Ask HN: How do you deal with the isolation of telecommuting?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3301436

by francoisdevlin • 15 years ago

13 7 15 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Hi, I'm looking into starting at a job that is 100% remote with a completely distributed team. I've always done my best work alone, but I'm still anxious to be home in the house 24 x 7. Also, I'm married, so any insight how this affects the work/life balance would be great.

Any tips?

mzbridget• 15 years ago

I've telecommuted on and off for years and I'm doing that right now. Here is what I learned:

1. Always "get ready" for work. Do the same routine as you would if you were going to an office: shower, dressed, etc. It puts you in the mindset that its time for work.

2. Make it a point to work in a coffee shop or something similar at least once per week. You need to be around people as a human being and it breaks up your week nicely.

3. Make lunch or meeting arrangements with people in your field on a regular basis. Its similar to point #2 but takes it a step further in forcing you to communicate and interact with another person and its work-related.

4. Set very clear expectations with your family. Have a space that is designated only for work. Let them know that you're "at work" or they will bother you and you'll start resenting them.

5. Set a timeframe when you'll be off work. Let them know that they can expect say, between 5 and 6 pm and at that time you're off work. Period.

6. Never, ever do household chores during work hours unless you set a specific time during the day. For me, I don't allow any chores but there are times when I will set aside an hour and complete a task. The joy of working from home is flexibility so use it but wisely. The same goes for work. Don't allow 'creep' to set in because it can be a slippery slope. When you're off work - be off work. When you're at work - work.

Good luck!

krsgoss• 15 years ago

I've done it for over three years now. At first, it was really tough, now I actually enjoy it vs. the alternative. Some things that have worked for me:

- Invest in a good workspace, desk, chair, monitor, etc. Good ergonomics help immensely.

- Exercise regularly each and every day.

- Practice good hygiene as if you were working at an office. Shower and dress everyday!

- Get out of the house regularly to meet with peers if you can. I do lunch at least once a week with friends/colleagues to break things up a bit.

- I've used coworking spaces periodically which can be good if you find interesting people there.

- Start and stop at regular hours each day. I also try not to work anywhere and everywhere in the house. Stick to your office if you can.

Good luck!

qxb• 15 years ago

I think mzbridget and krsgoss make sensible suggestions elsehwere in the comments. On the topic of work/life balance, I'd add: try your hardest to "close the door" on your workspace when you've finished for the day. If you have a home office and can do this literally, then even better.

On the topic of having the same routine as if you worked in an office, I heard somebody once say that they left the house before work and walked round the block, rain or shine, to simulate a morning commute. They said it helped create the mindset mzbridget mentions (point 1).

ja27• 15 years ago

I worked completely remote for 2 years and anywhere from 1-4 days a week for the past year or two.

- Get out of the house. I'd set the goal of getting out twice a week. Worst case, go eat and work somewhere with wifi. If you can meet with friends it's much better. Look for techie meetups and other events (or start one) if you need to make more local techie friends.

- Remember that you can work from other places. I love getting to the library, bookstore, cafe, bar, etc. once in a while for a couple of hours of work.

- Set "office hours". This has been my biggest problem. It's very easy to roll out of bed, start working and not stop until well into the evening.

- Use video chat when you can. Some of my team hated it, but it's much more effective to see a face.

- I like to keep an open group chat room (we used Skype most) with the whole team. If you can do that without letting it interrupt your workflow, it's much better than people having 1-on-1 chats and the rest of the team never knowing about issues. A group chat room is more like being physically together without big long email chains.

- Don't be afraid to walk away from the computer to get things done. It feels hard to be disconnected while working remote, but I had to do it at times.

- I know others don't like it, but I'm fine with doing chores and running errands while working remote. Short breaks are good and occasional long breaks are ok too.

ohashi• 15 years ago

I know some people at my coworking space are working remote from the rest of their company/team. It seems like a pretty good solution to not be socially isolated despite being physically isolated from your company.

russjhammond• 15 years ago

Get a 2nd job. For two years while I had a 100% telecommute job I worked as a white water raft guide and a ski instructor. They started as just on the weekend but before long I was working my 2nd job 4 days a week.

Incidentally, I did my best work when I was working the most rafting/skiing because life was great and on the 3 days I did my real job, I was completely focused because I had no time to mess around.

pasbesoin• 15 years ago

Quality over quantity. In some of my past work, my team was rather "remote"; various members located elsewhere and/or working significant portions of their schedule from home.

I really liked many of them, and catching up for a few minutes on the phone far surpassed most of the semi-random office socializing that took place on-site. And at times, we'd work for a while together wearing headsets and sharing network resources. I found that every bit as good as physically sitting next to them. Actually, it was less distracting, not having someone physically a foot away from you, staring at your screen.

Make sure your voice communication is uncapped, and feel free to use it. (I'm not one for web cams; most of the time, there's no real point to having an image of the other duffer sitting at their keyboard.) And focus on those people you enjoy talking with. Take time to get to know their personality; you'll end up sharing the same humor and small asides that you would in-person.

(One fellow I got along well with and worked with frequently, I never -- over the course of a few years -- ended up meeting in person. Nonetheless, I feel that I got to know him fairly well, in the friendly co-worker sense.)

I'll add: Establish trust. Do what you say you will, and expect the same from the other person. Don't let physical separation be an excuse for not following through. This is more important than physical presence. And, if you are using physical presence to, um, "influence" (coerce?) people into getting things done, you already have a problem that is not really a matter of physical presence (or lack thereof).

The real world isn't perfect in this regard, but over time, you can emphasize the people you can trust and de-emphasize those you can't. It's a useful aspect in making career decisions.

Ask HN: How do you deal with the isolation of telecommuting?

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