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Tips for Remote Workers
105 points by vedranXYZ 10 months ago | hide | past | favorite | 58 comments
I worked from home for over 7 years.

Here are my top 20 tips for achieving maximum productivity:

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1. Find something that you enjoy doing most of the time. This is not a cliche. It is doable.

2. Get fiber internet, a 4k or better camera, an active noise-cancellation microphone/headset, and lights. It will pay dividends.

3. Separate living from a working environment. When I shut the door of my basement, that's it. Work begins.

4. I have my "office" shoes. I am primed to think that work just started when I am in them. It's a neat way to divide my routines.

5. Occasionally, go to a coffee shop or work with somebody you like for a day. Or go to the office.

6. Prioritize focused time. Block some time on your calendar without distractions. Just deep work. Google Calendar now even offers it under "focused time." I call it "doing the important work."

7. Always turn off sounds, notifications, and other distractions.

8. Please just put your phone out of sight and out of reach when on your laptop/desktop.

9. If you work on a computer, get a standing desk. That's it. Period. Go! And get that standing mat, too.

10. Figure out what calms you. Example: Sometimes, I take a shower in the middle of the day. On other days, I take a nap or go jogging.

11. It's OK not to be productive. Take time off the screen. Do it often.

12. Set up times in your calendar for (1) meals, (2) exercise, and (3) hobbies.

13. Try to have at least one day/week without meetings. Book it off. Fridays are good days for that.

14. Jam as many meetings together as possible. Keep meetings from being spread out too much. It will kill your productivity.

15. Do meetings standing. You'll finish them quicker.

16. avoid bringing digital/office gear to your bedroom.

17. Have two computers. One for work. One for fun.

18. Have something nearby that helps you to decompress... I have an electric guitar + and a loud amp.

19. Print out some valuable reminders. I have a picture that says: "Be kind to your mind."

20. If you can't get away from the virtual office, do something where you have to apply your undivided attention. For example, I do MTB or a long drive to someplace. Or do anything where you can't have the internet, and that'll do. :)

Add your tips in a reply...

—

P.S. I don't believe in a work-life balance. You are YOU, whether you are at the office or home. Hence, point no.1 is so important!

—

Keep creating




What comms app do you use that actually makes use of the 4K+ camera? Most of the Zoom/Teams/Webex calls I see are in 720p, with 1080p in some rare occassions. If you want to look good on cam lighting is way more important and in a well-lit environment a basic 720p camera is sufficient. Those cheap sensors do poorly in low light and that's why you get noisy images with low frame rate as the camera is struggling to get good exposure.

For the fiber internet that really depends on how the company's systems are set up. If you regularly need to upload and download large files, then fiber is a godsend. If you're developing over VDI or SSH with everything on the remote server, then fiber won't give you an advantage provided you have decent cable or VDSL. Rather what matters is that you have a stable and preferably wired connection.


The cameras usually have better sensors, not just the resolution.


yep, ccd size makes all the difference!


Fiber also means low latency. So no, it is really important.


Provided you have a decent cable or VDSL connection (not some crappy oversuscribed CMTS or something) the latency difference isn't really that much. After the CMTS/DSLAM it's all fiber anyways and the additional delay comes from the first hop from CPE to the provider.

Fiber: 1-2ms

DSL: 10ms (fastpath), 20ms (interleaved)

Cable: 15-20ms

Jitter is near 0 for fiber and is typically <5ms on a good cable/DSL connection.

All additional delays will be the same provided you're using the same ISP/routing. So say if you're connecting to your company's network with 50ms latency over fiber you may say get 65ms over cable. Over a SSH connection I can't feel the difference.


Take long lunches and get something done around the house. You're working at home. Might as well make it worth while. Do the dishes. Do the laundry. Wash your car. It doesn't have to be about work 100% of the time. If/when you do this, block some time off in your calendar for it so nobody is trying to contact you during this time.


I see the value in this, but I personally have not had success with it. I have found I am most effective remote if during my working hours, I don't do anything I wouldn't do if I was working at the office. For me, that means no laundry during the day, no extended lunches, etc. It keeps my mind in "work mode" and at the end of the day, I shut my office door and transition my brain out of work-mode.


convenient for you, less so for the partner, eh?


I don't think its any less convenient for my partner than if I worked in an actual office. Plus, I still have the added benefit of no commute, which means more time with my partner.


