Remote tips

As a follow up to this presentation at Flock 2015, this page collects tips on how to be productive, connected, and effective as a remote worker. This page is not intended to be company specific!

Don’t poll email; schedule time to check it

Email is meant to be an asynchronous communication method. It's not something you should poll constantly. Focus on value work, and look at email a few times a day on your schedule. If someone needs to reach you urgently, they should know how to do that (e.g. SMS). If email is the only way you can be reached, either fix that, or find a solution that only alerts and distracts you for messages that meet a certain filter.

Organization’s not an accomplishment

Organization is a skill, or a muscle that you build. Thinking of organizing things as something you accomplished makes it sound like you're finished. You're never finished.

Also, if you're thinking of reporting to your employer that you got organized, you're telling them you weren't organized before. This is something you do for yourself, so you can do the job they pay you to do. You should be practicing good organization and focus constantly, the same way you breathe or eat lunch.

Change your location occasionally

Get an accountability partner

Take responsibility for your time

Books to read

• Remote
• The year without pants
• Time management for sysadmins