Did you ever think of working in a remote/global team as time traveling? Well I have! Taking it to the extreme, I recently met with some people physically located in New Zealand while I connected from the United States. For my New Zealander friends, it was already Thursday morning. For me, it was Wednesday evening. I tapped into their morning vibe and almost felt like I should drink a cup of coffee .. well, almost.
Let's get a little scientific:
As a kid, I was always fascinated by the concept of teleportation made popular in the 1960s television series, Star Trek. After diving into the world of information systems, I deemed teleportation not something I wanted to pursue because you would have to successfully blueprint and rebuild yourself on the other side and take the chance you will not be the same person. Psychologically, we can trick our magnificent senses into really thinking we are two places and even in different times. That is where meeting people in online face to face meetings is like time traveling.
The great Albert Einstein promoted the idea that time is but an illusion and completely relative. Let's take this a step further and consider the idea that time and space are both but an illusion. And now with your eyes wide open, time travel of the mind can take you to new lands and meeting new people through the speed of light (or fiber optics). At the point of connection, you assume that time and space as your reality.
What does this mean for remote work:
You may want to be mindful of this time travel aspect. In my current position working for a completely remote university (learners and faculty), we will pop in and out of communication spaces. It sometimes can feel like speed dating, but you are changing time and space at the speed of light, not traveling around a room sitting in the same time and space.
1. Allow yourself to readjust to your new time and space (like mini jet lag)
2. Be mindful of the new vibe.
3. Enjoy the experience