This year, I chose to become a remote developer, working from home 4 days a week. There aren't enough blog posts about working from home and how to make it work so I'll first explain why I became a remote developer, and then go on to my four essential tips on making remote working work.
Why?
This year marks 12 years since I've entered the workforce, for all of those 12 years I've been working in offices, so I fancied a change. Working from home has also brought me the flexibility to work around childcare, and be more productive at the same time.
How?
I've learnt a lot about how to work remotely over the past few weeks, so here are my four tips for how I've made it work for earthware and myself:
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Stick to a routine - I'm a morning person so start work at about 7:30, leaving at about 4:30. Sticking to the same routine every day breeds self-discipline and quickly breaks the temptation to start watching Jeremy Kyle.
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Have a place to work - It doesn't matter if it's a home office at the bottom of the garden, a study or a dedicated corner of a room but make sure it's dedicated to working, away from the various interruptions at home (I'm talking about you Jeremy Kyle).
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Invest in your work equipment - this isn't just about your computer, the desk and chair you choose are equally, if not more important. Investing in good equipment early will boost your productivity, make you more comfortable and help you enjoy working from home even more.
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Communication is key - here at earthware we use Slack and Skype for Business as our primary communication tools. Work out which form of communication you prefer (I personally prefer textual communication over voice calls) but make sure you communicate as much and in as much detail as possible.
