I’m a remote employee. Full-time. Forty hours a week, at the date of writing this post Im working from Lisbon, sometimes from my room, other times from a café while the rest of the team usually works from the office in the Azores.

I always had this feeling that I would never be able to work a normal 9-5 due to the fact that you have to devote your whole life, including the place you live, because of a job.

Game plan

Step one - The potential

Work there for a year, show all my potential, and most important, show that I’m responsible and always open to working more hours if needed.

Step two - Covid situation

During covid times we had no alternative but to work from home, this came to my advantage as I was showing that it is actually possible to achieve the same results.

Step three - Give them honey

Along the way, I was preparing my boss for the actual request, showing him articles, productivity reports and how can this measure benefit the company by networking and expanding the client base.

Step four - Request

In March 2022 I asked to work from Lisbon.

Why Lisbon?

The company is located In Azores, Portugal, and Lisbon is the capital. Since this is my first experience and the company’s with remote work, a closer location is ideal.

How I did do it and how can you do it as well?

Well, it was a long process, but a very informal one, basically It was a process of many months talking about the possibility of remote work.

If I could give myself a step-by-step on how to do it again, I would follow the points below.

• Show that you are responsible and trustworthy
• Talk about that possibility with your boss
• Show him how could the company benefit from it

Conclusion

Working remotely requires a lot of responsibility and the ability to control your time, therefore, I believe everybody should try it at least once.

Having the possibility to work from anywhere and choose when you can work is priceless, sometimes for me, it feels like I don’t have that much time because i’m still learning how to manage my time, but the freedom of choice I have totally beats everything.