What do you like about remote work?

Interview with Shivani, a remote content writer who shares lessons learned

I love the flexibility remote work allows. I can make my own schedule and work from wherever I want to. Not having a daily commute is something I definitely got used to! It’s also a big responsibility and requires discipline. It’s an amazing feeling when you find a team that trusts one another and works well together. That’s when great work happens.

Shivani provides all you need to know about making remote work...work. She shares tips on finding the best remote work opportunity and thriving once you get it.

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Interview with Michael, a VFX artist that works remotely

I get to be home with my son more that’s almost nonexistent with other jobs.

You get to choose which clients to pursue, and some will pursue you.

You get to meet interesting people, I mean not in person but still pretty cool.

All kinds of ethnicities different cultures accents when you speak to people. That is probably the coolest part to me besides hanging out with my kids, meeting new people.

You get to see how people work professionally which helps you grow and mature yourself into someone more prone to a business atmosphere.

You make friends from all around the world; I still talk to some friends across the United States, Germany, Canada, and other countries.

In a sense it helps you as an artist feel complete.

I mean you can see your friends get hired at awesome jobs and wonder when you will get your shot, but honestly as a past goal I don't mind where I work. Just as long as I get a chance to create something and feel good about making it, I can honestly say remote work has done it for me.

It has challenged me quite a few times when I’ve had to fix other’s work, but I’ve grown as an artist and have a much larger knowledge base than I did when I went to college.

Michael is a freelance visual effects (VFX) artist, creating 3d models, mockups and videos while working remotely.

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Interview with Eddie, an Engineering Director

There's a lot to like about remote. Independence, autonomy, privacy, freedom, and health benefits.

• Enables me to hire the best folks for Litmus from (almost) anywhere, and as long as we're being intentional about building our culture, this helps avoid creating a monoculture.

Not worrying about commuting, traffic, parking, etc. Time is a finite resource, and over the years, this adds up to a massive lost opportunity cost, both personally and professionally. #killthecommute

• Control over my daily interactions and flexibility to react to life events. The ability to work around my schedule, instead of scheduling around my work, has improved my quality of life significantly.

Being in control of meals and meal times. Being in control of physical activity. Frankly, I am way less self-conscious about eating and exercising in the privacy of my own home, so both of those things have helped me get healthier.

Eddie is an Engineering Director - learn how he manages to absorb interruptions and manage information overload while staying productive.

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Interview with Nelvina, a fashion designer who designs bags and clothing

I love the freedom I have to choose my projects and be my own boss. Also, I did not make that much money with a full time job working from 7.30 – 17.15.

I can now wake up at 7.30, take time to enjoy my breakfast and start working at around 9. I don’t have to leave the house early and get stuck in traffic. I even have free time for my hobbies. If I want to go out in the morning, I can always work in the afternoon and vice versa.

Every job is different. I have worked on travel bags, diaper backpacks, bags for photographers, fashion leather bags, logo designs, label design, packaging, brochure,…

Even when I am designing backpacks for 2 clients, each one is different and I am always learning something new.

Nelvina is a freelance fashion and graphic designer that works remotely while working with clients all around the world

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Interview with Ben, a CEO/Engineer who works remotely

Flexibility! It's great to be able to work from anywhere, at any time.

It's also great to be able to hire people from anywhere around the world who are great at what they do, and not be limited to people who happen to live near to me.

Ben is a CEO/Engineer who works remotely - find out how he balances working at home and family life!

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Interview with Kevin, a developer and remote consultant

I love having the freedom to work where I want. I really enjoy being able to move around depending on the day and how I feel.

I like being able to choose the environment I work in. Too often, I've been forced to work in noisy crowded places with awful commutes that leave me frustrated and drained.

I like paying for a coworking space and having a say in how that space is run.

I enjoy the camaraderie of a shared working space. It's great to meet and mingle with people not in my industry (as well as people in my industry!) and learn new things.

