Chapter8: HowtoWorkFasterinaRemoteTeam 79 on the desk nap isn’t as refreshing as it could be,” he says. “Now that I work remotely, I’m able to lie down for a nap or go to the gym for a quick workout, whichgivesmeahugeenergyboost.” Joe Stych, a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based team member at Zapier, has a different take on the schedule offered by remote companies, one that means maximizinghisallotted time. “At my old job, productivity was zero after 4 p.m.—I was counting down the minutesuntilIgotinmycarorjustrefreshingmyemailtomakesuremyboss didn’tsendmesomething,”Stychsays.AtZapier,he’snestledinhishomeoffice, workinguntil he signs off Slack. For some teams though, making the most of the schedule doesn’t mean workingwhenmostproductive,butalwaysstayingproductivebecauseyoucan workaroundtheclock. “We’re spread over a numberofdifferenttimezonesallovertheworld,soour developmentis24/7,”saysGroovefounderandCEOAlexTurnbull.“Evenwhen thoseofusintheU.S.aresleeping,ourdevelopersinEuropeandSouthAfrica arehustling.Customerscangethelpatanyhour,andproductionneverstops.” Inside Zapier, we take advantage of this benefit, too. My marketing teammate MatthewGuay,forexample,isbasedinThailand,soourclocksareopposite— whenit’s8a.m.inOmaha,it’s8p.m.inBangkok.Attheendoftheworkday,I’ll oftenhandoffapiecetoMatthewforediting.WhenIwakeupthenextmorning, it’s all marked up. Never in my many years on an editorial team have I had the quick workflow offered by this unique situation. 4. Skip the Commute “Wesave,collectively,dozensofhourseachweekoncommuting,”saysGroove’s Turnbull.“Thosehoursgointogettingthingsdone,andovertime,thatamounts to massive, massive wins.” Zapier co-founder and CEO Wade Foster has a similar take. “I jump right into workwhenI’mready.AndleavewhenI’mdone.There’szerofrictionbetween workingandnot.”