Remote software development has been rising in popularity for years now, with many IT professionals aspiring to become remote developers and find remote software development jobs. But once you achieve the flexibility and freedom of remote work from home, it can be tough to stay organized and reach maximum productivity.
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Contact Us Today!It’s necessary to strike a work-life balance to be able to get as much work done as possible without burning out. considering remote work can actually increase productivity by 77%, it’s all a matter of following the right strategies. At Next Idea Tech, we work with a large network of nearshore developers and have experience working with distributed teams.
This is why we decided to help out new remote developers from all over the world with a few comprehensive tips for working remotely. Keep reading to learn our favorite work from home tips for remote developers!
How to work remotely: 6 work from home tips for developers
1. Time-block your day to stay organized.
While time blocking might seem too restrictive for some people, this is actually a popular time management technique. The strategy consists of designating a certain task for every hour of your day, to maximize productivity and avoid multitasking. It usually involves color coding each task to highlight its time and date.
You can use this to differentiate between work activities, hobbies, and breaks. It can be annoying to have to break your entire day into small tasks but it makes a difference in the end. You will find yourself always knowing what task to complete yet and when to take breaks thanks to them being scheduled in advance.
2. Keep a productive and stimulating work environment.
If your work environment isn’t organized, chances are your work won’t be either. You should definitely look to create your own home office or at least set aside a nice desk you can work on during the day. Keep the space distraction-free, meaning no turned-on TV, no magazines spread open, nothing that might take you out of focus.
A quality home office basics include a laptop stand, an ergonomic or comfy enough chair, a clock nearby, solid wifi connectivity, and a small microphone if your computer or headphones don’t include one already.
3. Limit all distractions through an app or Chrome extension.
Distractions are everywhere no matter where you work, but they can become a huge problem when you’re not being constantly controlled by a superior.
You are responsible for managing your work times when working from home as a remote developer, which calls for extensive measles to avoid procrastination. One of the bests ways to learn how to work from home as a remote developer and still be productive is through an app or Chrome extension that limits your distractions.
These types of software usually disable you from using certain apps or websites after a certain time has passed, which you decide. A few of the best ones are FocalFilter, FocusWriter, and Moment.
4. Schedule breaks in advance and stick to them.
Truth is, it’s easy to get burned out when working from home. That’s why you should always schedule breaks in advance and stick to them. You might be tempted to skip them whenever a workday gets a little hectic, but you’ll regret it eventually.
Skipping breaks can make you less productive in the long run and lower the quality of your work. Having scheduled breaks will also help you avoid the temptation to take too many of them sporadically or go over your set time for them.
Start by taking half an hour to an hour for lunch and a 15-minute break every couple of hours, just to refresh your mind and gather some more energy to complete all tasks.
5. Prioritize your tasks for the day.
While a to-do list can be old-fashioned nowadays, the concept of prioritizing tasks is not. Identifying which tasks have the highest priority and should be completed immediately will help you work better as a team player and complete collaborative projects faster.
While sometimes the most urgent task isn’t the one you would prefer to do, it’s the one that will benefit the team. This is why you need to prioritize tasks the day before, by recognizing what is urgent and what’s not. Identify 3 urgent tasks that need to be completed before the end of the day and dedicate your energy to those first.
6. Identified your most productive times of the day.
Our final strategy in this list of work from home tips for software developers is to identify which times of the day are your most productive hours. This is different for each one of us, which is why it’s important, to be honest with yourself and analyze when you become the most productive.
This can be in the early morning, late afternoon, evening, or even the middle of the night. As long as your remote development job allows flexible workdays, you can take advantage of your most productive hours and complete projects faster than you would at any other time of the day.
Are you interested in joining an international network of software developers? Be part of Next Idea Tech!
We hope that our favorite work from home tips for developers helped you craft a remote work strategy you can follow to increase your productivity and work smarter. Now, if you’re interested in finding more remote software development jobs, we invite you to apply to join our network of nearshore developers from all over the world.
At Next Idea Tech, we connect developers offering remote development services with North American companies looking to start software outsourcing. Contact us today to join us and find remote developer jobs!
