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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

#71

Post by sockgrant »

codereflection wrote: post #46
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 did this for two years. The key is to switch it up. I'm lucky enough that there are many different coffee shops in my area that I can go to. The general rule of thumb, if you're planning on spending multiple hours in a single place, is to buy a little something each 1 to 2 hours. I've seen many, many people buy a single tall coffee, nothing else, and then sit in the coffee shop for 4+ hours. These people are jerks.

If the coffee shop is full and they are inhibiting other paying customers, they are jerks. If they are disturbing the network, they are jerks.

But what if there's plenty of seating, and they're working off of their own internet? Are they still jerks?

Re: How to work remotely as a software developer

#72

Post by adaml_623 »

mseebach wrote: post #9
seivan wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you can commute on a Segway then we're not talking what other people are experiencing with "commute". Try spending two hours a day standing on a train. Such a time sink. Commuting on a Segway... doesn't qualify.

Commuting simply means travelling between your home and your workplace. The fact that many people impose a painful commute on themselves does not make a less painful commute any less a commute.

I think if you look at the origin of the word commute you will find that it did actually emerge from the trip between suburbs and the city and hence a walk to work in the morning is not in the 'traditional' sense.

Re: How to work remotely as a software developer

#73

Post by sillysaurus »

smutticus wrote: post #8
simonsarris wrote: post #2

I really enjoyed this article, and I'd like to add that software developers working remotely could probably learn a lot from the wisdom of writers, which has been collected in hundreds of articles on the web. (search for "advice from best authors" or "daily routines of great writers", etc, and you're bound to find many such articles. Some are good, most are puffery, but so it goes with anything). Not all of the advic…

A man is a fool not to put everything he has, at any given moment, into what he is creating. You're there now doing the thing on paper. You're not killing the goose, you're just producing an egg. So I don't worry about inspiration, or anything like that. It's a matter of just sitting down and working. I have never had the problem of a writing block. I've heard about it. I've felt reluctant to write on some days, for…

Some of my best code was written after basically abandoning the problem for a day.

Of course, the problem wasn't really abandoned -- I was thinking about how to solve it the whole time. But I wasn't writing any code.

Forcing yourself to write isn't necessarily best.

Re: How to work remotely as a software developer

#74

Post by virtualwhys »

segmondy wrote: post #44
simonsarris wrote: post #2

I really enjoyed this article, and I'd like to add that software developers working remotely could probably learn a lot from the wisdom of writers, which has been collected in hundreds of articles on the web. (search for "advice from best authors" or "daily routines of great writers", etc, and you're bound to find many such articles. Some are good, most are puffery, but so it goes with anything). Not all of the advic…

When I work in my home office. To be really productive. I have to close the door even tho I live alone, then LOCK it. Sometimes I will get up, walk to door and when I try to open it and realize it's locked. It signals me that I should be doing work, and I turn around and sit back down and keep working. If I leave that door open. I would just get up almost without thinking to walk around and I dunno, just get out of t…

Thanks for the chuckle ;-)

Re: How to work remotely as a software developer

#75

Post by infinite8s »

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…

As patio11 and tptacek like to say, you should switch to daily billing.

Re: How to work remotely as a software developer

#76

Post by fein »

hopeless wrote: post #25
fein wrote: post #6

The only thing that I have grown to despise a bit is timeboxing. Coding is a job and a hobby to me, and sometimes setting those hard limits kills my ability to improve code by forcing me into a rigid schedule. It turns what I view as play into unpleasant work, and that's how burnout starts. Sometimes its faster to come up with a solution without setting hard time limits, and just let your mind churn passively on a co…

I think you've misunderstood the Pomodoro technique if you think it's 25mins per hour . It's simply 25mins blocks of time, 5mins non-work, rinse-and-repeat. When I timebox, I use Vitamin-R which let's me extend the time slice to finish a task. Probably the hardest part is breaking tasks down into 25min chunks

I just used that as an example from the article. Honestly I think the idea of timeboxing may be useful if a person can't keep on track, but I don't have an issue with getting stuff done on time. One of the arguments from the article was that timeboxing can prevent "perfectionism", which I think should be prioritized and not restricted by a time constraint. Finish the important MVP features first, then, if you have time left, make it sexy and perfect.

The thought of using a program to timebox, then asking that program to extend your time just seems bizarre to me.

No judgments on your end here, I just do what works for me, and you do what works for you. I think that people should try to feel it out first, and if that fails, move to a structured technique.

edit: just read my typo. mean 25mins/block perviously.

Re: How to work remotely as a software developer

#77

Post by tsotha »

ChiperSoft wrote: post #31
tarekmoz wrote: post #7

I have been remote for 10 years. The secret not to get nuts is to interact online with colleagues as often as possible. "From the employer’s perspective, you’re risking burning yourself out if you work 50-60 hours a week" mmm... 50 hours is pretty common in the software industry, and being remote makes it easier not to burn out in fact because you're not losing time in commutes and in loud open spaces where you can't…

50 hours is common in _startups_, not the industry as a whole.

50 hours a week is pretty common for companies that produce commercial software, startup or no. Some segments (games, for example) are more.

Re: How to work remotely as a software developer

#79

Post by dageshi »

I've had a bit of a revelation recently.

I absolutely need some kind of human voice in the background for at least a few hours per day. If I don't get it then my mind just shuts down and refuses to work on anything.

My favourite radio presenter went off the air about 8 months ago and I've not really found anything I really liked since. But since then my ability to actually get anything done has gone down drastically.

Anyway on a whim I re-listened to one of his old episodes for a few hours while working, suddenly I'm tearing through my work again.

I can't explain it but it makes all the difference in the world.

Re: How to work remotely as a software developer

#80

Post by miloshadzic »

dageshi wrote: post #79

I've had a bit of a revelation recently. I absolutely need some kind of human voice in the background for at least a few hours per day. If I don't get it then my mind just shuts down and refuses to work on anything. My favourite radio presenter went off the air about 8 months ago and I've not really found anything I really liked since. But since then my ability to actually get anything done has gone down drastically.…

I never felt what you're describing but I do enjoy listening to RBMA Radio Fireside Chats[0] while while I'm working. You may like it.

[0]: http://www.rbmaradio.com/categories/interviews-features/form...

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