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Best practices for remote software engineering

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Re: Best practices for remote software engineering

#201
post #80

I was just having a discussion about this with my manager during 1:1. I'm curious how any fellow devs with ADHD have managed the transition to remote work over the last year? I love the freedom and ability to focus that working from home provides, but I often find myself taking advantage of that freedom and focusing instead on podcasts or reddit for 3 days to avoid 3 hours of writing unit tests.

I have quite the story. I was terrified I wouldn’t be able to focus. Terrified I’d get distracted by home life. That my productivity would plummet. But it didn’t happen. In fact, the opposite. I never realised how much commuting and office noise harmed my productivity and energy levels. I was buzzing. And I did what any ADDer would do. I got drunk on it. Then burnt out. In typical ADHD fashion, I thought all that new…

This reads like a inspirational linkedin copypasta.

Re: Best practices for remote software engineering

#202

I was just having a discussion about this with my manager during 1:1. I'm curious how any fellow devs with ADHD have managed the transition to remote work over the last year? I love the freedom and ability to focus that working from home provides, but I often find myself taking advantage of that freedom and focusing instead on podcasts or reddit for 3 days to avoid 3 hours of writing unit tests.

We are using Mumble (https://www.mumble.info/) to be able to hear your colleagues the whole day. When I need to focus more, I go to a virtual office in Mumble.

Re: Best practices for remote software engineering

#203
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have quite the story. I was terrified I wouldn’t be able to focus. Terrified I’d get distracted by home life. That my productivity would plummet. But it didn’t happen. In fact, the opposite. I never realised how much commuting and office noise harmed my productivity and energy levels. I was buzzing. And I did what any ADDer would do. I got drunk on it. Then burnt out. In typical ADHD fashion, I thought all that new…

This reads like a inspirational linkedin copypasta.

Sums up my life really, goes deeper than that hahaha

Re: Best practices for remote software engineering

#204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ADHDer here. WFH was a nightmare the first six months, but the past few months have been working out great. My findings from this past year: * Finding the right medication, in the right dose. Biggest QoL improvement. YMMV * Whenever I get lost in the sauce and start spinning my wheels, I schedule a call with a colleague and ask them to help sort my priorities out. This also helps me with accountability, in a softer w…

What features make Muse the one for you, as opposed to alternatives? Just curious. Definitely agree with working using the best equipment money can buy, if you spend so much time with it.

So I really enjoy the spatial paradigm with Muse. It feels like a digital whiteboard - I can paste images, resize them, throw them around, and ink over them, which makes it great for thinking. Compare this to Apple Notes, where each note acts like a document. I can ink, write and paste images into a note - but text, ink and images are all their separate blocks, flows from up to down, and cannot "interact" with each other.

Further, the Muse interface is very frictionless. Erasing ink is just holding a finger while using the Pencil. Switching tools is just swiping in on the screen with the pencil. Compare this to Apple Notes, where I usually need to chord several taps on different parts of the screen altogether just to change the tool or ink color.

Re: Best practices for remote software engineering

#205

* Shower first * Put on clothes * Deliver tangible things often

Midday showers are one of my favorite things about WFH.

I have also gotten into this habit, but I'm still on the fence about whether it is a net positive change…

Pros: Among various types of breaks one can take while WFH, showers feel particularly restorative. They also sometimes end up being surprisingly productive—diffuse thinking modes, shower thoughts, etc.

Cons: The "when" of showering was previously an automatic outcome, but now it is a conscious decision/obligation. I also find (as many people do) that showers give momentum to my morning, which is arguably more useful when just waking up than mid-day (although YMMV here).

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