How to be more async in your work?
142: For healthier team relationships and getting more done.
I found remote work coincidentally over ten years ago. It was an unusual experience, but still, it simulated office in many ways:
All workers had to check in at 9 AM each workday
I had to be available from 9-6 and allowed to have lunch for 1 hour
I had to tack the time I was working as proof of work
Years later, I discovered async communication. A new way of working that allowed me to live the lifestyle I always wanted, still delivering on my responsibilities and, most importantly – doing what I love for a living.
Asynchronous working peaked its popularity among global, remote, and hybrid teams in 2020. To this day, more and more companies are embracing remote cultures and adopting more async communication strategies. When done correctly, it increases concentration and gets more done on your terms. Doing it incorrectly results in frustration and long hours for everyone involved.
What is async work?
I love how Preston Wickersham explains this simple concept in his article on Remote blog:
"Asynchronous work is a simple concept: Do as much as you can with what you have, document everything, transfer ownership of the project to the next person, then start working on something else."
In-person work is heavily dependent on real-time communication, but replicating that culture in a virtual setting presented a number of challenges, including Zoom fatigue, meeting overload, and ongoing disruptions that made getting work done even more difficult.
Although asynchronous work can feel intimidating to people who have always worked in-office or communicated synchronously, it offers numerous benefits. The top benefit is that asynchronous work truly allows people to take advantage of remote work.
How to be more async in your work?
Over the years, I learned a few principles that help me be more async and get more things done.
Schedule emails
You can avoid playing email ping pong by scheduling every email you send. Allow longer intervals between responses to encourage individuals not to expect a quick response.
In his article Email is Async, Pat Kua gives a detailed checklist of what to do to make email more async.
The natural reaction is to reply immediately, but it has the downside of interrupting. A continuous stream of emails might make you feel productive. Still, it establishes the bad habit of allowing yourself to be interrupted.
Make the most of time zones
Despite many challenges that come with managing time zones, one factor that keeps me in the love of working with people and companies from the other side of the world — every day feels like Sunday.
No, it doesn't mean I don't have to work. Instead, it means I can work when and where I want, which is more flexibility, focus, and energy for meaningful work.
I can spend an hour in the morning playing with my kids or go to the gym at 1 PM; nobody in the company notices this. As long as work gets done and the client's expectations are met and exceeded — no one cares if I checked in at 9 AM or 2 PM or if I worked 6 or 10 hours today.
Communicate by voice/video notes
Hear me out: most of the meetings could have been Loom videos or Slack messages.
I recently had a situation where a team member asked me to have a meeting about the project we worked on together last year. I agreed to meet since it was a complicated project, and we could discuss many things. But when I joined a meeting, I was asked a single question about using one of the components in the design system we've built. Seriously? This meeting could've been a Slack message with an attached screenshot!
Anyway, video and audio notes are helpful for communicating asynchronously. They are better at conveying tone than text-based communication and don't require syncing schedules.
Don't make meetings the default option
Before hopping on a "quick call," think about other ways to communicate about solving a problem. Use Slack, Loom, or email to communicate your questions or information, and let the other person digest it at their own pace.
Remember that each meeting has a cost associated with it. Of course, we all have deadlines and urgent situations, and sometimes having a call is "simpler." But be cautious about having many such "urgent" or "important" meetings because the worst thing these meetings do is build a habit of being easily distracted.
Don't expect quick responses
Respect other people's schedules as you would like them to respect yours. Surprisingly, when you tell people there is no urgency, they frequently respond faster than expected.
Async work helps you think ahead and ask questions that might occur in the conversation. Over the years, I learned to answer those questions before sending a message. Since everyone's time is fully blocked by default, you must think twice before communicating.
Set clear boundaries
Say so if you're not taking calls. Inform the other person if you are unable to meet a deadline. Boundaries are meant to be respected rather than pushed, depending on who asks. Yours should be overcommunicated.
Whenever I start working with a new client from a different timezone, I tell them about some of my work communication principles, such as no early morning (before 7 AM) or late night (8 PM) calls, and everyone relates and agrees to stick to them.
Manage expectations
Let people know what to expect, whether you intend to work full-time on a large project, be highly responsive and helpful, or go completely off the grid.
Communicate early and often about your days off, vacations, or holidays. Let others know that you are not going to be available.
Sure, emergencies (like the war in Ukraine) throw us away without prior notification. Still — don't disappear; communicate and explain the urgency of your situation. Clients are people, not companies; they will understand.
Conclusion
You don't have to implement all of these strategies at once. Even doing only one at a time would open up time in your schedule for deep work. Cutting your synchronous communications in half could make all the difference.
Learning async may help you avoid those late nights and early mornings if you already operate remotely and across time zones. It could imply that you like your work more.
Working asynchronously by default requires mental adjustment and openness to learning because it is not the norm. Embrace it to the point where you can't imagine going back.