I'd say that there is nothing wrong with this list, but there is a bigger picture: Figure out what works for you. We are all different, and remote work gives us the flexibility to be ourselves. I tell people to talk to as many people who work remotely as they can, and take all of their advice with a grain of salt. Mix and match everything you hear, try things out, try your own ideas, and figure out your own particular flavor of remote work.


Yeah, I do the exact opposite, i want my life to blend (work and personal) during work. That's the advantage. I like my children climbing on me, or I like hearing what they are doing. If I need to focus, I will just focus, I don't need a separate environment. If they are particularly loud (scream continuously), I would ask them to lower their voice, that wouldn't be acceptable even if I wasn't working.

After work, I don't let it blend unless there are emergencies. if it doesn't blend while working, it would feel lonely, instead having lunch with my wife is quite nice!


Yeah, as someone who has been remote (including travel) for a lot of days over the past 20 years or so, I agree with maybe half of it. There are also a bunch of things I just don't do.

I don't have a standing desk; but I do have 2 or 3 work locations in my house. I obviously don't have a dedicated work area. Etc. As you say, figure out what works for you including the amount of structure that is useful.


All good tips. I'd add:

- Take a break every hour to stretch, have tea, do chores. Set a timer for this.

- Sit outdoors to take calls and do paper-based work. It feels nice.

- If you don't have a fixed schedule, stop working as soon as your productivity dwindles. Go ride your bicycle or do something meaningful. Don't stay at your desk for the sake of appearances.

- Set up coworking days with friends. It's just nice to have company.


Zoom work sessions with music are also great. Like focusbuddy but with colleagues.


I've been working from home exclusively for over 12 years. My general recommendation to people is to experiment and iterate! Find out what works for you. This list may be great for you (for me, the vast majority is spot-on), or some of it may not fit your style.

Spend a month doing something different. Rent a coworking space for a month if that's an option for you. While I largely agree with having a dedicated space (again, if that's an option for you), I also like to move around. Changing your environment can help you get unblocked. Sometimes I'll work out of my kitchen for a day. In the summer, I'll go to a local lake and work under a tree or from a beach.

Adding to the ideas of scheduling your meals and taking long lunches, take full advantage of being home for lunch and do yourself the favor of having good/healthy food options available. If I have food to make a salad in my fridge, I'll have a salad for lunch. If I'm out of healthy options, I end up eating garbage, like a bowl of sugary cereal. I try to make sure on Sunday that my fridge is stocked for the week, and as time permits, I'll grill a few chicken breasts for salads, omelettes, tacos, sandwiches, etc.


For those of us with families living in the house, please add:

- Set boundaries. When dad's in the office, don't bug him. He's working. When you see dad not in the office, give him a hug (unless he's on the way to the bathroom) <grin>


No! Please come in and give me a hug (or a grunt if you're a teen). I can take 5 for that.


I got 7 kids and we homeschool... without boundaries, I'd get nothing done. I take plenty of breaks and get plenty of hugs and I get to have breakfast and lunch with my whole family. I've been enjoying working from home for almost 15 years now. Find what works for you.


You have 7 kids mate, I'm surprised you can do _anything_ in life, lol (joking) ! With two it's hard enough (they are a joy though!)


seriously these other people are missing out on the joys of working from home


I don't have a separate office from my personal computer and I had to set boundaries with my wife.

Not that she'd ask me to do stuff, but that just because I'm home doesn't mean that I'm available for idle chit chat.

I also had to explicitly tell her that if I'm looking annoyed, it's because I'm deep in thought. I don't need a hug or to be told a joke or something to lighten my mood. I need to be left the fuck alone.


Here is an additional one for remote workers with kids - https://brajeshwar.com/2022/the-quirky-productivity-tip-for-...


A few more:

* If possible, set up your home office next to a window. Open the window whenever weather permits. I don't follow the "20-20-20" rule for eyestrain relief, but it's relaxing to just stare out the window for a few minutes when I need a mental break.

* Set up your keyboard, monitor, and desk correctly to prevent RSI, back problems, etc.

* If you're working, work. If you're not working, be somewhere other than your work laptop/desk.


daylight is a must. i have threatened to quit a job when our team was moved into a kind of basement if my desk wasn't in a room with a window. (the basement did have a few windows, and fortunately they were able to accommodate me. if everyone on the team would have made that demand though we would have been in trouble)


Not everyone has access to fiber internet or make enough money to be able to afford a space large enough where they can create a secluded "work only" space.


