Making remote work, work
I took the opportunity to go fully remote during COVID and haven’t looked back.
Working while fully remote might not be for everyone but it has been really positive for me. There was, however, a bit of a learning curve. These are a few things that have made remote work, work!
Make sure your workspace is set up well
Crouching over a too-short table in an uncomfortable kitchen chair all day is a surefire way to have a miserable remote working experience. Workspace ergonomics are important wherever you are, but can be harder to sort out at home. Things that have made a huge difference for me are a standing desk with perching stool, and ergonomic keyboard and mouse.
Use good collaboration tools
For instance, we use special purpose tools like Tuple.app that make collaborative coding really easy. As a result I actually spend more time pair programming now than when I was in the office. We also use collaborative white-boarding and design tools like Miro and Figma, so whether I'm working with other engineers or with designers and product managers, we can always work interactively together.
Make the most of any in-person time together with your team
The biggest adjustment to going fully remote for me was the loss of real life interactions. I find it can be hard to stay connected to my colleagues as human beings solely through virtual interactions. What helps me maintain that connection is our quarterly product-engineering together days. Specifically, the part of the day after we have finished work and go out as a group to do something fun. There really is no replacement for having an epic 30 minute ping-pong showdown to coalesce as colleagues!
In the end, working remotely might not be for everyone. But I've found that having a good home environment, using good collaboration tools, and getting periodic in-person time with my team has made for a really positive remote working experience.