Keeping up your motivation while working remotely can be challenging, especially if you feel lonely or isolated.

Did you know that the average remote worker spends 56% of their time distracting themselves from important work?

Finding ways to work with other people and stay inspired is essential.
A simple solution is to create motivation by committing to someone else.

This Saturday, I want to share 3 tips to help you keep up your motivation while working remotely.

1) Choose a working buddy.

It’s nice to have someone else in the same boat as you.

Identify someone in your same company but on a different team.
Think about what you could offer and what you would get.
Choose someone who knows the company context better than you.
The most important thing is to choose someone you feel comfortable with and with whom you click.

My working buddy:

It would be obvious to mention my co-founder. Instead, I want to share my experience with another working buddy: Giulio.
Giulio is our partner manager with a past in technical support.
We’ve always been able to help each other both professionally and personally.

There are many situations in Voxloud where Giulio has more context than me.
His operational role leads him to contact customers and partners daily.
On the other side, I can help him expand his vision in the face of his challenges, providing him with ideas as a founder of his company.

We meet regularly, even when we don’t have a specific reason. Best ideas come out mainly from conversations without a particular goal.
By simply sharing our challenges, we have often been able to help each other and keep our motivation high.

2) Find an external buddy who also works remotely.

To stay motivated on your work goals, giving yourself non-work commitments is critical.

The why is very simple: you have an outlet when you’re passionate about something.

The ideal remote buddy should come from a context far from yours.
This way, you can challenge each other and get valuable ideas from different perspectives.

My external buddy:

I recently established a strong connection with Mario.

Mario is the man of infinite lives.
From CEO of a company with hundreds of employees to village tourist entertainer.
From Sales Director to IronMan coach.

Do you know what IronMan is?
It’s a triathlon race: 3.9km swim + 180km bike + 42km run. All together.
Well, Mario did it 20 times.
I suggest you follow him on Linkedin and Instagram!

We meet every week. He helps me with workouts, while I help him by sharing my tips as a tech founder for his new business.

Since I’ve committed myself to Mario, I’ve constantly been training.
Why?
Because I show up for our call with non-completed workouts, I can’t brag with him.

Committing myself to someone other than myself leads me to train more consistently.
And the more I work out, the more my mind works well.

3) Reward yourself when you accomplish something.

There’s no denying that accomplishing something feels great.
Whether it’s finally nailing that yoga pose, completing a project at work, or simply making your bed in the morning… The sense of satisfaction is undeniable.

But what if we took things one step further and rewarded ourselves for our accomplishments?

Think about it – when you define a goal, why not establish a reward for yourself once you reach it?
It could be something as simple as buying a new gadget or taking yourself out for coffee.
If your goal is significant, your reward should be commensurate, like booking a weekend getaway or treating yourself to a spa day.

We’re more likely to achieve our goals by tying in an additional incentive – something to look forward to –.
Science backs this up: Studies have shown that humans are much more motivated by rewards than punishments.

If you need help staying on track with your goals, consider adding some positive reinforcement in the form of rewards.

To keep up your motivation:

1. Choose a working buddy.
2. Find an external buddy who also works remotely.
3. Reward yourself when you accomplish something.