What I learned in the last 6 months working remotely
Something happened in 2020; you all know what, A pandemic. That forced all the companies to go remote. It was easier for some and not so for others.
Anyway, I joined SquadStack remotely as a developer, and I wasn’t so sure how it will go since I have never done/seen remote onboarding. But to my surprise, it was quite smooth. The onboarding, the setup, and all of it.
So here are 6 things I learned in the last 6 months working as a remote developer.
1. Discipline is necessary.
The line between personal life and work-life becomes very thin in remote work. Your bed is closer to your work setup, you take a look at it, and you think, “Hmm.. let’s lie down for 10 mins, I can anyway work lying down,” and everyone knows what becomes of that 10 mins. A few hours later, you are all comfy with a blanket and your laptop only to realize it has been quite some time and you didn’t get much done.
All those easy distractions around you and nobody to stop you from them, you look at your phone, scroll through Insta and Twitter to see what has been happening.
This all be avoided if you discipline yourself. Have a schedule and try to follow it. Start and end your day on time. Move things around in your schedule every few weeks, which will prevent your schedule from getting boring.
Having a separate work setup also plays a huge role.
Take breaks in between. Go for a 5 min walk. Stand and stretch. Keep the blood flowing.
2. Over-communicate.
Being remote and working at the same efficiency as being in an office is a little difficult. Communication plays an important role. Communicate every little detail even when you think it is unnecessary. Over-communication is not bad; under communication is.
Raise every red flag to relevant peeps timely. Discuss every little detail as many times as you want. Ask every little question. Use slack calls, zoom calls, or even phone calls but do communicate.
3. Make time for personal growth.
It can be hard working remotely, and sometimes you find yourself working late. Getting shit done. But that doesn't mean you have to shy away from personal growth. Keep some time on your calendar that you have to dedicate to your personal growth. You can do anything at that time, be it reading, upskilling, writing.
And it might be difficult for some people to stick to it, and that is fine. Blocking time on your calendar will continuously remind you that you have to dedicate some time for personal growth. Maybe you like doing it sporadically throughout the day, and that is okay too.
4. Make daily goals and prioritize.
I guess this is not something only remote employees should do but everyone. But this is one of the things which remote work taught me. Planning your day, listing your daily objectives. Evaluating them at the end of the day and organizing for tomorrow.
It’s okay if you didn’t achieve everything you thought you would do in a day; more importantly, focus on what you learned.
Some days it might be chaotic; you might have 100 things you want to do. Calm down. List all the things you want to do that day and prioritize.
5. Unplug when the day ends.
That urge to check the slack messages or to continue working on tasks because you never really go home. Those seem like nothing, but you have limited energy in the day. It is important to disconnect from work at the right time to replenish yourself for the next day.
Give your mind and body need time to recuperate, follow a healthy lifestyle.
Fix your working hours, and follow them. And there might be some days when you have to work beyond working hours, maybe because of some deadline or a lagging task and that is fine but those should be exceptions.
6. You are not alone.
You might feel lonely, alone in this remote setup we all are stuck in, which is common, and you might feel anxious. But that is fine; you are not alone in this; everyone is getting similar feelings. Everyone is going through the same thing you are going through.
“There is no substitute for Culture,” the kind of energy and atmosphere office provides is crucial, and you cannot substitute that with anything. The random discussions with your colleague. The discussions and debates on the next task. Those are the things that you cannot imitate at home.
Talk to people, schedule a zoom/google meeting, stay connected with people. Tell them how you are feeling, ask them. Engage in conversations. Plan weekend game nights. Virtual lunch meets. Talk to your manager about it, have frequent 1 on 1s frequent check-ins.
And if you need to take some time off, take it.
Thanks. Shubham.