I agree with point 5.

Unless it's specifically forbidden by your work:

Reframe "Working From Home" as "Remote Working".

Don't limit yourself to your home environment unless that really is the best place for you.

Eg. I have found that although I have a good setup at home (including computer chair, mech keyboard, plenty of screen estate, silence, etc etc), I will often get more done with a small screen laptop in the local cafe - just because I'm amongst people and life.

I'll also go into the office occasionally for similar reasons.

Variety and flexibility are key - whatever works for you on a particular day at a particular time is the point.


3. I used to do this. Now I have a medical grade 6-foot monitor arm carrying my 32" display over my bed which tucks neatly into the wall. I have a set of pillows designed to make a seating position like an "anti-gravity lounge chair", and between a wireless keyboard, mouse, I've never been more comfortable.

Now, I am not married and live alone. I suspect I'll be ditching this setup if I choose to go down that road, again, but I ditched the whole "separate work from life" from a physical standpoint. It hasn't caused me to work "all kinds of extra hours", but it has allowed me to quickly sit up and write a few lines of code that are sitting in the corner of my mind keeping me from falling asleep. Before I'd just ruminate on them for hours b/c while I was awake enough to struggle falling asleep, I was tired enough to want to remain in bed.

When I dropped $300 on this thing I thought "this is a stupid waste of money" ... that week, my laptop battery failed resulting in it being impossible to use since any vibration causes the power cable to stutter resulting in its immediate hibernation. But plug it in and set it on a stable surface with an external keyboard/mouse and it'll run all day.

Since then, I've found I finish work feeling less sore (this position is extremely comfortable and my monitor stand adjusts/tilts so it's at exactly the right position). I'm no expert in ergonomics -- and I have a fantastic, highly adjustable (Herman Miller Aeron) chair in my office and an adjustable desk, but I've never finished my day without something aching until I started using my mega-bed-desk setup.

And the best part is it tucks away nicely so it's not the focus of the room unless I'm working.


Post a picture of your setup please!


LOL, I've been working a crunch time for two weeks that's just finishing up. I would never post my room in the condition it is in, however, I will post one after I have a weekend to clean :)


This is the stand I bought, though: https://www.amazon.com/gp/B07WRWFK33

Worth every penny -- it's very sturdy (pain to mount, must be perfectly level, but anything this big is challenging), and extremely adjustable (including stiffness at each of the positioning points which took a little while to get right -- you want to easily move the display but not so easily that gravity starts walking it around the room).


That link 404s for me, looks like it's the "AVLT Medical Grade 17.6 lbs Monitor Wall Mount - Mounts Ultrawide Monitor on 74" Long Extension Full Motion Height Adjustable Arm - for Healthcare and Maintenance Area"


That's the winner!


Working link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WRWFK33


... and I mean, I used to subscribe to nearly all of the "separate work from life" advice. I've been working remotely since 2004 except for a brief 4-years in the office. It's the reason my desk is "sit-stand" and I spent $1000 on a chair; I wanted my work environment to be a work environment.

And it bled into everything else that I did. I tried to replicate the office experience in my home office and I really had no choice at the time -- that's how everyone I worked with worked.

But in some circumstances, you have enough control over your work/environment that all of those artificial boundaries prevent you from taking advantage of the unique productivity benefits that working remotely can allow. I don't stress over how much I work. I work around 45-55 hours a week. I spend no time in traffic so on an average week I have more free time than I had in the office. I'm allowed to complete my work during whatever time of the day works for me. So I do. I write boilerplate better in the early morning. I write complex abstractions better late at night. I complete more work in less time because I don't get hung up on keeping hours.

Sometimes I fight with a problem for an hour, head off to bed, wake up at 2:00 AM and have the answer in my head. Having my computer nearby means "I do it" -- ten minutes, fixed. The usual path that went was "I forgot all about that until something reminds me of it mid-day after I've spent half that day trying to fix it." And that happens to me enough to add up to a few days of time. I still work the same total number of hours in a week, but I am less stressed because things are being built better, fewer mistakes are being made and the "impact of my job on my life" feels like a lot less.

