Enigin Digital

The Enigin Guide to Remote Working

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/)

This Enigin Developer’s Morning Challenge

Back in January I wrote that I was going to attempt to become a morning person. It’s now four months on and I thought i’d provide an update on my progress.

Well, it’s gone quite well! For the last few months, i’ve been getting up at 6-6:30am every morning! (except weekends when 9am seems an appropriate time to rise!).

The first few weeks was a nightmare. I’d hear the alarm and sit on my bed for the next 30 minutes resenting the fact that I had to wake up at all! But it’s getting very easy now, and i’m jumping out of bed with energy every morning, sometimes even before the alarm sounds!

Has this had a positive affect on my life? You bet it has. I have plenty of time for breakfast, a nice long shower and I’m usually among the first to get into the Enigin office every morning. (As oppose to being the last!). But the biggest difference is how much more energy I have.

So was this experiment a success? Yup! It’s going to be part of my usual operating parameters in future! (That was a geeky software-related sentence!)

My next life experiment to be announced very soon! It’s a big one!

Photo by Mundoo - http://www.flickr.com/photos/mundoo/285220997/

A Promotion for this Enigin Developer!

As of today I am now titled ‘Software Development Manager’. That’s a scary title and means that i’m now responsible for every piece of software which Enigin develop!

So, look forward to some awesome software from Enigin in the future!

Personal Goal for this Enigin Developer

I’ve never really set New Year’s Resolutions before but here’s one of my personal goals for 2010 which, as of writing this article, i’ve already broken!

- Become a Morning Person -

Yes, really!

I hate mornings. I really hate mornings. I’m very much a ‘night’ person. I find that I am my most productive between the hours of 10pm - 3am. There’s no interruptions, nothing on TV and for some reason I find it easy to do the tasks which i’ve put off the day before. My mind works differently at night and it’s easy to think through problems I may have had with work during the day.

The Problem with ‘Night’ people

Although this late night working produces great productivity, it has many downsides…

• Struggling to wake up in the morning - I usually wake around 8am and get into the office about 9:30-9:45 which is fine, but is at least 45 minutes after everyone else. It’s not a huge problem as Enigin Directors know that I work late so they don’t mind me coming in late in the morning (I also tend to make up the hours at the end of the day anyway)
• Skipping breakfast - As an aside to rising late in the morning I don’t have time for breakfast so end up leaving home without. This leaves me hungry in the mornings which can affect concentration levels.
• Lack of sleep - By the time I finish work and get to sleep, I usually only get a maximum of 4-6 hours rest every night. Which is below the 7/8 hours each night recommended by Doctors. I tend to make up these ‘lost’ hours on Saturday morning! There’s a medical term for this, which is ‘delayed sleep phase’. Chronic sleep deprivation has been linked to a range of risks, from obesity to depression both of which I struggle with badly.

Studies have shown that being a ‘Night Owl’ can be partly genetic and is not easy for some people to combat. But i’m going to try by taking the following steps:

• No computer work after 9:30pm
• In bed by 11pm every day (even weekends to start with, apart from gig nights of course!)
• Buy an alarm clock!
• Wake up at 7am every morning and get out of bed as soon as my alarm clock goes off, not hitting ’snooze’ for another 5 minutes under the duvet! Once i’ve done 3 months at 7am, i’ll then try 6:30…. then 6:00.
• Have breakfast!
• Still get into work at 9:30… it’s actually quite convenient as I live 60 minutes drive away from Enigin in St Austell and the traffic has died down at this time in the morning. I will use the extra time in the morning to have a nice breakfast and make lunch for the day.

So, that’s it. That’s my challenge. Wish me luck!