DEV Community

Discussion on: There Be Monsters in Working Remotely

Collapse
 
rlipscombe profile image
Roger Lipscombe

Do you ever miss having co-workers around?

Rarely. I work with computers because I don't like people.

(only half kidding)

Seriously, though: I miss having co-workers around because it's good to have people around you can bounce ideas off. You can usually get around this with email, Slack, Skype or whatever; but you've got to be careful that your office-based colleagues make themselves accessible this way. Scott Hanselman writes more about this imbalance (and other things) on his blog.

I've never been one for the "social" aspects of people in the office. I don't talk to people in the kitchen; I don't hang around the water cooler. I've got work to be getting on with, and I don't care what your kids are up to. If you want to shoot the breeze, we can do that outside the office over lunch, or after hours in the pub.

I should point out that this is the second time I've worked remotely. The first time I really struggled, mostly because of the lack of direction/idea-bouncing. This time I'm 14 years older (which might be a sign of emotional maturity, or just that I'm more senior and need less direction...), and I'm really enjoying it.

I can end up working well past my personal work schedule...

I find the flexibility in hours to be a double-edged sword: overall it balances out, but some days I feel like I've not done enough, and some days I'll do 12-13 hours or more.

The fact that I don't have to commute any more means I have time to spend with the kids -- I walk them to school in the morning, for example, while my wife is on her commute.

It's important to have a place you can call "work", so that your family or housemates know not to disturb, and that you can set up properly. Sitting hunched over the kitchen table on your laptop is a recipe for a bad back. Get a decent-sized desk and an ergonomic chair, just as you would if you were working in an office.

You're going to be even more sedentary than a regular office worker, so be sure to get regular exercise. Walk at lunchtime, join the gym, take up swimming. Whatever works for you.

Collapse
 
stephenwilson profile image
Stephen Wilson

+1 "I've got work to be getting on with, and I don't care what your kids are up to." lol

Collapse
 
cdvillard profile image
Charles D. Villard

I've been actively trying to make it out to the gym after I gained 15 pounds in nine months.

Collapse
 
ben profile image
Ben Halpern

Do you employ any mid-day exercise when you're working from home?

Thread Thread
 
cdvillard profile image
Charles D. Villard

No, not really. I've only recently started hitting the gym near me, and I try to sweat it all out there in the morning. That said, my daughter gives me plenty to chase during the day.

Collapse
 
tastycode profile image
Tommy Devol

I like running after stand-up. I get my running shoes on when I wake up, practice the piano, have coffee. Tell my partner I'm going to get to work, see what branch I'm on and what my notepad says, and just sort of start working. I have a big desk in the middle of our house with a nice monitor and lots of light. After stand-up, I run to the river and meditate on the Mississippi. I run back, and do errands, I come back to work after an hour or so and sometimes take my laptop somewhere else and work until my battery dies, then I take a break, plan dinner, and go back to my desk. This next few hours I'm way more productive, mostly because I've had exercise, meditated and made sure most of my personal things are done.

I sometimes need to bounce ideas off of someone, I usually just ask someone on slack if I can just type them a bunch of messages and that I don't expect them to respond. Sometimes I start a call with someone. Usually gets me past the block. If not, I save it for our after-standup meeting.

I haven't gained any weight since starting working remotely, though I've tried to lose some and only marginally succeeded .