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How to work remotely as a software developer

markcampbell.me

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Re: How to work remotely as a software developer

#61

Post by joel_perl_prog »

blumentopf wrote: post #52
joel_perl_prog wrote: post #14

I have to laugh at this. Not because he's wrong, but because it's so indicative of the programmer's mind. Structured, orderly, formulaic. Laying down rules and procedures. Which is fine--nothing wrong with that, however... Let me offer a counter-example, for what it's worth, which perhaps isn't a whole lot. I've been working at home for almost a year, after being in the office for six. It's very simple. In the mornin…

True. And I would actually go so far as to reject some of the advice, e.g. the strict separation between home and work and the timeboxing: I often take a pause during the day to do some stupid housework. This lets me toss around a problem in my head that I'm working on and when I later return to my programming I have a fresh pair of eyeballs and have formed new ideas to solve the problem. That kind of relaxed way of…

I see... I'm an old man, so I don't have any homework. =)

Re: How to work remotely as a software developer

#62

Post by technomancy »

benji-york wrote: post #57
chuckcode wrote: post #47

A lot of this article applies just as much to working at the office. Managing time, distractions and communicating clearly are important no matter where you are. Does anyone have any links to articles that talk more about the tool for collaborating and developing remotely? With existing tools I find it pretty easy to get code written and coordinate remotely, but it it still seems very difficult to actively collaborat…

It sounds like you're doing Windows development, so this may not help you much, but it helps me. :) I have a little open source project that lets two Linux users share a console session remotely. It is much like sharing a screen or tmux session but without all the setup. If you're interested you can check it out at termbeamer.com I'm actively improving it and hope to release a version soon that will let the "client"…

> I have a little open source project that lets two Linux users share a console session remotely.

Me too: https://syme.herokuapp.com

SSH is really handy for this kind of thing as long as you don't need a browser.

Re: How to work remotely as a software developer

#63

Post by jabits »

BCM43 wrote: post #20
jiggy2011 wrote: post #13

I've never tried working from a coffee shop but it seems people do. How does that work out financially? I imagine they aren't too pleased if you just buy a coffee and then occupy space for 5 hours. But I don't really want to spend a fortune on excessive caffeine consumption and $5 bagels.

I have yet to find a coffee shop with solid enough Internet for my needs. From talking to people I know in management at coffee shops, the reason for this is that the don't want people sitting there all day working. This may be different at different coffee shops though.

If you work remote, you ''really'' need your own hotspot. It is well worth the extra $30/month.

Re: How to work remotely as a software developer

#64

Post by LekkoscPiwa »

MartinCron wrote: post #26
jgj wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked from home for 4 years straight and never gave it more thought than "work when I feel like working or when the situation requires it." Look at that, my method fits in a tweet!

I'm glad that you found a tweet-sized strategy that works for you. I can say from experience that it doesn't work for everyone.

as if working from Starbucks did.

Re: How to work remotely as a software developer

#65

Post by bconway »

jiggy2011 wrote: post #13

I've never tried working from a coffee shop but it seems people do. How does that work out financially? I imagine they aren't too pleased if you just buy a coffee and then occupy space for 5 hours. But I don't really want to spend a fortune on excessive caffeine consumption and $5 bagels.

Let me suggest an alternative that seldomly gets mentioned: the public library. It's free, it's quiet, the Internet is fast and not frequently used, the chairs are sometimes comfortable, and they love it when people hang around all day (these are all assumptions of a US base). Additionally, many newer libraries have big meeting rooms with whiteboards and other materials that are free for use. Capped drinks are usually allowed, and sometimes food (don't make a mess!)

It's by far my favorite "coffee shop." Your tax dollars at work.

Re: How to work remotely as a software developer

#66

Post by fernandotakai »

jgj wrote: post #18
joel_perl_prog wrote: post #14

I have to laugh at this. Not because he's wrong, but because it's so indicative of the programmer's mind. Structured, orderly, formulaic. Laying down rules and procedures. Which is fine--nothing wrong with that, however... Let me offer a counter-example, for what it's worth, which perhaps isn't a whole lot. I've been working at home for almost a year, after being in the office for six. It's very simple. In the mornin…

I worked from home for 4 years straight and never gave it more thought than "work when I feel like working or when the situation requires it." Look at that, my method fits in a tweet!

