💓 🧐 🔩 Rules of life of the Habr Quarantine Career team 👰🏿 👨‍👧 🤲🏼

Most of those who are working on our career project , and do it remotely - have long been successful. And those who until the last day went to the Moscow office every day made amazing discoveries for themselves in isolation. Why the daily routine is important at home, why you need a special "work" place and a bunch of insights. We tell first-hand how the guys from the quarantined office encountered home life, and experienced remote workers are: pfff, easy!

Go to the office or work from home?

Stas, front-end developer from Nizhny Novgorod:

When I wanted to pump in JavaScript, I got a job as an junior in an office. There is practically no possibility for the jones to grow up in a team remotely, so at the start you only consider the office. But six months later, I began to work from home. I chose remote work because I don’t have to spend time on the way to the office, and career opportunities in this mode, on the contrary, are wider.

Masha, a content manager from Krasnodar:

Before Habr’s Career, I worked at a marketing agency for seven years. This is a 100% presence in the office: planning meetings, meetings, internal events. The main office was open space, and the team is almost completely female - since then I hate open space, office conversations and almost always work in headphones with music.

The most difficult thing in remote work is, oddly enough, the remoteness itself. She is both a blessing and a curse. During my work at the agency, I got used to the fact that a strong connection arises in the team, built on daily communication, living together all victories and defeats. And on a remote site you are in such isolation when you seem to be a well-established team, but you don’t understand what the others feel or think, as if you are in the same space with them, but not on the same wavelength.

The coolest thing in udalenka, I recently formulated in this tweet:

This, of course, is a joke. In fact, the coolest thing for me is the opportunity to work in the Career team without moving to Moscow.

Misha, a full-stack developer from Dubna:

I worked in the office for a long time, but even while being nearby in different offices, we rarely talked with colleagues. Then the company decided to try remote work, and it turned out that this format is convenient and no less effective. I liked it, at home I can focus on tasks and not be distracted by any extraneous irritants.

Olya, Director of work with clients from St. Petersburg:

I worked in the office for many years, but I consider remote work to be optimal. If a company does not agree to work remotely, it is usually a symptom of inefficient processes - for example, habits of resolving all issues at hours of crowded meetings. Udalenka saves time on the road, I used to even rent an apartment near the office to walk there. But this is not very convenient, you have to move when you change jobs.

Daler, product manager from Moscow:

I thought it would be harder and I won’t be able to work from home at all. In reality, this was the first week, and then I was able to tune into a working mood. In a special workplace, it’s easier for me to concentrate, so I love the office. But now is the time that I had to fall in love with work from home. In general, everything remained as it is, but when everything is over, I’ll still think about a separate place to work outside the home.

Zhenya, head of the sales department from Moscow:

It’s more convenient for me to combine a remote office and an office. An office plus is communication with colleagues and a quick discussion of any working issues. And at home there is an opportunity not to be distracted by trifles and increase productivity.

About quarantine, I thought that after 2-3 days the activity would decrease - before there was no such experience. But reality surprised me. There were even more working hours, and the exhaust increased. At home it is important to correctly allocate time and the right attitude. In general, nothing has changed, except for a shorter lunch break. Compensate for his mini-workouts at home.

There are enough IT companies on the market, in which, for example, the development teams and support are remote, and the managers / salespeople are in the office. Everything works like a clock. Only it seems to me that if you work from home constantly, soft skills will quickly disappear.

Marina, account manager from Moscow:

Working remotely is not mine. I feel that I can not fully surrender to work. Since I am not only an account manager in Habr Career, but also a document manager in Habré, the solution of some work issues due to quarantine has to be postponed. There are inconveniences associated with working from home and rather it concerns family people with children. And again, I, as a very sociable person, lack the atmosphere that prevails in the office.

About coworking

Masha:

Krasnodar rugs are definitely not the best place to work. Mostly freelancers work there - designers, smmshchiki, seoshniki, web developers - noisy and not the busiest people on earth, who spend 50% of their work time talking and smoking. In coworking, it’s very difficult to control the order around. Such a work environment does not suit me.

Artyom, project manager from Kursk:

I sometimes work in coworking with guys from two other companies - only four people. Where to work, I choose depending on the task: if you need to come up with something, modify it, etc., then at home when no one is distracting. If the task is monotonous (for example, filling in data), then I like to work in a company.

Olya:

I think this is a great idea: not everyone has a comfortable workplace, but there may also be an internal need to "go to the office." I don’t have coworking nearby, so from time to time I go to work in a library or cafe near my house. It helps if you need to work deeply on a task — while you walk 10-15 minutes, you can think it over, and the situation allows you to concentrate and not be distracted. In the library there is usually a special silence, and in a cafe, on the contrary, there is white noise, both of which create a kind of cocoon in which you are alone with the task.

