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Lessons from 2 months of remote working

iamnotaprogrammer.com

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Re: Lessons from 2 months of remote working

#21

Post by GrinningFool »

gio wrote: post #16

Shameless plug: We (getblimp.com) are currently working to consolidate real-time chat with task management in a very unique way. This will allow remote workers to collaborate freely on chat and then move those conversations to a more persistent form, a task with context. http://blog.getblimp.com/2013/11/blimp-needs-more-bandwidth/

While we have project management tools already in place (jira) and I don't forsee us changing anytime soon, this is a really cool idea. I see a hubot hipchat script implementation in our near future... because though it would be cool to have such chat-like functionality in the management system, it would be even better if it integrated with where we already did our chatting.

That might be something you also want to consider offering in your solution, as an additional method of accomplishing the same thing.

Re: Lessons from 2 months of remote working

#22

Post by atox »

Interesting read.

I recently moved to a country with a low cost of living whilst continuing my old webdevelopment role as part of a remote team.

Some things that we do:

  - daily short standup on google hangout
  - everyone is available on an instant messenger when working
  - every office/home office has a continuous webcam feed going on over google hangout
  - remote pairing (not the biggest myself)
Planning to do a writeup of my findings as soon as I pass the six months mark.

Re: Lessons from 2 months of remote working

#23

Post by jasonkester »

bhartzer wrote: post #3

Is it just me? Do you find that working remotely you can get more work done than being in the office with coworkers? The days that I'm in the office working I don't seem to get as much actual work done, because I'm spending most of the day in meetings.

For a fair comparison, you'll need to take a 20 minute break to walk to Starbucks at 9:30, then spend the entire time from 10:30 to 12:30 discussing where to go to lunch (then an hour or so actually going there), then with luck another hour eating cake from 3-4 because it's Stan's birthday.

Do those things from home, then decide whether you're more productive than at the office. Otherwise you're not really comparing apples to apples.

Re: Lessons from 2 months of remote working

#24

Post by Touche »

mrcsparker wrote: post #19

I have been working remotely for 7 years now. I love it, but it is not for everyone. I remember a few months in when it really sunk in that I was actually working out of my home. My house was my office and my office was my house, and everywhere I went I could not get away from work. I had a sudden feeling that the walls were closing in. Lucky for me that went away, and I find that I get more done and am able to be mo…

For me that feeling was immediate, not a few months in, and produced a lot of panic. Having an office with a door that you can close at the end of the day helps tremendously with feeling that you're always at work. Now it's not an issue, I work half the day in my office and half the day sitting on the couch (or somewhere else).

Re: Lessons from 2 months of remote working

#25

Post by purringmeow »

agentultra wrote: post #6

I've been working remotely more often than not over the last four years (a brief 1-year interlude when I was back in an office full-time broke up the streak). I definitely prefer it. The advantages are too awesome! I get to spend more time with my daughter (I'm a first-time father and she is just turning a year old today). There is hardly anything in this world that makes me happier than spending time with her. If I…

>> Working more hours does not directly produce more "product."

Exactly! I've always wondered why people are pushing the American death march way of work - long hours in an office and no work/life balance. I really hope we'll be able to change that and make remote work and other unusual work schedules more common in Europe. There is nothing better than going out for a walk in the middle of the day if you are stuck on a problem or starting your work day at 12. Lack of pressure and stress == higher productivity and better health.

Re: Lessons from 2 months of remote working

#26

Post by wainstead »

mrcsparker wrote: post #19

I have been working remotely for 7 years now. I love it, but it is not for everyone. I remember a few months in when it really sunk in that I was actually working out of my home. My house was my office and my office was my house, and everywhere I went I could not get away from work. I had a sudden feeling that the walls were closing in. Lucky for me that went away, and I find that I get more done and am able to be mo…

Yup, full time remote for 4 years here, and having a work space separate from your regular life is really crucial. The cabin fever problem never goes away; plan to be active outside your domicile outside of work hours.

Re: Lessons from 2 months of remote working

#27

Post by GVIrish »

buttsex wrote: post #10

Kind of on topic, but I'm a web developer who is partnered with a designer in NYC. I'm already working remotely (a few hours away) and it is really great. I'm in my mid 20s and don't have kids or a relationship at the moment. I've always wanted to travel and I'd rather do it while I am young. I've been thinking of taking 6 months and going around the world, staying at any location for 2-4 weeks. I want to continue wo…

Definitely do serious recon on what type of connectivity you will have wherever you're going. I did a month in Europe a couple of years and I was caught off guard by how much of a crapshoot internet access was. Luckily I was not remote-working at the time, otherwise I would've been screwed on a few occasions.

I'd recommend scoping out short term apartment rentals or the like (Airbnb might be a good bed). That way you might be able to get better internet access, as well as access to a host that can give you advice on exploring the city/country you're in.

Re: Lessons from 2 months of remote working

#28

Post by bmelton »

agentultra wrote: post #6

I've been working remotely more often than not over the last four years (a brief 1-year interlude when I was back in an office full-time broke up the streak). I definitely prefer it. The advantages are too awesome! I get to spend more time with my daughter (I'm a first-time father and she is just turning a year old today). There is hardly anything in this world that makes me happier than spending time with her. If I…

As another remote worker who primarily chose remote work to spend more time with his own daughter, I just wanted to offer you a big kudos for making the same choice.

Also, spot on with the biggest problem, working with an otherwise centrally located team.

My biggest issue is that, and also the fact that while my office is technically in Mountain View, my home (and hence, primary work location) is in the Annapolis, MD area, a few hours removed from theirs. As a result, while much of my time is respectful of the time difference, every time I work with someone new, or less considerate, I invariably get calls when I'm just sitting down for dinner, or 10 minutes after I've arrived at a bar, etc.

I don't generally mind, but I always worry about the perception every time I'm actually unavailable and that if it happens enough, I'll be seen as problematic. I'm told I'm overthinking it, and despite the fact that I'm generally more productive than the dev team sharing an open office plan, a lot of that advantage is mitigated by having to wait on meetings, etc.

Re: Lessons from 2 months of remote working

#29

Post by GVIrish »

tarr11 wrote: post #4
bhartzer wrote: post #3

Is it just me? Do you find that working remotely you can get more work done than being in the office with coworkers? The days that I'm in the office working I don't seem to get as much actual work done, because I'm spending most of the day in meetings.

It's too easy for people to call too many meetings. There is no real cost. Perhaps if it were deducted from your pay or something ... ;) I find commuting and all it's associated challenges exhausting (traffic, public transit, parking, etc) You also have to factor in how tired you are when you start to actually work.

I propose a meeting budget. Each manager gets a meeting budget of X minutes per week. Once you're out of budget, no more meetings, unless you want to purchase more minutes with real cash. That cash pays whoever you invited to your meeting.

Re: Lessons from 2 months of remote working

#30

Post by matwood »

bhartzer wrote: post #3

Is it just me? Do you find that working remotely you can get more work done than being in the office with coworkers? The days that I'm in the office working I don't seem to get as much actual work done, because I'm spending most of the day in meetings.

Sounds like they save the meetings for when you are there. When I worked remote for a few years I had a full day of meetings every Thursday. Remote or not, meetings are still meetings.
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