There’s more to a remote dev job than hanging out in your pajamas.
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Are you an engineer or developer looking to breathe fresh life into your remote work experience?
The world seems a lot smaller these days. With so many jobs offering the opportunity to work remotely, there are many new ways in which people can set up their job so that it benefits them. A new context brings challenges and possibilities that, if engaged with well, can set you on a path to success.
For the past six years, Bunny Studio has been cementing its reputation as the best remote company to work for. Beyond lessons that help you do your actual job better, we have peeked outside of the box and found a variety of ideas that may allow you to enhance how you work remotely as a whole.
So, here are ten ways in which Bunny Studio team members and others have improved themselves as engineers and developers while working remotely.
1. Have a good, reliable internet connection. Because if you are working remotely, ensuring that you have an internet connection that won’t let you down is absolutely key. You might think you have this nailed down, but you might be able to learn a thing or two from Salun’s ordeal.
2. Don’t work from your bed. While working remotely will look different for different people, this is a no-no that many of our team will warn you against. Like Juan Camilo.
3. Have designated work clothes. Establishing a routine that will help your mind shift to work mode can be hugely beneficial. Separate work from play with the clothes you wear. This can help you stay focused on the job at hand.
4. Check in frequently. Accountability in the workspace is how to work remotely in a way that will help you stay focused and on deadline. Bunny Studio tech teams have daily remote check-in meetings to ensure that everyone is where they need to be.
5. Keep yourself healthy. If you are working yourself into the ground or not looking after yourself, both mentally and physically, it will eventually have a negative and costly effect on your work. Take a lesson from Tigran during his time at Buffer.
6. Networking. It can be such a powerful reminder to us that just because we are working remotely does not mean that we are alone. Take advantage of our meetup events and discover friends and relationships that will be mutually beneficial.
7. Encourage code reviews. Rafael unpacks how to work remotely in a way that keeps you on the cutting edge of your craft so that you remain competitive:
“When you are working on a code base shared across other developers, it’s important to establish guidelines that dictate the project’s structure. And by establishing formal code reviews, the team ensures everyone maintains top-notch code quality while being mindful of the established guidelines. Opening yourself to your peers’ criticism can be considered an integral part of learning the intricacies of programming.” — Rafael E. Belliard
8. Keep books by your workstation. Leo speaks about the little things that can help you take care of yourself while busy with a job.
“I’ve surrounded my work desk with books I love. If I have ten minutes or so between meetings, I’ll read a bit, stuff like that. Little things like that help keep me focused and inspired. I like being nice to myself.” — Leonardo Mojica
9. Learn another language. As people working remote developer jobs, we can tend to get set in our preferred languages. But using some of our downtimes to invest in adding a new language to our developing quiver is only going to add to our future success. Plus it can be a nice challenge to keep us sharp. Vanilson explains it well.
10. Improve trust. You’ve probably heard say about saving the best until last, and one of the best ways to work remotely is to let your team know they can depend on you. As Ryan unpacks here, “remote teams live and die by their trust”. By letting your team know that you are reliable, you will be creating a solid foundation for all future work together.
Everyone is different, and so it is up to you to incorporate the lessons that fit your particular life and context. But we would also love to hear about experiences and life lessons you have picked up while working on remote engineering or developer jobs, so please drop us a message in the comments. And, psst… you may even be the perfect person to fill one of our existing openings so make sure you take a look at our careers site and see if anything there is a match for you.
We look forward to connecting.
