Remote work isn’t going anywhere — but that doesn’t mean it’s easy

When COVID hit, I made a decision that changed everything. I left my job.

Packed up the traditional office life.

And started my own business offering online consulting.

Just like that, I became a remote worker.

In the beginning, it was liberating.

No commute.

No dress code.

Total freedom.

Fast forward to 2025, and that decision doesn’t feel radical anymore—it feels obvious.

According to Buffer’s State of Remote Work report, 98% of people want to work remotely, at least part of the time, for the rest of their careers.

Remote is no longer a trend. It’s the new default.

But here’s the truth that rarely gets said out loud:

Remote work isn’t just about where you work. It’s about how your team works.

And that’s where things can go sideways.

Why remote work feels so different (and sometimes… harder)

When people say “remote work is hard,” they usually don’t mean the work itself.

They mean:

• Misaligned expectations
• Slack messages at 10 PM
• Missed deadlines due to unclear responsibilities
• A creeping sense of isolation

The thing is, in-person teams build culture through proximity.

There are natural touchpoints: hallway chats, coffee breaks, whiteboard sessions.

Remote teams don’t get that by default.

Everything has to be intentional.

If you don’t design for clarity and connection, you end up with chaos and silence.

What remote teams often do wrong

Having worked with multiple remote teams—from scrappy startups to growing agencies—I’ve seen a few common patterns that lead to friction:

Relying too much on meetings

When there’s no system in place, meetings become a crutch. It feels productive, but it often signals confusion.

Tool overload

Notion for docs. Trello for tasks. Slack for comms. Drive for storage. Before you know it, your team is spending more time looking for information than acting on it.

Poor onboarding

When the “how we do things” lives in people’s heads instead of in a system, new hires drown. And they often don’t ask for help.

Blurred boundaries

Without clear expectations, people default to availability = value. Burnout creeps in fast when work life has no off switch

The Hidden Productivity Killer: Information Silos

This one deserves its own spotlight.

Information silos are one of the biggest threats to remote work. And they often go unnoticed until it’s too late.

What starts as “we’ll figure it out later” becomes:

• “Didn’t we already write that?”
• “Where’s the link again?”
• “Who’s responsible for this?”
• “Why didn’t I know that happened?”

Knowledge gets trapped in Slack threads.

Docs live in random Google Drive folders.

Processes live in someone’s brain.

People don’t share because they don’t know where to put things.

Others don’t read because they don’t know where to find things.

This fragmentation slows you down, kills morale, and leads to redundant work.

How to make remote work… actually work

Thriving as a remote team isn’t about adding more calls or copying office life online.

It’s about designing new ways of working that support your goals and your people.

Here’s what that looks like:

1. Prioritize documentation

If you say something more than once—it should be documented.

Remote teams can’t rely on word-of-mouth or tribal knowledge.

• Create onboarding guides
• Standardize workflows
• Project decisions
• Company values

This isn’t micromanagement. It’s enabling autonomy.

2. Asynchronous over always-on

Being remote doesn’t mean being available 24/7.

In fact, it’s the opposite.

Build norms that protect deep work:

• Use async updates for projects
• Set response time expectations
• Limit meetings to high-context collaboration

Your team doesn’t need more “catch-up” calls. They need time to do meaningful work.

3. Culture through connection (not perks)

You can’t replace office ping pong tables with Zoom trivia and call it culture.

Instead, focus on:

• Team rituals (like Friday wins or monthly retros)
• Celebrating personal and team milestones
• Creating spaces for connection, not just work

Remote culture thrives when it’s designed—not left to chance. The best remote teams feel connected because someone built that connection on purpose.

The secret weapon for remote teams: a connected knowledge hub

This is where tools matter. And why I always come back to Notion.

Most teams use Notion as a notes app or a glorified to-do list.

But in remote settings, Notion becomes the backbone of your operations—if you use it right. I referring to using it as your central knowledge hub:

✅ Everything in one place: Docs, tasks, goals, and more

✅ Cross-linked knowledge to prevent silos

✅ Clear onboarding journeys for new team members

✅ Integrated automations (with tools like Zapier or Make) so information flows without friction

✅ Async collaboration through comments, databases, and shared templates

Instead of jumping between Google Docs, Slack, Trello, and spreadsheets—your team can find everything in one place.

Notion doesn’t just organize your work.

It makes your team feel more aligned—even when you’re continents apart.

Remote work has advantages. But only when you solve its disadvantages.

Let’s be honest: remote work isn’t perfect.

You lose spontaneity. You lose shared physical context.

But you gain:

• Flexibility
• Autonomy
• Access to global talent
• More meaningful work-life balance

To make it work, you need more than trust.

You need systems, structure, and shared understanding.

Ready to take your remote setup to the next level?

If you're part of a remote team and you're either:

• Just getting started with Notion
• Struggling with information silos
• Wasting time in meetings because your systems don’t scale
• Ready to create clarity, connection, and serious productivity…

I can help.

I’ve helped other remote teams turn Notion into their connected knowledge hub—one that scales, simplifies, and supports real collaboration.

I can do the same for yours.

Let’s talk and work together to build you a remote system that actually works—for the way you and your team works.