Ask HN: Advice about transitioning to remote role?

Over communicate! Write a quick doc on any proposal or design you're working on if it's big enough. Post regular updates about progress, even if others don't.

Change up your environment. I sometimes sit downstairs, upstairs, or at a coffee shop.

I track my time so my family knows where I am in my workday. It is easier to work 2x4 hour blocks but life often times breaks that up a bit so I log my time.

When I started managing and mentoring people and teams who were starting to work remotely 10-15 years ago, I came up with a phrase that I think captures the gist of it, which others have already mentioned here, but can't be overstated:

"Communication is oxygen for remote teams." As always, there are nuances, like the fact that not everyone enjoys remote work settings, and it's not necessarily the best setting for non-engineering teams. You can find a bunch of ideas online for how to adequately communicate.

For me, async + remote engineering teams are the most joyous and exciting setups!

If you'd like more advice, my email is on my profile.

I've been fully remote since 2012, you'll get the hang of it.

My teams have used a lot of slack msgs and slack huddles, lots of zoom meetings so everyone feels pretty connected.

It's great if you can meet up together at least once a year, work out of an office together and go out, grab drinks, eat meals together for team building.

You'll need a routine, exercise, taking breaks, leverage flexible hours, take a trip and work remote from somewhere cool and interesting.

Take breaks to cook a meal, laundry, play guitar for 10 minutes, get outside for a quick walk, enjoy your pets, say hi to your family, have lunch with a friend, you won't go stir crazy.

Being remote is one of my favorite things about my career, I love it.

People say "communication" but the basis of that is stuff like memes, sharing news, gossip. Talk to each other about non-work things and it'll be easier to talk about work things.

Scrum has been a way to force people to communicate, but absolutely don't rely on it. There's all these research that tells us that using AI for essays makes you lazy. But in the same form, if you only talk to colleagues during the enforced scrum meeting slots, the team will find it difficult to communicate.

Ask each other for life advice and all that. Get used to doing it in messages. Somehow people will only talk to their boss about pizza dough in an office but not online, but that's what the #random channel is for.

I wrote up an article trying to answer this early on in the pandemic. I'm not trying to self-promote by sharing this link... but it is a case where the content I wrote a few years back is a direct answer to what you are asking, so I hope this link is taken as intended, just helpful advice:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/all-those-new-working-from-ho...

> not going stir-crazy Sounds like you're an extrovert and definitely need to get a desk at a co-working space or shared office - if you can?

Other than that, you'll settle in just fine :)

Most likely you will have to write a lot to communicate effectively what otherwise would be some quick in person chat. Also, is more complicated to be aware of what is going on in general. Non verbal communication is basically non existent and is really important to know the temperature of a meeting, for example.

Also, having a space dedicated solely for work and without distractions goes a long way.

- Remote roles can somehow work for certain personality types or professions—such as scientists, writers, or artists—who thrive in solitude, prefer to think deeply, need clarity, or simply don’t enjoy crowds.

- However, remote work is generally not ideal for business, ops or engineering roles, where being close to the core problems—and the people solving them—is often essential. It's also not recommended for those who dislike being home all day.

- In a remote setup, you either need to already know what you’re doing or be fully prepared to manage yourself. We don’t know you personally and can’t offer much direct help. But based on your post, it sounds like you’re capable of figuring it out. This isn’t rocket science—just be direct with your team, ask the same questions you’ve raised here, and don’t hesitate to request support when needed. Of course, like everyone already said, communicate and communicate.

- Keep in mind that remote roles can become problematic if you have family, kids, or pets who are going to interrupt you every 30 minutes—there’s often little you can do to control those distractions.

Having a family or co-working space available helps.

Communication is the most important pillar

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