About home workplace

Stas:

For a long time I worked in the same place where I slept. Then he came to the conclusion that my efficiency and pleasure from working in this mode are at a low level and made a mini-office in a separate room.

In remote work, it is especially important where you work and what kind of atmosphere is around, if there are any distractions. And the coolest thing is that you decide how to equip your workplace. I put in powerful lighting and placed the desktop next to the windows. I always have on hand headphones that do not need to be connected - just put them on and you're ready to go. This is important so as not to be distracted by noise from neighbors and not to prepare specifically for business calls. I adhere to minimalism and functionality: near only what is needed in the work, the chaos around would distract.

Masha:

There is a workplace at home, but for some reason it’s more convenient to work in the kitchen: there is a bigger table and better lighting. In general, I work almost all the time from the office, which we rent with my husband and his partners. That is where my real workplace is. The office is small - with three tables - and not the most chic, but the charm is that I can switch between work and non-work. And if I worked at home all the time, I wouldn’t be torn off from my computer all day long.

My workplace is a table and chair from Ikea, a laptop and a notebook. I try to keep my desk tidy. Now there lies the January magazine Wired with techno-trends for 2020. Plus, at hand is always the directory of the publisher and author Milchin. Be sure to have plants on the table. They revive the situation and it’s fun to watch them: how they grow and gradually change. I have succulents, they look spectacular and they don’t need special care. There is also a garland on the table - it’s cool to light it in the evening, it gives +30 to comfort and +25 to peace (I saw this from a colleague in the Habr’s office).

Artyom:

My workplace consists of a desk, a sofa and a laptop or a hospital patient, depending on the tasks. Ah, well, the kettle is close.

Alina, account manager from Saratov:

My job is to support customers and it is important for me that it is convenient to conduct conversation and correspondence, so I work on the couch. My tools are a laptop, headphones and a telephone, but I don’t need a desk for this. The workplace in the house is not fixed - I can work on the couch, and at the table, and in the kitchen. Often a cat accompanies me, she is my right hand, I entrust her with various small tasks.

Olya:

I have an office - this is a small room with a work desk near the window - I can ventilate at any time, for me it is very important - I am a fan of fresh air. It is important that at any time you can close the door and fence off what is happening in the apartment. If nobody is at home, I work in the kitchen - I go there with a laptop to make coffee, for example.

The coolest thing at home is my cat, I work, and she sleeps on her lap. Sometimes she sits next to me and looks at me. And if I worked in the office, she would be alone all day, and we did not have time to be together.

How to switch between work and home

Stas: I

always try to shift my household chores over the weekend to unload the brain from them as much as possible during working hours. At first, it was very difficult to leave the working mode in the rest mode. Now I decided this by the fact that every day I have some evening activities outside the home, this helps not to lose the difference in the feeling of working and non-working time. And every 30-40 minutes I try to take breaks so that the body is not constantly in one position, in the flow mode it is easy to forget about it.

Masha:

At home - nothing, for me it is very difficult. All the time, in the middle of work, one comes across a look at some unfinished household business: not watered flowers, dust on the closet, clothes not put on the closet. At home, I try to take small breaks in work, and between them do not get up at all because of the computer. In the office, everything is ok, nothing distracts and does not interfere with doing business.

Artem:

Switching smoothly begins at six o’clock when the wife brings the child from kindergarten. You realize right away that the work will end soon. By eight o'clock, when I finish the working day, just go to another room. In the case of coworking, it’s still easier: you just get home from work.

Olya:

Switching is very simple - on weekends I rest, opening a laptop is almost a taboo. Engaged only in children, sports, walking, meeting friends. In the warm season, I try to generally leave the city. Two days without work allow you to reboot well and start the work week with renewed vigor. I’m doing household chores in the evening, when the brain no longer wants to work. I write short things for 5–10 minutes in a diary between big work tasks.

There are days when I sat at a computer all day and did not even go outside. Unfortunately, working from home contributes to this - I sat down to work in the morning, there are many things to do - not to come off, you get up with a square head in the evening and it's time to sleep. I don’t like such days, for me it’s some kind of wrong, defective day.

About remote command management

Maxim, the head of the Habr Career from Moscow:

10 people are currently working on the Habr Career . This team has been gathering over the past four years, person after person. We never had carte blanche for mass recruiting. Each new member was “plagued” by the work of previous members who made the product profitable enough to “afford” the new member.

