12 essential skills for working with a flexible schedule

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

There are many benefits to working with a flexible schedule, but it is not easy to get such a job (and in some professional fields it is impossible in principle). In order to have your dream job, you need to master some basic skills. They will be discussed in this article.

Do you dislike your job? Maybe you like what you do or like the people you work with, but when you consider all aspects, you realize that your work is not what you want. Probably the reason you don't like your job is on the surface - the lack of flexible scheduling.

You need a job to make money and take care of your family, but because of the work, you are so busy that you cannot spend enough time with loved ones. Or you have a wonderful job, but you spend two hours every day to get to it. Familiar situation?

If you want to see your kids more than 15 minutes before bed, or if you want to spend two hours walking your dog and not in traffic or driving, you need a change. And if the reason for dissatisfaction with the work is the lack of a flexible schedule, then the solution to the problem is simple - working with a flexible schedule.

Working with a flexible schedule will allow you to be more flexible in terms of schedule and space. You decide where and when to work.

There are several more scenarios according to which you can organize work taking into account your individual wishes:

• Remote (aka remote) work. You work full time at home.
• Part-time employment. Opening hours are negotiable and subject to change.
• Project work. Terms of start and deadline are negotiated. You can not only do work whenever and wherever you want, but also take breaks between orders.
• Full time with floating hours. For example, you can work from home two days a week.

Remote work allows you to do your job from anywhere: from home, the nearest library, a coworking space, or, according to popular belief, lying in a hammock on the beach. It sounds too good to be true. But there are many inspiring examples of companies and people who have proven that teleworking is real and productive.

Another additional option for flexible hours is that opening hours can be negotiated. And yes, there are many more employers who care about the result than your presence from 8:00 to 17:00 than it seems.

Flexible scheduling is amazing. This is an opportunity to spend the morning with your children, and work when your spouse is taking care of them. This is an opportunity to work from Monday to Thursday, and on Friday with a friend to do your own project or visit your parents. This is an opportunity to catch your breath after the completion of the project - every month, every six months or a year. After finishing work on a project, you can rest, if finances permit, or start a new one. Nothing can be more interesting than variety.

A flexible schedule helps you achieve a balance between your favorite work and your equally beloved personal life.

If the idea of choosing working hours, duration, work place is what you are dreaming about, you need to take the next step - find and get a flexible job. And this is not only freedom, but also an increased level of responsibility. Do you want you to be accepted to the desired place? If so, check out the list of essential basic skills for flexible work.

Self-organization skills

Having a free work schedule means managing yourself at your own discretion. The boss doesn’t look out of his office every half hour to check, the manager doesn’t remind every hour that the project deadline is coming to an end.

But with freedom comes responsibility. Nobody controls your every move, you need to deal with the management yourself. Therefore, you need to develop the following personal qualities.

1. Sociability

When you work away from the office or at other times, or change projects frequently, you lose all "unplanned" communications: random chatter in the break room about a new project launch or rumors about your coworker's wonderful vacation. With a flexible schedule, you need to be able to build relationships with other employees. You yourself know that when you get along with the team, work becomes more than just a living.

2. Ability to set boundaries

Be careful not to go too far. Of course, working online allows you to stay connected 24/7, but no one wants to answer you even an interesting question if a notification woke him up in the middle of the night. Be attentive to the schedule (especially in international teams, do not forget about time zones), be attentive to the personal characteristics of colleagues. For example, a designer responds quickly on Telegram, while a marketing manager prefers email. Learn to communicate in their style.

3. Independence

Finally, to fulfill the dream of free work, you must be active and active. Because it doesn't matter if you are in a different city or in a different time zone, your boss and your coworkers need to be sure they can rely on you in times of need. You need to be able to do your job and take responsibility for results.

Organization skills

When you work independently, you need to make sure you are in control. All this for the same reason: you do not have a secretary or manager who would remind you to get rid of the chaos in the documents and take up the current tasks. Make sure you have the necessary organizational tools.

4. Task manager or task list application

Keeping track of all your tasks and keeping track of their readiness for deadlines is key to becoming a successful employee. Your company may offer tools to solve this problem, but you need to be sure that they are right for you. Get ready and try a few task managers before you get the job. You will learn the basics of working with them and get rid of the need to keep all the information in your head.

5. Project management software

When you need to go beyond personal responsibility, you need a tool that will help coordinate the team to solve a large problem. Most project management software works on the same principle as task managers. But specialized software has a lot more functions that allow you to keep everyone informed and coordinate the schedules of all employees in one place. Asana, JIRA, Basecamp are popular, but knowledge of any system will come in handy when applying for a job.

6. Cloud storage

In the 21st century, almost any company (and a company with a flexible schedule even more so) stores information electronically, often directly in the cloud. Quite a few companies use Google Drive or Dropbox for their business. Therefore, learn to use them on your personal computer, so that on the first day of work there will be no problems in order to send files or make a spreadsheet in the cloud.

Communication skills

In any job, it is important to be able to collaborate with other people. When it comes to working with flexible hours, your communication skills should be doubled. You do not see the gestures of the interlocutor, his facial expressions, you do not hear the tone of voice. To some extent, this can be replaced by modern tools, so let's talk about them now.

7. Email

Today e-mail is not a surprise. But to work remotely, it's not enough to know how to get rid of spam or send a funny-g.webp

8. Work chat

Email is less nimble than the increasingly popular work chat. Group chat services are like private messaging rooms in your company. You can send a quick message to anyone: the whole group or a specific person. Work chats can help reduce confusion in email threads. Chat is a virtual place at the cooler, where everyone appears at least once a day. It makes it easier to establish communication with colleagues - both business and informal.

9. Video communication

Another tool for establishing communications in companies with flexible schedules is video calls, video chats or video conferencing. You've probably used Skype or Google Hangouts. The difference between normal conversations and workers is that in the second case, you have to do it professionally. Tidy up your surroundings, look presentable, eliminate visual noise in the background, and focus on the task at hand.

technical skills

The last skill group on our list, but not the least. You don't need to be a programming guru to master these skills (unless, of course, you want to be a remote developer). But everyone, without exception, needs to know the basics of the web and tools for working with web content: thanks to this knowledge, your position on the employer list will rise significantly. The best way to improve your technical literacy is to learn the three suggested fundamental skills.

10. HTML

HTML, aka Hypertext Markup Language, defines the structure of web pages, sites, and even emails. So if you know what the div tag is used for or how to put a non-breaking space, you can control the presentation of the content. And even if you only have a couple of weeks to learn, during this time it is quite possible to deal with HTML and make your own website. If you are able to make a portfolio page for yourself, even a very simple one, this is already a plus.

11. CSS

CSS, or Cascading Style Sheets, is a great addition to HTML. You can use CSS to make your HTML document look impressive. For example, with its help you can modify fonts, colors, space around elements … It is a convenient tool for controlling the appearance of information.

12. CMS

With knowledge of HTML and CSS in your arsenal, you can surprise an employer with a good job with a CMS - a content management system. CMS allows companies and organizations to store a wide variety of data - documents, photos, videos, and so on - which can then be published on the Internet. You've probably heard of the most popular CMS in the world - WordPress. Learn to create, edit, and publish, and be sure to mention your skill in the interview.

Perhaps working with a flexible schedule is what you need. But, in addition to professional knowledge, you must have at least a minimum of skills that will help you not only get a job, but also efficiently cope with your duties. Therefore, learn and improve and you will definitely get your dream job.