell” call where people share something weird from their house? Anything that makes your team feel more like a group of actual humans and less like a collection of Trello cards.
Fix it: Lead the way. You don’t have to be the “fun one” — you just need to give people an excuse to connect. Trust me, everyone’s looking for one.
Step 6: Get Outside (Seriously, Like, Today)
Here’s a test: when was the last time you stood barefoot in grass? Or saw a squirrel do anything vaguely chaotic?
If you don’t remember, that’s your sign to leave your house. Remote work is freedom, but it can also turn into a padded cell with good Wi-Fi. Fresh air matters. Movement matters. The sun? Kind of important.
Fix it: Walk during meetings. Take calls outside. Go to a coffee shop once a week. Pet a dog that isn’t yours. Remind yourself there’s a world beyond your screen.
Final Thoughts: Remote Doesn’t Mean Alone
Working remotely is one of the greatest perks of the modern workplace — but it takes effort to do it well. Connection doesn’t happen by default. You have to build it, maintain it, and protect it.
So check in with your team. Laugh with your friends. Make rituals. Leave the house. And most importantly, don’t wait until you’re talking to your microwave like it’s a coworker named Janet.
You’ve got this. Just maybe schedule a walk first.