However, I also liked my former at-home setup. I enjoy mechanical keyboards and blasting the keys at 100+ decibels, not having to worry about bothering others in an open-plan office.

I no longer have that setup (since I work from coworking spaces), but I am exploring ways to have a more dedicated desk.

I love not being distracted in person by the people I work with.

I really love the ability to be able to travel and work. My girlfriend and I enjoy hiking and camping, and we'll occasionally do longer trips that require us to leave on a Thursday evening.

Being able to just pull up to a coffee shop halfway through a trip, or work from a remote Airbnb, is one of the most wonderful things.

Also, the fact that I was able to move cities (from NYC to Boston) last year without so much as a hiccup in my work was amazing.

Kevin is a developer and consultant working on many different projects - learn which tools he uses to optimize his time management.

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Interview with Ayesha, a freelance writer that gained early clients through her blog

The best part of working remotely is the flexibility you get.

With kids and family, I strongly believe that at least one parent should be working flexible hours. It’s not possible for my husband since he’s working in advertising, so in our family, it’s me.

Ayesha is a freelance content writer—learn how she made the leap to remote work while building her blog and raising her family

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Interview with Igor Kulman, a software engineer building iOS apps remotely

I like being the master of my own time and the flexibility.

When I need to go to the dentist or have something in the apartment done, I do not need to tell anyone or ask for time off.

Remote work opened new possibilities for me, I can work for a German company with no physical presence in my country just as easily as I could for a local company.

I also like the peace and quiet that allows me to concentrate on the job.

Igor converted a part-time contract into a full-time remote software engineering job—learn how he did it and his tips for working remotely.

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Interview with Max, a Deep Learning Engineer with a winning strategy for distractions

The thing I like most about remote work is flexibility, which is likely what almost everyone will tell you. Although my day is fairly structured due to the needs of my family, the flexibility I have within those boundaries is invaluable.

When we had children, I had to take many vacation days to run errands in my former job. Things like a doctor's appointment in the middle of the day are no issue anymore, which also means my need for actual vacation days has gone down quite a bit since I work remotely.

Nobody at work really cares when exactly I'm online. It's expected of me to do my job, not to sit down from 9 to 5. So that's a massive improvement over previous office work. It's one of the primary reasons I currently can't imagine to go back to a "regular" job anytime soon.

In 2018 we spent more than two months away from home. San Francisco and any location in Europe is still the about same time zone, which is all that matters (if at all).

We've sublet our house with Airbnb most of the time, so traveling has never been that cheap either. Some people tend to be a bit envious of this, so I don't usually talk much about the time we spend abroad.

Hopefully, when remote work becomes more normal, that won't be an issue anymore. Spending time away from home is cool for a while, but being a "digital nomad" is not as glorious as many make it out to be.

Most people don't get to experience what it means to be away for a long time, so they don't know how much traveling they really want to do. I'm grateful to know how much is good for me, and if anything I'd travel less in the next years.

Remote work also means not having to drive into work and not having to commute means more time with your loved ones and for other activities.

Maybe even more interestingly, you can live where you want, not where the job is. That means you don't have to go for the best compromise that's close enough to your day job, so your commute doesn't suck too much.

Lately, I see a lot of movement counteracting the rural flight we see globally.

I'm looking forward to what happens when moving to a big city isn't your only option anymore, and remote work plays a significant role in this.

After a chance Twitter conversation, Max found a remote position as a Deep Learning Engineer —see how he manages distractions and maintains focus throughout his day.

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Interview with Bennah, a remote ESL teacher that teaches kids English all over the world

What I like about remote work is that I could stay at home with my family since I am home based and could deal with different nationalities.

I can take a rest and hold my time whenever I am available. I am not compelled to go to an office and stay there for 8 hours every day.

After having classes with the kids I have nothing to worry about, unlike in the office, I would still bring my works at home and I don’t have time to take a rest.

Bennah is an ESL (English as a Second Language) Teacher who teaches students from all around the world while working from home.

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