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I've been mostly working remotely (80-90% remote work) as a developer and consultant for over a decade. The changing point for me was to have a dedicated offic
by jackson23 10y ago
I've been mostly working remotely (80-90% remote work) as a developer and consultant for over a decade. The changing point for me was to have a dedicated office space (an entire bedroom or den). Let's face it, if you are working late in the evening at the office and no one else is in the office, what difference is there from working remotely? Now, for me, it mostly doesn't matter where I work from: home office, rented space, living room in a La-Z-Boy, coffee shop, etc; anything but a cubicle or an open floor plan.
Slightly off-topic: my wife, who also works remotely and has a dedicated office space (a tricked-out bedroom), commented today how she hasn't had a sick day in over two years because she is not exposed to the multitude of germs and viruses she was exposed to in the corporate office. I noticed similar results: I have not called in sick to a client in many years while working remotely. Not getting sick as much is definitely a productivity boost. Not having to shave and dress up (good ol' pj pants and a polo shirt top works great on skype) and make a two-way commute are also productivity/lifestyle boosts.
I also have a camera behind me, overlooking my monitors and the back of my desk chair (the monitors are not readable by the camera, can only make out color blocks but can't read 12pt text). When someone skypes me, I just turn around to face the camera. The viewer can more easily see that I am actually working and if I have to check something on the computer, I just turn around and let them watch me work on it. This has been very effective in eliminating comments/feelings that remote workers are ineffective.
This week I do have to be onsite and the weekly commute will eat 15-20 hours, depending on traffic, for my 26 mile commute (each way). That is 15-20 hours of basically nothing but listening to podcasts or music. That's a productivity hit, as other than the feel good of being in the office, there is nothing that I could not do remotely, but it is a new client so I think it is a fair trade off.
I also stopped using the phrase "work from home" as I truly can work remotely from any location with electricity and optionally, wifi/cell service. I once worked remotely for two weeks from the campgrounds near the Redwood National Park and just drove to Crescent City to send/receive emails and code every evening during my nightly and rightly beer run. I did have regular or extended cell service (no data tho) if someone needed to discuss anything urgent.
- lifeisstillgood 10y agoI like the camera position trick - very nice
- jackson23 10y agoGlad you liked it. I use a cheap $9.99 1080p manually zoomable camera and a 20 foot USB extension cable routed under the chair mat and up a 5.5 foot tripod to the camera. Having the camera taped to the tripod (no proper mount on the USB camera) makes it super easy to use the tripod controls to pan, tilt, or lock in place. Due to a conveniently located shelving unit, the tripod's legs are not fully spread out, reducing the tripping hazard. A simple loop of paracord and a knot 'secure' the tripod head to the shelving.