Reading through your list, though, it sounds like you are already a very disciplined person. Outside of "writing software", I am not (which is why your #1 is so important, I'd have a tough time working remotely if I hated my job). It probably works perfectly for people who share your personality. Most of the items on your list I have tried at one point or another and because of my personality/tendencies, mostly backfired. Most of the changes I made are centered around eliminating any friction related to "getting started". If my bladder isn't screaming, the first thing I do when I wake up on a week day is grab my monitor and turn it on/check work-related things. Within ten minutes, I'm awake, I get up and do the morning routine/breakfast/etc. But it keeps me from having to "do the drudgery stuff" when I'm ready to "start working" and it helps me to get into a "work mood" when I'm waking up -- both of which I hate doing, but doing them together feels like I only "take the hit once."

For example, I learned early on that I hated working in my office. I used to sit at the kitchen table with a laptop, sometimes while the kids were playing video games, but usually with a TV on some program I've seen a million times. I need the non-distracting noise and open space or I feel the need to get up so frequently that I can't focus long enough on the problems I'm solving. I carry my laptop between rooms when I'm feeling stuck and it often helps.

In almost every way the more I remove from "forcing an office way of working on my remote work life" -- essentially, giving myself as much freedom around where/when/how I work -- I am more productive and much happier.

And just to restate: I'm not taking issue or saying any of your advice is wrong. Most people do not work the way that I do. Maybe most would find working my way horrible or might lead to being a workaholic (my motivation for changing things was to work less and it worked ... for me). I get that there's probably a lot of folks who would have exactly the opposite experience doing exactly what works for me, or would find it to be distracting/problematic. I'm just putting this out there for the folks who are struggling following advice like this (everything I've said goes pretty contrary to the common wisdom about working from home including every bit of information every employer has ever sent me on the subject) ... So if my advice makes sense to you, maybe you're backward, too, and you need something different. ;)


Number 2 is what everyone else needs to do. It's so annoying being on a call and not being able to hear people because they have a cheap microphone, or use the one in their laptop. Having drop-outs because they are on a bad connection, or more often WiFi doesn't help either. It all adds to the cognitive load.

Of course we all need to do the same for everyone else's benefit too :-)


> Separate living from a working environment.

This is _so_ key. Even if it's just having a laptop where you open the lid to work and when you close it, you're DONE. If you don't find a way to separate "work" life from "home" life, you'll go crazy.


Totally agree. I have my personal stuff on one desk and the work stuff on another. When I turn one way it's all personal stuff and the other way is only work stuff. There is no overlap between personal and work devices and other equipment. Obviously it helps if you are able to have a separate room or at least a section of room for work.


Also, work email on your personal phone is the road to hell.


Totally. If they want me to check anything work related on my phone they have to give me one.


As someone who has done a lot of work travel and work from home, I'm going to argue that it depends. You set your own boundaries and not everyone needs to make it about closing a lid on a laptop. I don't go crazy and I've had a lot of great experiences mixing business and pleasure on the road (and around my home).


Discipline. For work, and for personal time.

And good gear. Don't cheap out on what you use to make 100% of your income and has an impact on your health.


I just enjoy the liberty to take a quick 20mn nap between meeting under the sun... this is the quality of life of working from home


Is there any good alternative to Upwork for remote work? The last few weeks all I am getting interest from is sophisticated scammers trying to get work for free. The tricky thing is that these people still have good ratings on the site.

My last two projects were only two weeks ago. But at this point I am only a couple of weeks away from having to either beg my family for money or shelter or just becoming homeless which I would almost prefer in a way because I have never asked them for anything and really don't want to start.

If anyone has work, I have lowered my rate again from where it was before because I'm pretty scared. https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/jasonlivesay

I did post in the who wants to be hired yesterday but no response.


fiverr has been recommended to me, but my first impression is that it doesn't look any different than upwork.

how much time do you spend on applying for projects?


As much as possible every day. But they have a limitation system called "Connects" so you can only do so many every day.

The last few weeks I have had more people act like they wanted to hire me and turn out to be scammers or wasting my time than I can remember ever happening before. I have had multiple long "interviews" where it eventually becomes apparent that there was no job and they just wanted a free consultation.


Excellent tips!

> 18. Have something nearby that helps you to decompress... I have an electric guitar + and a loud amp.

I've got one of these. It's loud but doesn't disturb the neighbours.

https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B0824PN6WQ


Don't forget the small things. Obviously, ergonomics and having a separate work space are important, but what frequently gets overlooked is having an area that you actually want to work in.

