How to Be a Good Remote Developer
Tags: javascript, beginners, tutorial, webdev
Published: 2020-05-31 22:23:40

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Being a good remote worker takes a lot of discipline. We have to do everything ourselves without anyone watching.

In this article, we’ll look at some habits we can adopt to become a good remote developer.

Practice Good Meeting Etiquette
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Good meeting etiquette is very important. Since we're starting at our screen for meetings and don’t have to go to a physical meeting room, it’s all on us to be a practice good meeting etiquette.

We should have everyone on separate screens. Our face should be on video if we’re participating.

Also, we have to pay attention and don’t get distracted by random things around us.

If we don’t have anything urgent, then we should do other things.

Being on the computer, it’s easy to take notes, so we should do it.

Also, we should probably wear work attire if we turn on video so that we won’t embarrass ourselves if we stand up and have underwear on.

Experiment With What Makes Us the Most Productive
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Since we aren’t using only office equipment and staying in the office, we can experiment with our home office setup to see what works for us.

We can wear whatever makes us comfortable as long it’s not underwear or any non-business clothing.

Also, we can shift our start and end times a bit as long we don’t miss any meetings.

The type of work that we do during the day can also change according to our schedule since no one is watching and micromanaging what we’re doing.

We can listen to whatever we want and sit anywhere that makes us more comfortable.

Also, we probably don’t have any set lunch hour. That’s nice since that means we can adjust our lunch schedule the way we wish.

Clear Communication
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Since we don’t see each other in person, we can’t read people’s body language to get what they mean when they type a message or talk.

Therefore, we should make sure that everything is clear and that people understand what we want to convey.

Dealing with different time zones and different mediums of communication also makes things harder for us.

Therefore, to make everyone’s lives easier, we should outline our ideas clearly and type out actionable steps.

Meeting notes are more important since we aren’t sitting beside each other to ask questions.

Instead of using a real whiteboard, we have to use a virtual one.

If we have to pair program, we have to talk and share our screens.

Also, no one will know how we feel over the Internet, so we should convey those clearly.

If we need help, we’ve to ask around since not everyone may answer.

Also, we should check our notifications so that we’ll answer people when we see them. People are waiting for our answers and this is more important since no one is around us to answer urgent questions if we need to.


Create Boundaries Between Work and Life
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If we’re working 9 to 5 at the office, then we got to set similar boundaries even if we’re working at the office.

There’s just no way that we can work 24 hours a day and not burn out and be tired.

Therefore, we should set some boundaries so that we cut off work the same way that we go home at the end of the day.

At the end of the day, turn off work notifications, close all our work stuff and relax. Also, we should take breaks like we do when we’re in the office.

We got to walk around and clear our minds. Also, lunch breaks are equally important, so we should have them.

Conclusion
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Even though we’re working remotely, we got to set our boundaries like we do when we’re working at the office.

The difference is that we have to make sure that we check our notifications more frequently during work hours so that we can answer people’s questions.

Also, we should make sure that we convey everything clearly so that we can be sure that everyone understands us.

Finally, to collaborate, we have to use share screens and use video conference software.