If you're still working remotely (which is many of us), and you're reading this article, you’re likely feeling a little frazzled. Maybe the dining room-slash-office is starting to get cluttered (not to mention monotonous), your family has stopped respecting your office hours (hello, Zoom bombs), or you're simply struggling to get your work done despite your best efforts. Maybe, like many of us, you feel as though one more Zoom call today might just make you scream.
Whether your desk or your calendar is a mess, these ebooks and audiobooks can help get your remote workday under control:
This is a fantastic read for anyone struggling to get work done from their living room. It's short — also available in audio form, or as a Snapshot if you're extra time-crunched — packed with actionable tips to make the most of your day. It's especially great for those of us who struggle with procrastination, constantly finding any excuse to skip working on that report due next week. Pro tip: Start with one tiny part of the report first thing in the morning, perhaps the part you’re least looking forward to working on, so you get it done and can move onto something else for the remainder of the day.
Remote Work Revolution: Succeeding from Anywhere by Tsedal Neeley
A Harvard Business School professor and leading expert in virtual and global work, Neeley understands remote work from every angle. Whether you're a team leader or manager, or you're an employee trying to navigate how to manage your boss's expectations, this audiobook is incredibly helpful. If you're feeling lost, out of touch with colleagues and your boss, lacking challenge and competition, or struggling with work/life balance, Neeley has you covered with ideas and tools to help get your work under control.
Feeling uninspired and struggling to find meaning in your day-to-day life? Listening to this audiobook may help you unlock your inner creativity. Whether you unleash it outside of office hours by getting back into painting or photography, or use it to fall back in love with your job by putting together presentations with fun new graphics, or revamping your company's website is up to you. Either way, this book infuses some creativity into your life.
Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High by Kerry Patterson
If you’re struggling to have a tough talk with your boss, or you're having a tough time with frank conversations with your reports, New York Times and Washington Post bestselling author Patterson's audiobook could offer the solution you've been seeking. In it, she explains how to have high-stakes, important conversations while keeping your cool. Kids and dogs screaming and barking in the background? No problem.
If your cluttered desk space is your primary remote work problem, you may need to read Making Peace with the Things in Your Life. When the pandemic forced many of us to move to remote work overnight, we had to scramble to set up offices in random corners of our homes. Over the last year, it's likely your work and life messes and clutter have gotten out of hand. Professional organizer and psychotherapist Glovinsky wants people to understand how clutter is controlling them, and how to make peace, not war, with your stuff.
While not strictly remote work-related, Morning Magic is a fantastic read for anyone who feels like the lines between time spent working and time spent living have been blurred. Before remote work became part of our lives, it was easy to define your morning — get up, shower, dress for work, breakfast, morning commute — but now that you can roll out of bed and literally be in your office, those morning routines vanished. You’ll learn how to bring them back as a super-charged version, so you start your day with time for you, not your work inbox.
Similar to Morning Magic, this audiobook will change the way you look at mornings. Since Vanderkam speaks to dozens of high-achievers, you have plenty of reasons to tell your boss you won't be available by email until 9 a.m. if she expects you to perform at a high level. You'll also see the different routines executives carved out for themselves, which is a great way to start thinking through what works best for you.
Honestly, remote work — and in-office work — would be so much easier if we weren't tethered to our inboxes all day. In fact, as Glei notes in Unsubscribe, the average person checks email 77 times a day, sends and receives more than 122 email messages a day, and spends 28% or more of their workweek managing a constant influx of email. Yikes. Gain back time in your day by taking control of your inbox with the tips in this audiobook, and you'll make room for valuable projects. Less stress is a bonus side effect.
