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Ultimate Resources List for Remote Workers
by Agnel L Nieves FuentesMay 25th, 2020
Too Long; Didn't Read
Remote positions help companies lower the amount of money they spend on their employees, usually cutting expenses on office, equipment, snacks etc. Having a remote job allows you to spend more time with your family without compromising your pocket. When you work remotely, you will have the opportunity to choose your own office. As long as you have a reliable internet connection it doesn’t matter where you work. You might think that working remotely may lower your productivity. But you’ll be amazed at how productive you can get while working on your own workspace.Companies Mentioned
Working remotely has been a trending topic for the last couple of years. But now, more than ever, working remotely has become almost a standard in the tech industry. Have you ever wondered why? If you think about it, working remotely saves money for both, the employer and the employee.
Benefits for the employer
Remote positions help companies lower the amount of money they spend on their employees, usually cutting expenses on office, equipment, snacks etc. Some of them still provide computers and budgets for setups, but still, they save a lot more money this way. They also save a lot of time by having meetings via the web, allowing them to do more in less time.
Benefits for the employee
Now, you as a remote employee will have a lot of benefits, aside from earning your salary and the company’s compensation. Having a remote job allows you to spend more time with your family without compromising your pocket. Have you ever thought about how much you’ve spent on gasoline and food on a daily basis? Well, working remotely can lower commuting expenses in a very noticeable way.
When you work remotely, you will have the opportunity to choose your own office. As long as you have a reliable internet connection it doesn’t matter where you work. Starbucks, the park, College, your home, the mall, you name it. You might think that working remotely may lower your productivity. But you’ll be amazed at how productive you can get while working on your own workspace. Of course, that depends on your commitment and your ability to focus.
Here are a few tips and resources I’ve found useful to gear up for a remote job:
Socialize
Now, this might sound a bit odd, but I find it annoying to sit every day, 8 am to 5 pm all alone just looking at the monitor. You as a remote employee will find yourself lacking interactions with other people. And in my opinion, having online meetings is never going to be the same thing. I recommend working in a co-working space, cafeteria or anywhere else where there are actual people. For some, this might not be the case, but talking and interacting with people helps me relax and focus.
I’m not saying that you should spend your 4-8 hour shift talking with someone, but you might be able to release some stress, especially when you’ve been working 1 hour straight trying to find a bug (I’ve been there too).
Communicate
Communication, this is the most important practice when working online. One of the biggest challenges of working remotely is being up to date with the team’s tasks progress and setbacks. Schedule calls, have online meetings, send emails and add them to your to-do list if you must, but make sure everybody is on the same page. This will save any misunderstanding and wasted time. So ask questions, there’s no shame in asking.
Ask questions, even if these are not answered, always have the hunger for knowledge. This way, you’ll be a more efficient employee and more importantly, a knowledgeable person.
Get comfortable with your workspace
You’ll spend almost all of the time facing your computer. That’s why it’s so important to set up a proper workspace where you feel comfortable and happy. Me personally, I like to change environments. For instance, on a normal day, I’ll work at my home office, some days on the reception where I live, other days at a Starbucks. It really depends on your personality. If you can’t focus, do something different, maybe re-decorate every so often, buy a plant… or a few. Try someplace new, find what works best for you.
Resources
Enough talking, here are a few useful resources to gear up for a remote job:
Working nomads is a simple, yet complete job search resource.
We work remotely, it’s just a list of remote job positions. Very simple but pretty handy.
Remote OK is a very popular remote job search platform. It has a lot of categories and you can also search by location.
JobsPresso is a curated remote job list in tech, marketing, customer support and more. I’ve seen positions at pretty cool companies like Mozilla, Invision, Udacity, Wolfram, and even Github.
Remotive is also a very popular remote job search platforms. They offer a lot of cool jobs and the applying process is very easy.
This resource is not exactly remote based but it’s really good for people looking for a challenge and people who want to work in a different city.
Jobscribe is an email based job feed. It basically sends you emails with job positions based on your preferences.
Escape the city is a general job search platform. I included this one because they have this awesome job category called Off the Grid Where they offer a list of jobs based on exotic places.
Good for volunteer opportunities, internships, and general job searches.
Resources for your every day remote life
Nomad list is a pretty handy feed of cities with awesome stats of their features (Cost of living, safety, internet speed, fun, and overall score). So if you are working remotely and you are into traveling, you might want to check this one out.
Now, this one is a feed of gear and accessories recommended for travelers and people working remotely. You can find some pretty handy stuff here.
Twip is pretty promising for people that are alone and feel like exploring someplace new. It’s basically a platform to find people with your very same interests and gets them to travel with you.
A.K.A. NerdWallet, is a platform to calculate the cost of living in a given city. So if you’re planning to move to a different city, this website could help you estimate the amount of money you’ll need.
FlagTimes is a pretty handy macOS app to help you track the timezones in different areas. If you are a Windows user you can check out WorldClock.
More Resources
No Desk is a pretty cool blog for working nomads. It features a lot of useful resources like Health, Articles, Communities, Entertainment, Gear Deals, Inspiration, Travel, Tools, Books, and more.
This is a “Starter kit” for people who work remotely. It features, a curated list of useful tools for remote employees.
ValuesFit is a nifty management tool to organize your job applications. If you’ve used Trello before you’ll find this tool very familiar.
Last but not least, this resource it’s similar to NoDesk except its simpler. It offers a variety of books, places to work, tools and even podcasts.
Conclusion
There’s a lot of benefits when working remotely and various useful tools to ease your daily life. But, at the end of the day, working remotely it’s about getting to know yourself and how you perform in different environments.
* Note: This article is based on my personal experience. If you have more suggestions please leave them in the comments below.
I’m always open to meet new people so feel free to contact me on Twitter
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