

Ask HN: How to get work life balance - antoniuschan99

Hi, I&#x27;m currently a contract web developer who&#x27;s getting a lot of offers to work in house. The problem is that the commute sucks and most of these companies don&#x27;t really want their contractors to work remotely meaning its difficult to juggle multiple projects at once. How do the contractors on hacker news manage to find work that allow them to work from home?
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gesman
I got a very decent offer to work in house in a different city in the area
where commute is sucks.

I accepted it, rented a tiny yet very comfy place 5 minutes walking from work
and enjoy every moment of it.

I don't even need car here at all.

Additionally to that I had a chance to learn really cool stuff i haven't had a
chance to get into before and this likely will guide my career going forward.

I been through my share of glamour of working from home and after few years is
sucked. I felt more like I'm suffocating without communication with likeminded
professionals.

Just my experience ....

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testingonprod
"When people think they’re going to do _this_ shit for the money and _this_
stuff for their souls, it becomes a real disservice. They’re resigning
themselves to be professionally schizophrenic: they’ve divided their minds in
a way that, at its core, is somewhat dishonest. Those lucky people who are
fully integrated at the highest level figure out how to make everything—their
lives, their work, what they do for fun, and what they do for money—all the
same thing." \- Michael Beirut

~~~
mrcold
Choose a job you love and you will find reasons to hate it.

This _" work for fun, not money"_ mantra is only promoted by businesses and
art people that can make a living. For everybody else, it's a nightmare.
Working for fun is still working. And at some point you're going to get tired.
Your boss is the only one who profits from your passion. And you get burned
out without an escape route.

Keep your passions to yourself. Work a job you hate. This is the only way to
lead a healthy and successful life.

~~~
auxym
I'm also realizing the "Do what you love" thing is bullshit.

No matter what you do, work will stay work. Some days you'll hate it, some
days it's alright. One piece of advice I liked is to take the artisan's
approach: do what you're good at and pick jobs where you can improve your
skills. At least you'll get some fulfilment out of it.

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lastofus
For me it has been finding companies that are so desperate for devs that they
are willing to be flexible on the working at home part. This is easier once
you prove yourself, and are willing to go into the office 2-3 days a week
starting out.

Also helps to talk to some technical staffing companies so that they can send
possible remote work your way as well.

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seekingcharlie
I really think you need to meet & work with a team in-person before you move
remote. Having that up-front interaction makes it quicker to build trust &
will give you more leverage. In your proposals, let them know that you're
looking for remote work, but that you can come in for X days/weeks as a trial
period.

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brd
I'd say take the in house contracts, keep them short, build up a client base
that knows you, and then emphasize work with those that are comfortable with
you being remote.

