Working From Home: The 13 Most Impactful Things Teams Can Do to Stay Productive

The 13 Most Impactful Things Teams Can Do To Stay Productive While Working From Home

Essential advice for both team leaders and individuals adapting to a new WFH reality

For managers, leaders, & decision-makers

Trade time tracking for trust

Companies really do install spyware on their employees' computers 😞

Our Head of Marketing wrote a more in-depth article on how to build a strong foundation of trust in a remote “workplace”.

Focus on outputs over inputs

Inputs-vs-Outputs-Table

Don’t require your employees to be constantly connected to your team’s messaging tool to prove they’re “at work”. Instead, <a href="https://todoist.com/inspiration/measure-improve-employee-productivity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">focus on outputs and results</a>.

Be aware of burnout, anxiety, and loneliness

When asked their biggest struggle with working remotely, workers <a href="https://lp.buffer.com/state-of-remote-work-2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> “loneliness” and “not being able to unplug” as top concerns, matched only by “collaboration and communication”

  • We have several social <a href="https://get.twist.help/hc/en-us/articles/115003629769-What-are-channels-?" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">channels in Twist</a> ranging from Crossfit to Gardening to Gaming. (We start our social channel names with “z.” so they all show up together in the channel list and are easy to find and join.)

Our “Generalist” <a href="https://get.twist.help/hc/en-us/articles/115003629889?" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">group message in Twist</a> gives the whole team a place to make short announcements; share articles, gifs, & memes; and just socialize.

Replace meetings with async communication

70% of our team communication happens asynchronously. <a href="https://todoist.com/inspiration/remote-team-communication-tools/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">These are the tools we use</a> to make that possible.

Decentralize decision-making

Every project and area of the company has a Direct Responsible Doister (DRD) who is responsible for coordinating work, setting timelines, making decisions, and generally pushing it forward.

Get the most out of the meetings you do have

For every recurring meeting, we keep running list of agenda items in a Todoist project. If you’re interested in trying something similar, here’s a <a href="https://todoist.com/templates/work/meeting-agenda" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">meeting template to get started with.</a>

Promote transparency

Even our #Doist Heads channel with all of our leadership team’s conversations is public.

We have <a href="https://todoist.com/inspiration/twist-channels-organization/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">public channels in Twist for each project and team</a> so it’s easy to browse threads, see what’s being discussed, and catch up on the status of any project or decision.

If your team has already started using Twist for communication, you may find the principles discussed in these articles helpful: how to replace 100% of your internal emails with Twist and best practices for communicating in Twist.

For anyone working from home

Create a comfortable working setup

Get creative and intentional with your <a href="https://todoist.com/inspiration/home-office-upgrades/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">home office setup</a>! This is my wife Allison’s sewing/craft table converted to my “office” (I usually go to a coworking space). She moved to the living room table. Notice the back support added to the regular chair 😂👨🏻‍🦳

Set boundaries with people too

Our team has been sharing tips and advice in the #Doist Parents channel. Mitch and his wife have settled into a routine trading off 2-hour blocks of parenting and working.

Protect yourself from yourself

  • Caption: Instead of constantly context switching, <a href="https://todoist.com/inspiration/time-blocking/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">time block</a> your day for better focus.

Don’t change anything on race day

Pay yourself first

Find ways to disconnect


Chase Warrington

Chase Warrington is the Head of Operations at Todoist. He hosts About Abroad, a podcast about the future of work, and writes and speaks on remote leadership, company culture, and modern workplace topics. His work has been featured in Forbes, Harvard Business Review, and the World Economic Forum.

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