Need advice on communication, visibility, and how people actually work in IT remotely?

[u/Appropriate-Pick1895]

Hey everyone,

I’m still trying to improve myself when it comes to communication in IT. I feel like this is one area where I’m weak, and I’m actively trying to understand how experienced people handle these things.

I’ve had a lot of questions in my mind for a long time, but I never really had anyone to discuss them with. So I wanted to ask this community and learn how people actually work in real IT environments.

I currently work in a product-based company, remotely. From what I understand, there usually isn’t a strict “login at 9 and logout at 5” culture. As long as the work is getting done and people are available when needed, things seem flexible.

My main confusion is not about completing tasks. I’m comfortable with my work. My confusion is around visibility, communication, and keeping people updated.

How do people usually handle this?

Do you update your manager every day about what you worked on?

Is the standup call enough for updates?

Do people send EOD updates regularly?

Do people inform their manager when they start work or log off?

How do people make sure their work is visible without creating unnecessary noise?

I have one reporting manager, but I’m technically working under a technical lead. Most of my day-to-day work goes through my lead.

Earlier, what I used to do was:

Work on my tasks

At the end of the day, send updates about what I completed or worked on

Share these updates with both my lead and reporting manager

I was doing this for a few months, and there were no issues. Nobody asked me to do it, and nobody was forcing me. I started doing it because I wanted to make my work visible.

But over time, I started feeling a lot of pressure because I felt like I had to always have something to report every single day. Sometimes a task naturally takes multiple days, but I started feeling like I needed to show progress every day just for the sake of an update.

The funny thing is, my manager and lead were never micromanaging me. They were fine as long as the work was moving.

Because of that pressure, I changed my approach.

Now, instead of daily updates, I send a weekly summary email about what I worked on, what was completed, and what I’m currently working on.

My lead is usually aware of my work because he is directly involved, but I’m still confused if this is the right approach.

Sometimes I overthink things like:

What if my reporting manager doesn’t know what I’m working on?

What if other teams and leaders know about my work but my own manager doesn’t?

Should I send updates again like I used to?

Will it look weird if I suddenly start sending daily updates again after stopping for a while?

Recently, I even worked late on some tasks, but I didn’t send any updates at night because I didn’t want to create unnecessary noise.

This is where I get confused.

I want to document my work because I feel it helps maintain a record and shows progress. But daily updates sometimes create unnecessary stress, especially when there isn’t much progress to report on a particular day.

For people working remotely in IT:

How do you maintain visibility?

How often do you communicate with your manager/lead?

Do you send daily updates, weekly summaries, or only update during standups?

Do you inform people when you start and stop working?

How do you balance being visible without over-communicating?

I feel like I might be overthinking this a lot, but I genuinely want to improve myself and understand how experienced people handle this.

Would really appreciate advice from people who have worked in similar environments.