What do you not like about remote work?
Interview with Harry, an IT Architect who works from home
It's difficult when your home is also your office, so I've always struggled with drawing the line between work time and home time.
I feel as though I've improved over the years, although the challenge increases if I'm approaching a deadline on a project.
Harry has worked remotely for almost 10 years as a senior mobile, web and desktop developer—learn how he balances work with family.
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Interview with Cameron, a designer who works remotely at a WordPress agency
The only downside is that I sometimes miss the person to person interactions of working in an office space.
To make sure I don't turn into a hermit, I make sure to schedule time with friends at least once per week to hang out or play sports.
Learn how Cameron started full-time remote work after trying freelancing and starting a digital agency.
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Interview with Andrew, co-founder and CEO of Insured Nomads
It is not being able to be in person at times when it’s needed most.
Emotionally, it takes intentionality to keep a relationship strong when on the road or away from team members.
Andrew, co-founder, and CEO of Insured Nomads talks traveling while working, productivity tools, and the best advice he has received.
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Interview with Patryk, a Front-end Developer & UI Designer
I miss having face-to-face relationships with my colleagues.
Patryk has learned that there is no reason to wait for the flow - once you start working, it will happen naturally.
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Interview with Dane, a freelance writer and author with 7 published books
When I left my old job to go full-time freelance, I used to joke with people that I was trading all of my colleagues for a single cat – and that the cat would be more useful to have around. I’d heard a lot of people talking about how freelancing can get lonely but I’d never paid too much attention because I like my own company anyway and tend to get more done when I’m alone because I’m not being stopped every five minutes and asked for favours.
Still, perhaps I should have listened some more because it does get lonely sometimes and it also means that I spend a lot of time indoors. I often go a few days without going outside, and most of the time I don’t even realize it.
I’m also not particularly happy with my current living situation, but I’m trapped in a contract here until March and so I’m pretty much making the best of a bad job until we can move out to somewhere with a little more space. And hopefully a garden so that at least I can take my laptop and go and work outside.
Maintaining a work/life balance isn’t easy either, although it’s something that I’m working on and getting better at. But despite the cons, I don’t think I could go back to working for someone else because the advantages outweigh the disadvantages and I value the freedom that remote work gives to me.
Dane is a freelance writer and author who works remotely, and balances client work with writing his own books.
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Interview with Kirsten and Jay-Allen, remote team coaches & collaboration experts
Disconnecting is really hard: Because work is 100% accessed through your computer and your computer is always there, work is always there. It’s very easy to work much longer hours than you would when work is bounded by a physical location that you literally enter and exit.
Physical aspects: Staring at a screen all day and sitting in a chair can take a toll on you physically, and you have to force yourself to go for walks and take breaks, etc.
Remote team coaches, Kirsten and Jay-Allen, offer three pieces of advice for new remote workers and reveal the one question every remote job seeker should prepare to answer.
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Interview with Chloe, a customer support freelancer and multi-project expert
Getting immediate responses can sometimes cause delays which in turn leads to frustrated customers, but overall, I have no complaints.
Chloe uses the flexibility of freelancing to her advantage—see how she successfully manages multiple projects at one time.
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Interview with Melissa, a co-founder and remote work champion
I have the same answer. The flip side of the above is that sometimes I have a hard time taking breaks because there’s so little distraction when you can totally control your surroundings.
I think five-minute breaks every hour are important to stay energized and also healthy (get water, get out of PJs, go to the bathroom, stretch).
Sometimes it will be noon, and I haven’t moved from one position, hunched over my computer.
Working in an office sometimes forces you to get up and move around and engage with others.
Melissa started Work Well Wherever to help individuals & companies embrace remote work—see how she balances entrepreneurship, parenthood, & self-care.
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Interview with Vivek, an entrepreneur building a virtual office for remote teams
Social isolation has been the most challenging aspect of remote work. As much as I hate the dynamics of office culture, working remotely made me realize how much I missed the passive social contact that you get in an office. Human contact is critical for work fulfillment.
I work around the isolation by using Pragli to stay present with my team and replicate the impromptu conversations that happen naturally in offices. But, developing relationships outside of virtual settings has been the most important for me to prevent loneliness.
Being diligent about scheduling time to hang out with friends 2 to 3 times throughout the week has been great for my mental health.
The long San Francisco commute sent Vivek into remote work—hear about his three strategies for eliminating distractions & his must-have tools.
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Interview with Kristi, a CEO and remote team leader
It can occasionally feel lonely and a bit disconnected.
When I think back to days working in offices with some very funny and likable past coworkers, I sometimes wonder if I'm missing out on that day-to-day camaraderie.
But video chats, virtual networking events, and even being active on Twitter all help to alleviate that somewhat.
Kristi is a CEO, remote work author, and speaker. In this interview, she shares the impact of new motherhood and remote team leadership on her work.
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