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Ask HN: Do you have rough days while working remote?

2 points by ob1gman ↗ HN
Hey all! I've been working remote for 6+ years and have observed that some days get hard (Not the movie :). Am I alone in this?

I'm trying to gauge if my new organization is worth pursing or not. It's https://www.remotetogether.com/

Would love any personal or professional feedback!

4 comments

[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 19.7 ms ] thread
eschutte2
Not me, I love it. Can't really comment on what you're doing because there's no information on the website.

What I'd like is a dummy with remotely-operable glowing red LED eyes that I could put in a desk in the office so people would have a visual reminder of when I'm working.

ohjeez
I have spent most of my career working remotely, whether on staff or as a freelancer. It's hard for me to imagine working in an office, regularly. For one thing, I'd have to wear shoes. And there's no cat. How could anyone be productive?

I know some people find it hard to work alone, but there are lots of ways to cope with that. In my case, I always have an instant messaging window open. I have conversations with other people (work-related or otherwise) several times a day. And I'm active on social media. I never feel alone. In fact, I feel far more connected than I would in an office, where there's some sense that you have to be compliant with "what the boss says."

It helps to love what you do.

What would you hope to accomplish with your organization?

ob1gman
Ha. Very nice! It looks like you guys have great practices in place to overcome the alone thing.

So I'm envisioning my organization supporting people who work remote in three ways. Let me know if anyone of them pops out or none.

1.) A podcast around working remote the awesome sides and the downsides. I've scheduled several with a couple of different people.

2.) A support network for people who work remote.

3.) A working retreat to a fancy place for people who.. work remote.

Thanks for the responses guys!

ohjeez
I've no objection to podcasts, but no particular tropism to them. Even though I can play music-or-whatever as loud as I wish (another advantage of telecommuting), I'm more likely to scan text rather than to listen to someone talking. But that's just me.

I don't need to retreat. I'm already in my comfy place. Not to mention that a high percentage of people who choose to work from home do so because they're introverts (though that does not describe me); "get together with other people" has little value.

What do you envision for a support network? That doesn't already exist?

Sorry if I sound critical; I don't mean to. But I'd rather press you on the hard questions than encourage you to set up a site that won't draw traffic.