Design your way

The debate on working remotely has been going on for quite some time. I noticed this and started paying attention to the discussion since I started Cool Design Jobs. There are some companies that allow the flexibility of working remotely to help keep the costs low while boosting the productivity of the employees. However, there are also companies like Yahoo, for example, that don’t think remote offices help promote collaborative thinking and company culture.

It is much more productive but working with remote teams is never easy compared to in house teams. With a home office you can successfully manage your time more effectively by using your multitasking skills and less time spent in traffic and trying to beat the rush to get to the office. Plus you don’t have to change out of your pajamas; just grab that cup of coffee and off you go. No traffic and no stress.

Many advocate against it

Brainstorming is a way that is less helpful, in fact it is frustrating as your idea backlog gets bigger and bigger. You get the hype of creating something new, but you aren’t finishing anything. So it all just stacks up.

One other problem that managers go through is who really works when the boss is not there? Some managers believe they will will get more ideas from their employees if they are supervising every single minute. The boss can see the productivity when they are with the employees but if they have to constantly watch them they are probably in the wrong job.

You don’t want to pay an employee and then have to watch them work. That’s defeating the purpose. You will need to hire someone that takes their responsibility seriously. You have to make your goal and be responsible to set your own hours and stick to it.

The Commuting Issue

If you are one of those people that have to drive to work every day and your commute I feel for you. The stress that this leaves for you can be total wipe out for your day. But don’t let it get you down. Sometimes even the commutes that are short can make your day into a disaster.

If you are driving back and forth to work usually it will take you about two hours by public transportation or by car if you are lucky and live fairly close. This adds up to about 480 hours of wasted time during the year. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could think of something constructive to do instead of wasting all that time?

You don’t have to get up at 5 A.M. to get your things together to sit on the expressway or in the inner city for two hours. There are other options. I’m sure you have better things to do than just sit and do nothing waiting on the car in front of you to move. Things would be a lot different if you were a remote worker.

Why would a company hire remote workers?

It is possible to hire foreign and domestic remote workers. By hiring remote workers from areas that have a lower cost of living, you may still see the greatest cost savings in terms of hourly rates.

There’s something productive about the thought of doing a project request to an international worker and having that project complete by the time you wake up the next morning. When managed correctly, the remote workers in different time zones can maximize your ability to ensure that productive work keeps on in the office, while you eat dinner or at the gym.

If you are living in a rural community your local employment agency may not carry a good supply of digital media artists or developers. If a company hires a remote employee it enables the company to find the right employees for their needs, no matter where and what country they are from.

Resources to use

If you try hard enough you can find some differences when you try to work remotely, in terms of collaboration with your colleagues, but there’s nothing you can’t do.

There are many resources that are available for collaborating between members of a team. Most of these approaches work regardless of your physical location as the methods range from rudimentary screen shots to full blown apps.

Invision App

Notable

Influence

Reel

Campfire

Screenhero

Skype

Google Hangouts

Join.me

Balsamiq Mockups

Asana

Google Drive

Sqwiggle

Floobits

Crocagile

Yammer

15Five

Twoodo

TeamTracker

Basecamp

Framebench

Marqueed

Cage

Conceptboard

GoToMeeting

WebEx

Tips for working remotely in an efficient manner

Like any other skills that you master, working remotely is also a skill that you must work on and some people do it better than others. You never know how it is going to turn out until you jump in and get started.

Remote work is not meant for everyone. You have to give it your best and it may not be for you. If you have three active kids at home you may not have the quietness to do this job. But you will never know until you try. But really give it a try like more than seven days.

One of the first things you should do is to establish a routine. Just because you are working at home doesn’t mean you get to sleep all day. Continue with your daily routine such as having breakfast, showering, and drinking your morning coffee.

Don’t let yourself go stir crazy or have cabin fever. This is the time to reach out to other designers or developers you know that are also working remotely. Do lunch with someone or get out of the house and work around people.

When you work in an office environment you often get interruptions so embrace the silence you have at home.

Sometimes when you work remotely you work a lot of long hours. When you really get into your work it is so easy to do. Make sure you don’t lose your balance, and devote yourself equally between your work and your social life.

For this type of work you need to be self-motivated and very responsible. No one is sitting behind you to make sure you complete your tasks.

I have to say, this may not be for everyone. You will need to find the right balance between you free time and your work. You can save a lot of money doing this saving on gas, clothes, and of course your time.