I wrote a few words about my process for remote development & PM at NPR. Seems like it might be interesting to this audience.
Making Remote Work Work
source.opennews.org
Making Remote Work Work
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Re: Making Remote Work Work
#2since i spend a lot of time in the console i have a few very simple aliases, for the following and some other time zones i use frequently.
cst='TZ=CST6CDT date'
est='TZ=EST date'
berlin='TZ=''Europe/Berlin'' date'
berlin -d '4:00pm EST'Re: Making Remote Work Work
#3This is all super valuable advice. The biggest thing that I've learned from working 100% remote for the last six months (which is also in the article) is to have a space that is just for work.
Another thing that I've learned is to be crystal clear on when your normal working hours are, especially if the bulk of your team is in a different time zone. Don't be inflexible, of course, but establish normal working hours and stick to them.
Re: Making Remote Work Work
#4A bit OT, but personally I've never found the need for a multi-zone clock or clocks. It's just a few offset quantities to remember, and the math is fairly instantaneous. Although it does get a bit hinky when shifts to and from daylight savings time don't align across differing regions.
Re: Making Remote Work Work
#5I completely disagree with blanket statements like "You should be pair programming". Ugh.
Re: Making Remote Work Work
#6"If your office has a phone system that uses short extensions internally, have your IT department set one up to redirect to your cell phone. That way you can tell your coworkers to dial “5555”, instead of your whole number."
Fantastic tip! Super simple but I really think this idea will make you feel more available to your co-workers.
Re: Making Remote Work Work
#7A bit OT, but personally I've never found the need for a multi-zone clock or clocks. It's just a few offset quantities to remember, and the math is fairly instantaneous. Although it does get a bit hinky when shifts to and from daylight savings time don't align across differing regions.
My calendar lets me have a sidebar to list the time in other time zones, for when I want to schedule something with someone in California.
Re: Making Remote Work Work
#8I completely disagree with blanket statements like "You should be pair programming". Ugh.
I prefer brainstorming. If you talk to workout the solution to the problem then surely afterwards you don't need to look over your colleague's shoulder while he's bashing out the syntax? I never understood the purpose of paired programming unless you're explaining somebody the syntax.
Re: Making Remote Work Work
#9"If your office has a phone system that uses short extensions internally, have your IT department set one up to redirect to your cell phone. That way you can tell your coworkers to dial “5555”, instead of your whole number." Fantastic tip! Super simple but I really think this idea will make you feel more available to your co-workers.
Protip: This can be done extremely cheaply with Asterisk and a SIP provider; it can be done faster at a slightly higher cost with Twilio.
EDIT: changed lower to higher @ "cost with Twilio". Need moar coffee.
Re: Making Remote Work Work
#10This is all super valuable advice. The biggest thing that I've learned from working 100% remote for the last six months (which is also in the article) is to have a space that is just for work. Another thing that I've learned is to be crystal clear on when your normal working hours are, especially if the bulk of your team is in a different time zone. Don't be inflexible, of course, but establish normal working hours a…
These are points #1 and #2 for me as well.
I couldn't manage more than a day in a row at home, until I made my own space for it. It went from impossible to more productive. Having a space just for work also eliminates the "at home commute" of switching out personal and professional computers/books/papers/phone/etc...
I separate my computer as well. I have a personal and professional laptop. I know a lot of people live the lifestyle and mix the two, but the separation keeps things clear for me.