- Get some plants, photos, or other decorations that add some life and personality.

- Dislike having cold hands? Get a heated desk mat (I started out with a heated mouse but upgraded since I hated only having a warm mouse).

- If you don't like seeing a mess of cords, get monitor arms and cable trays.

- Figure out what size cup/water bottle you prefer. If you like to get up and stretch a fair amount, a smaller cup can provide more excuses to do just that. If you're like me and drink less from smaller cups since you don't want to risk running out when you're in the zone, get a larger one.


I like how the office tips here are way more hardcore than when I'm actually IN the office. If my normal work from home routine I am more productive than in office, I can't imagine if I implement these rules!


These are great. BJ Fogg's Tiny Habits book shows how to design behaviors using prompts like "when i enter the office, i do five pushups," or whatever makes you more productive...


> I have my "office" shoes

Well I won’t claim that I haven’t worn shoes at all in the last 4 years, I can safely make the claim that I haven’t worn shoes within the 4 years in my home office to both my wife and pedicurist’s chagrin


+9000. This is the kind of post that we need @ HN. It is neither pro- or con- work-from-home. Rather, it says, if you work remotely, here are tips to stay mentally and physically healthy. Thank you!


Hard disagree. Although the content of this post is good, the last thing we need is everyone turning HN into their personal blogging platform.


Add this:

- move some months a year in a different country/city, so to take serious advantage of your working remotely privilege - never lose a sunset


I so wish I could do this, but once you have kids, and especially once they are in school, this becomes a non-starter.


A few pull-ups or a few burpees between meetings make me a happier person.


OK but what's your skincare routine? How many crunches can you do?


I have been working almost remotely since the pandemic. I have a family with wife and son. Here are my recommendations for a family man:

- Send kid(s) to daycare ASAP unless you really want to homeschool. Send them to swimming/boxing/whatever during weekends too if you can afford.

- Exercise...a LOT. I can't do it as much as I like because I have small issues all over my body. If you can, exercise as much as you want, and buy massage and physical therapy services as much as you want.

- Completely split work and life with separate equipment, home office (with a hanged sign if possible), separate "uniforms", separate furnitures and such. If you have to deal with some emergencies in life (work is a lot forgiving regarding emergencies), quit the home office first. If you have to do off-time on-calls, speak to your manager that you only have limited capacity for that.

- Hire cleaning services maybe once per 2-4 weeks so that you don't have to do deep cleaning once for a while. Since you are working remote I assume you have good salary. Same principles for other services. If wife complains about cost, ask her to do it.

- Have an indoor hobby and a couple of outdoor hobbies and try to bring your kid onboard ASAP. Why two outdoor hobbies? Because in Canada there are about...4 months of winter so you might have to switch hobbies (e.g. camping in summer and skiing in winter). But again, this is totally up to you. I'm actually going to do a lot of winter hiking/camping when my son reaches say 7-8 when he is strong enough, so I only need to keep one outdoor hobby.

- If both of you are working remotely, it's important to keep good relationship with your wife. I figured out that the closer two people are, the more nitpicks they will make for each other. Keep separate home offices. Buy a few surprise gifts once for a while. Whatever that works.

- If you find a good recruiter, and if you are of at least senior position (for us IC, that is: senior, lead, staff), I'd advise keep a good relationship with the recruiter. Remote jobs are less common these days and you never know when it's going to become rarer.

- Be flexible. This is really very important as being flexible smoothes everything else. If you have to stay in a certain city, that means your opportunities have a foreseeable upper limit. If you have to stay in a certain country, that means you cannot enjoy other opportunities.

- Learn a bit about home improvement (I don't know much at the moment). You can actually turn it into a hobby if you want. If you are a handyman, this not only opens new opportunities on the house market, but also improve your flexibility. Let me explain: There are MANY houses out there that are badly maintained with a cheap price (and still no buyer because of the status), and if you can do some improvement and undercut the contractors they are you to take. My friend managed to paint all of the rooms and remove all floor tiles, carpets and other stuffs with a crowbar, which saved a HUGE amount of $$$ in renovation (painting the house alone will take maybe $8K-10K). This also improves your flexibility as you can now move to remote areas and enjoy the view, without worrying about finding a plumber when there is a small leak.


(Ask HN:)




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