The Enigin Guide to Remote Working

Enigin Development > Lifehacking > Productivity
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Having spent a lot of time working remotely for Enigin and various other companies, i’ve compiled a list of what I consider to be the ultimate guide to remote working. Often called ‘working from home’, but that’s way too descriptive.

1) Prove it works

The first thing you need to do is to persuade your employer to allow you to have a trial period working out of the office. This may not be easy if you work for an old-fashioned company, but most technology companies, including Enigin, are very open to ideas which increase employee happiness and productivity.

You need to be smart at approaching this subject with your employer. I compiled a list of benefits and case studies from other companies who allow a large percentage of their full-time staff to work remotely. Sell the benefits rather than dwell of the fact that you’re not in the office.

Once you’ve completed a trial period, talk about working from home on a regular basis, maybe once or twice a week.

2) Technology is your friend!

There are many ways to communicate with your office people. Skype is the main programme which I use and it is more than just a voice application. You can use it to share screens with other colleagues, send large files and also to use it for group chat. We also have access to our company file server via a VPN (Virtual Private Network) link.

In the development team we also have access to an online source control repository, which holds all of our programming code. This enables us to work together on projects, as if we where sat opposite each other in the office.

3) Forget the 9 – 5, but be available

If you are remote working then you shouldn’t feel you need to put in a 9-5 working day. How about 6-2? or 12-8? or 7-10 and 12-4?

Try to find your most productive hours of the day, if you can fit 8 hours work into 6 then you should enjoy the fact that you finished early that day (or get a head start on the next project).

There’s once big caveat to this. ALWAYS BE AVAILABLE! If your colleagues need to contact you during normal working hours then you need to ensure you are available. If the poop hits the fan and you’re not on the radar then your working from home days are going to cause resentment among your office-based buddies! Not good. Always be available, even if you’re not always in front of a computer.

Interestingly enough, I usually find myself working longer when at home!

4) ‘Working from home’ redefined

Everyone talks about working from home, but why limit yourself? In the building next to my apartment there’s a great little cafe/bar which provide free wi-fi. A pair of headphones and I can work just as  effective as I can from home or the Enigin office. Generally no-one bothers you and you’re only a few steps away from lunch and drinks!

5) Get the work done!

Remote working allows you a flexibility you’ve probably never had before. If you are not a self-motivated individual then it’s easy to just think of it as a day off. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Your company is paying you to operate remotely just like any other working day. You need to make sure you get the expected level of work completed.

If you are seen to be dropping in terms of productivity then your days working remotely are probably coming to an end.

6) Be social – People are good for you!

If you are going to be working from home for a sustained period of time then you need to ensure you don’t suffer from ‘cabin fever’ – being locked up on your own for a long time. Try to find some time in your day to get out or visit some friends. Being around other people can be a real motivator and being somewhere like a cafe really helps with this. I find it pretty cool working from home in the morning and then heading out to a cafe for lunch and then working for a few hours after lunch in the same place.

7) Quit, if it doesn’t work out

If you discover that working remote doesn’t work for you personally, then don’t be slow in giving it up. It’s better if you decide it’s not working rather than your company does. You can always try again in a few weeks/months.

To maintain concentration whilst remote working takes a certain amount of self-motivation. It’s not for everyone and it’s fairly easy to get distracted but it’s a great way to work if you can get it right!

Photo by Giorgio Montersino (http://www.flickr.com/photos/novecentino/2340521934/)

Enigin goes grazing…

Enigin Random! > Productivity
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A few cool people in the Enigin office have started ordering ‘Graze’ boxes through the post. The Graze box contains four varieties of nut, fruit or seed and helps combat 3pm trips to the Enigin snack box! The natural goodness also helps maintenance a stable blood-sugar level and helps you concerntrate.

If you’re in the UK, then you can order your FREE trial Graze box by clicking on the following link and signing up.

http://www.graze.com/p/T4B2FHF

Why this Enigin developer is replacing his iPhone!

Enigin Random! > Lifehacking > Productivity
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Apple’s iPhone is by far the best phone ever created! It has the best user interface, the most intuitive features and is the best collection of technology that you have ever held in your hand.