For me, the difference in how the guys work in the office and from home is not any. It all depends on the culture of decision making and communication. When such a culture exists, you, getting into it for the first time, involuntarily begin to follow it. In a situation where one part of the team works from the office, and the other from home, unwillingly you begin to apply the principles of managing the remote team to all, without exception. The most striking example is team meetings. At first, you are grouped with those who are in the office, in the meeting room for one laptop, and you call up with the remote workers. But gradually you come to the point that it is more convenient and more useful to call up everyone at the same time, no matter if they are in the office or remotely.

The fact that you cannot quickly turn to a colleague at any time very disciplines everyone and ultimately benefits the entire project. You should be able to better plan your time and coordinate it with colleagues. Nobody knocks anyone out of the stream, as is often the case in the office environment - this way you can do more and better. You begin to distribute communication between channels more consciously and economically: what can wait longer, you write down in tasks and discuss in general phoning; what can wait less - you write in the mail or messenger. Well, if you still need to urgently decide something, you take the phone and call. When all the colleagues are at hand, there is a temptation to engage the fastest, but also the most expensive channel of communication - live communication.

The remote team has limited communication capabilities, and even more so there is no way to communicate live. It is very important that each of the colleagues understands the meaning of their work and its contribution to the common cause as best as possible and as long as possible. If you remain without communication with your colleagues for a long time, you should be able to make decisions more often on your own or, without further ado, to pick up someone’s initiative and help. Therefore, for the effective work of a remote team, it is critically important, I think, that everyone understands both the general meaning of the project and the meaning of the work of each of his colleagues. We strive to ensure that everyone can replace any other, in which case.

In the office there is always the illusion that since you see a person in the workplace, then he works. Once you communicate with him, then you solve problems. And if you discussed something with your voice, it will be surely done. When working with remote workers, such an illusion, in principle, cannot exist. And you come to evaluate the contribution of colleagues solely on the result that they regularly give out. So, you should be able to plan this result in advance, give quick feedback, correctly delegate and trust.

A cool remote worker is someone who is not afraid to ask questions, knows how to plan his own time well, work for the result, be autonomous, make decisions independently, and take responsibility. All this refers to flexible skills that you need to be able to identify at an interview and then cultivate in every way.

Useful tools and life hacks

Daler:

Top of my favorite tools: Mail, Calendar, and Sublime Text. Unfortunately, you almost never have to use mail for work, because everyone in the company uses instant messengers. In Sublime, I mainly write texts and write tasks.

Mattermost, Jira and Confluence - seem to be the three main sources of my unproductive. They are slow, confusing, and redundant.

Misha:

The coolest working tool is the Sublime code editor, which has never failed.

Stas:

I’ve been using RescueTime for more than a year now, it monitors your activity throughout the day and gives a performance rating. A very useful thing for analyzing your own effectiveness and what your time really takes. For developers, there is an even more specialized tracker WakaTime, it keeps track of which projects you work with and which languages you use.

The greatest pleasure I get from work is with the WebStorm IDE, it allows me not to waste time on many micro-tasks like formatting, importing, linting and greatly simplifies refactoring a project of any complexity.

Alina:

If the body is tired, we go to bed and turn off for 15 minutes.

Maxim:

If the team is small and the project is young, then it’s convenient to plan tasks in Asana, write technical tasks in Google Docs, communicate and meet on Skype or Telegram. And when the team and the project grow, it is better to switch to more bureaucratic systems: keep tasks in Jira, documentation in Confluence, plan and conduct meetings in Google Calendar and Google Meet, communicate in Slack or Mattermost.

At one time, I was a big fan of Asana: because of the speed of task submission, the flexibility in managing epics and sprints, the ease in planning the loading of colleagues and teams, and transparent reporting on completed tasks. But I still don’t like Jira: until now, many of the simplest, it would seem, operations have puzzled me and even openly outraged me.

Artyom:

Moqups for creating UI and MindMeister layouts for connection diagrams seem to me the most useful.

Some tips from Masha:

Try to organize a clearly defined workplace for yourself.
Establish a clear daily routine and stick to it.
Perform some rituals of switching between work and ordinary life (dress in decent clothes, move to another room, take a walk before work day).
Do not abuse coffee and junk food during work.
Take care of yourself and do sports.
Try periodically to meet friends offline (or online, hehe).
Do not neglect the dream!
And most importantly: if your colleagues do not answer you instantly - this does not mean that they hate you and do not want to communicate, they are just busy and will answer later.

And from Olya:

Remote work provokes moving between a bed, a computer chair and a sofa, but this leads to poor health, mood and, as a result, to burnout. Be sure to move and go outside - go for a walk every day (for the time of quarantine - at least to the store). And also do exercises, do some kind of sports.

By the way, go to the boasting post of home workplaces - see others and show yourself!