Working from home for the past 3y here.

I need some structure on my day otherwise I procrastinate too much.

That means, waking up early, working from x till y, stopping in the middle for a quick lunch – so basically, just like working on an office.

Different people, different tastes.

Re: How to work remotely as a software developer

#67

Post by dhimes »

bconway wrote: post #65
jiggy2011 wrote: post #13

I've never tried working from a coffee shop but it seems people do. How does that work out financially? I imagine they aren't too pleased if you just buy a coffee and then occupy space for 5 hours. But I don't really want to spend a fortune on excessive caffeine consumption and $5 bagels.

Let me suggest an alternative that seldomly gets mentioned: the public library. It's free, it's quiet, the Internet is fast and not frequently used, the chairs are sometimes comfortable, and they love it when people hang around all day (these are all assumptions of a US base). Additionally, many newer libraries have big meeting rooms with whiteboards and other materials that are free for use. Capped drinks are usuall…

Second the library. It's a great place to work.

Re: How to work remotely as a software developer

#68

Post by neogodless »

GlennCSmith wrote: post #4

I worked alone from a home office for 20 years in my consulting practice until, in the last year, as my company has grown, I've moved to commercial office space for the first time. I found working at home a delight, and enjoyed many years of jokes about my short commute (18 feet.) However, in the end, I found the repeated advice of friends to be correct: I'm more productive with an outside office. The extra focus mor…

Actually, you're reiterating what the author said about having a designated work space. You're saying it has to be outside, but I would like to hear some evidence or rationale behind the advice. Both you and the author realize that if you mix workspace with home life, you're going to have a tough time.

Re: How to work remotely as a software developer

#69

Post by elbear »

Kaivo wrote: post #32

Is that kind of job viable when constantly moving? I want to travel in the next two years, and I was thinking about keeping only stuff that fits in a bag and just going away with my wife, but doing that without a decent amount of cash or a job you can have on the road would be hard. Is it viable to have a remote job while travelling, in the event that I might stay for several days in each city and do most of the trav…

Hopefully, you'll enjoy what you do, because otherwise it will be difficult to motivate yourself. I started travelling while also working remotely but gave up the work, because I didn't enjoy it and I didn't find the motivation to do it, considering that I also wanted to go out and walk around the places where I was.

Also, as someone mentioned, it's better if you stay longer in one place. That way, you have time to see stuff and also to work.

Good luck!

Re: How to work remotely as a software developer

#70

Post by pyoung »

porker wrote: post #59

This works when you're a remote worker, but what about when you're a freelancer with multiple clients, using time tracking software? Where do you bill the "going for a walk to clear your head", the "restroom break" or that all-too-common one, "popping on Hacker News to see if anything exciting's happened in the last 5 minutes"? Joking aside, I've reached burnout by driving myself hard to get 8 billable hours each day…

Seems like you may be over thinking this. When I was in consulting, I didn't waste my time trying to track every 5-minute increment, the amount of effort and distraction that would cause would do more harm to the client (due to productivity loss from tracking) than anything else. Taking a 5-minute coffee break, or chatting with a co-worker for 15 minutes all gets lost in the noise if you are working on a project for multiple hours a day. Your level of focus (which is nearly impossible to quantify) is going to have a bigger impact on your productivity, and hence the value to the client, than almost anything else. So it makes sense that you should look to optimize for focus/productivity, rather than 'time spent sitting in front of computer'.

On a side note, there has been a lot of talk on HN about billing clients in half-day and full-day increments. You should probably look into that. At the consulting job, I basically took the total number of hours a day that I was working, and roughly divided it by the percent of time I spent on each project, which also worked for me (we were required to bill hourly). In the long run, it all tends to even out, and as long as your client is happy with the work, and the costs are in line with their expectations, they will not complain.

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