It allows you to be always connected to your customers, friends and even people you don’t really know who want to send you ‘Crazy Pirate’ requests on Facebook. And here lies the problem, when you are always connected people expect you to be available 100% of the time and reply to their requests. This ASAP mentally can leave you feeling stressed and uneasy about your time off.

So here’s the experiment. This week sees the arrival of my new Nokia cell phone, it’s basic… really basic! No touchscreen, no MP3 player, no flashy email client, no apps, no web browser, i’ve even opted for a Pay-As-You-Go tariff. I intend to use this phone for the next month and keep my iPhone at home.

At the end of the month, if I really want my iPhone back then I can start a new contract… otherwise, I would have found peace in my new(old) communications device!

Enigin Productivity Tip #3: Stop being productive and have some time off!

Lifehacking > Productivity
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Enigin

It’s impossible to spend all your time being 100% productivity. At some point you and your body will need time off to rest and do things which are not related to work. Most people (including myself up until a few months ago) get frustrated when they are not feeling productive and attempt to plough through anyway, often working to exhaustion.

I’m a complete workaholic and regularly work long hours on Enigin and personal projects because I choose to. I know that getting work done in my own time means that there’s not so much pressure on me during work hours in the office. It also allows me a little freedom in the jobs and projects that I work on during the day because people know that I get stuff done.

But overworking can’t be good for us, right? That’s probably true. I regularly forget this and am feeling a little run-down at the moment. So my mission for the next 7 days is not to work outside of office hours. Will I achieve it? Probably not… but it’s worth a shot for a week or so!

Enigin Productivity Tip #3: Red Flag: The Rules

Productivity
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Enigin

This week, we are trialling a new ‘red flag’ system in the Enigin development department. We had our designer, Alan, create some flags which we attach to our Apple Cinema Displays with the help of Cocktail stirrers and bluetak. When we want some ‘concentration’ time we simply set the flag to the upright position, indicating that we don’t want to be disturbed unless it’s an emergency.

Here’s the full set of rules:

  • If the flag is in the upright position, then Enigin staff are encouraged not to disturb us unless absolutely necessary.
  • If an interruption is absolutely non-avoidable, then email is the preferred method of communication. Simply put ‘Urgent’ in the subject line.
  • The flag is only allowed to be raised for 3 hours at any one time. This allows your colleagues a period of time to get answers to their questions.
  • No sales calls should be forwarded to a ‘Red Flagger’
  • We have yet to come up with a punishment for Red Flag abusers, but rest assured, staff in violation will be dealt with swiftly!
(For the sake of my job, the above rules don’t apply to Directors of course!)

If you work for Enigin and would like your very own flag, then these can be purchased from the Development department for the tiny sum of £1.00

Enigin Productivity Tip #2: Deciding what is important

Productivity
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Task List

One aspect of productivity is deciding which of your current tasks are important and which can wait. You will know instinctively which tasks you should place in high priority, as these are the tasks which are giving you the most ‘hassle’ at that time. ‘Hassle’ maybe in the form of a customer who keeps contacting you, a fellow staff member putting pressure on you or an order may have come down from the Enigin Management team for some work which needs urgent attention.

I mentally sort my tasks in to the following categories:

Urgent – This needs to be your number one focus until such time as it’s complete, nothing is more important and your life will be easier once it’s over. Having more than 1 task in the ‘Urgent‘ category will probably increase your stress level!

Important – These are tasks which are time-sensitive and need completing as soon as possible. If you’re not careful then ‘Important’ tasks can soon get elevated to ‘Urgent‘

Other – These are items which you’ve discussed with a co-worker and the phrase “when you’ve got time” is heard. Not time-sensitive, but tasks from ‘Other‘ can at anytime be elevated to ‘Important‘

Many people promote the use of a ‘all singing all dancing’ task management application, but I find that simplicity is the way forward. At Enigin, I started by using a pen and paper but then moved on to using TadaList by 37signals about 5 months ago. I am now considering moving back as there is something satisfying about drawing a real line through your tasks as they are complete!

You can also use your email inbox as a task list, but this has a huge drawback… it means that anyone can add items to your task list without asking you first!!