Collaborating at a distance.
WHAT THE CONSTRAINT IS
Limited overlapping hours.
WHAT THAT AFFECTS
How quickly questions are answered How decisions are made How much is written down
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
The overlap window, explicitly.
WHAT TO PROTECT IT FOR
Anything requiring conversation.
WHAT TO DO OUTSIDE IT
Work that does not need others.
WHAT TO WRITE DOWN
Everything: decisions, context, progress.
WHY
It is what allows others to proceed without you.
WHAT A GOOD HANDOVER CONTAINS
What was done What is in progress What is blocked, and on whom What the next person should do
WHAT TO AVOID
Questions that block your day until someone wakes.
WHAT TO DO INSTEAD
Ask early, and work on something else while waiting.
WHY
It turns one blocked day into none.
WHAT TO BATCH
Questions, into a single message.
WHY
It avoids a series of round trips across a day each.
WHAT TO BE CAREFUL WITH
Meetings scheduled in others' convenience only.
WHAT TO PROPOSE
Rotation, where the burden would otherwise fall on you.
WHAT TO CLARIFY IN WRITING
Anything agreed verbally across zones.
WHY
Recollection differs, and correction takes a day.
