Ask HN: How did you adjust to working remote?

2 points·xelia··4 comments

I’m a software engineer relocating to another country, which means I’ll be working fully remote instead of fully in office.

I love working from the office - getting coworkers attention easily, hallway conversations, socialization, more information I overhear and can use.

What are some strategies I can use to deal with the drawbacks of remote work? How did you do it?

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I was 100% remote for a decade before covid. My secret was always writing things down. Making sure emails were complete and self explanatory. The trick here is to avoid back and forth and do due diligence to capture requirements (and expectations) in writing.

It is natural for managers to drop new details in voice chat sessions. This can get out of hand, as it causes ambiguity (for which you will be responsible.)

Keeping a log of your time for your own purposes, down to 15 minute intervals will help especially when getting started (even if you're not billing hourly.) Doing so will help you grasp your own efficiency.

Take full responsibility for clarity.

And keep getting the work done!

That's it!

My company was already mainly remote when covid hit. Like everyone else we tried a few things online, as well as meeting up occasionally to work together outside eg in a pub or cafe. One thing that helped us work better with a key supplier was a scheduled ~1h or so watercooler session on Fridays with no agenda or anything, though if work items did come up we were allowed to talk about them!

Discord/Slack/any chat room. Don't ignore it and don't spam it. Use voice when it's convenient. If others won't use the channel or be responsive then find another channel or you will need a different job.

Don't even think about taking advantage of it. Be more dedicated to your work than you were in the office.

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