5 Ways To Grow While Working From Home | How To Set Yourself Up For Telecommuting Success This Fall | Your Guide To Remote Recruiting

Plus: What every manager needs to know about leading a remote team

I don’t know about you, but I can hardly believe that it’s been six months since we joined the ranks of the remote workforce. When we transitioned to telecommuting in March, I was so convinced we’d be back in the office come April that I packed nothing more than my laptop, a notebook with three blank pages and a pen with barely enough ink to fill them. And when I wrote the first edition of this newsletter, I certainly never imagined that I’d have the privilege of doing so 114 more times by September.

Over the course of the past several months, we’ve embraced our status as remote workers, learning, together, how to set up a home office, stay as productive as possible, communicate with colleagues around the world and find balance as the line between the personal and the professional increasingly blurred. Nearly 180 days later, and I can confidently say that working from home no longer feels like the “new normal”—it just feels normal, and I hope you can say the same. So, now that we’ve mastered the art of working from home, let’s usher in a new season by taking these five steps, guaranteed to help you not just survive, but thrive as a telecommuter.

For starters, advocate for yourself. As a remote worker, you may be out of sight, but you should never be out of mind. Take every opportunity that comes your way to ensure your boss (and your boss’ boss) is aware of all that you’ve accomplished lately. In meetings with your team, detail the projects you’ve been working on, and in one-on-ones with your manager, ask to discuss your progress. Doing so will not only give you the opportunity to share how you’re meeting your goals, but also to receive valuable feedback from which you can continue to develop.

In that spirit, starting next week, we’ll be integrating Working Remote, this limited-edition newsletter on working from home and leading a remote team, into Forbes’ Careers Newsletter, your ultimate guide to climbing the corporate ladder. Because whether you’re working from home or an office, the goal is always the same: to make the most and best of your career. Click here to instantly subscribe.

And here’s more on everything you need to know about working from home during the coronavirus pandemic.

For more on working and leading from home, check out our guide, updated daily.

The Telecommuter's Toolkit

These days, it’s likely your home is more than just a home—at any given moment, it may double as an office, daycare or school, with the only constant being that you’re responsible for juggling it all. Thankfully, there are seven steps you can take to optimize your time and improve your balance. No. 1: Keep track of how long you spend completing each task, both personal and professional.

Remote work is here to stay, and leaders with any hope of succeeding in a virtual environment would do well to focus on actively engaging employees from home. Start by communicating consistently, frequently and transparently. Then, heed this advice.

A single hiring decision can make or break your corporate culture, not to mention your bottom line. So then, when you’re working from home and relying on virtual interviewing to make crucial staffing choices, how are you to determine if a candidate is truly a fit for your team? Consider this your guide to remote recruiting.

The Break Room

Mark your calendar: After months of delays, the highly anticipated, live-action adaptation of Mulan is coming to Disney+ on September 4. The catch? It’ll cost you a cool $30 to rent, even if you currently subscribe to the streaming service. Here’s what you need to know.

For advice on finding a job, building relationships, negotiating a raise and changing careers, click here to instantly sign up for the weekly Careers newsletter.