Perhaps everyone would love the convenience of working from home. Though there are several professions that allow you to work remotely, it is not commonly heard that software developers work from home. They are expected to work on high-end systems, latest technologies that are usually available at work places, coordinate with other teams and clients, etc. So, if you are wondering how to work remotely as a software developer, here are some tips for you coming from Matt Campbell, who has worked remotely for a long time.

Work area

Your workspace should be free from distraction and comfortable for you to spend 8 to 10 hours. Of course, it should not be your bed; else there will be no difference between work and sleep. Choose a place where you have fewer or no visitors, or it will kill your productivity. Perhaps, you could work from a coffee shop where strangers do not have to talk to you.

Schedule

One of the biggest advantages of working remotely is that you do not have to follow a strict schedule and travel to office. So, as you are left with more time and flexibility there are chances that you will distract. Set a schedule and start working at a predetermined time. Decide your working and break timings and follow the same routine every day.

In fact, there is a wonderful quote by Frank Herbert that relates to the situation.

“A man is a fool not to put everything he has, at any given moment, into what he is creating. You’re there now doing the thing on paper.

You’re not killing the goose; you’re just producing an egg. So I don’t worry about inspiration or anything like that. It’s a matter of just sitting down and working. I have never had the problem of a writing block. I’ve heard about it. I’ve felt reluctant to write on some days, for whole weeks, or sometimes even longer. I’d much rather go fishing. For example, or go sharpen pencils, or go swimming, or what not.

But, later, coming back and reading what I have produced, I am unable to detect the difference between what came easily and when I had to sit down and say, ‘Well, now it’s writing time and now I’ll write.’ There’s no difference on paper between the two.”

Decide Limit

Working remotely doesn’t mean you have to be in front of your laptop all the time. Understand that you are still a professional and should not spend more time on a task that is outside of your obligation. Burn only agreed or required hours. Just like standard working hours at office, you should not spend more than 50 hours in a week for a standard job. Plus, work at the same time as your team. In case you are working alone, perform the coding work when your stakeholders in the project are available.

Timeboxing

Timeboxing is allotting a fixed amount of time for a certain task, and is a wonderful tool to avoid procrastination and perfectionism. Both these are common problems with software developers. Either we procrastinate the work, or we spend too much time to make out code perfect. Set a maximum time for doing a certain task and if you exceed the time, analyze the reason. You may try Pomodoro technique for timeboxing.

Constant Contact

Yes, even though you are working remotely you should be adept in communication skills. In fact the better you are at communicating, the better a programmer you are. As a remote worker, you may feel that you’re interrupting someone’s work by pinging them with a question. Don’t worry as everyone has their chat programs or email set up so that it bothers them in an appropriate way for them. Use tools that help you get quick feedback. Prefer chat and messengers over e-mail.

Back and forth emails lead to time-delay between each email. Getting on Skype with the person or people can yield much better results. You can use tools like Skype to chat and share files immediately.

Working remotely as a software developer isn’t that hard. All you need to do is to distract yourself from useless things, spend appropriate time on task, and keep the communication channel open.

Buena suerte!