Working from Wherever

February 1st, I started a new job. It was a really strange experience for so many different reasons. First of all, I have been working at Google for almost 9 years. There I had really learned the ropes and contributed to the software tools and libraries in big ways. I knew people and understood a great deal of institutional culture and lore. At the new company, I am an outsider again. Everything is new to me. I have a lot to learn about the software we build and the development processes in use at the company.

But, what’s probably the strangest part is that I have not physically been in the same room with any of my coworkers yet. I interviewed for the job over video conferences between myself in Atlanta, GA, and my interviewers in California, France, Canada, and Hungary. I have worked 10 days and had several conversations over video conference with dozens of colleges around the globe, and actually made progress toward making the software we work on together better. All without having to leave the apartment in Barcelona, Spain where my wife and are currently living. It is bizarre, and exciting, and pretty darn cool.

The biggest surprise has been my deep desire each day, when I finish up my work and am ready to turn my attention back to my homelife, to send a little message to the rest of the people who are still at work saying, “I’m outta here. See you tomorrow.” It’s strange to me because I never really noticed, when I was working at an office, how important I thought it was to know when my coworkers were available and when they weren’t. But, now I have this feeling that I want everyone on the team to know when I’m around and useful and when I’m not. I did mention it in our shared chatroom one day, and the response was a pretty unanimous, “Hey, nobody’s stopping you! Do what you need to do man!” So, I do it now, and it feels right. I think I’ll get the hang of this new-fangled technology.