Any tips?
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!
- 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!
- 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.
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.
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).
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.