I’ve been working fully remotely for more than ten years now. The last eight as a software engineer at Buffer, a fully remote company since its inception in 2010. From all these years, I’ve learned a lot: how to balance my work and my personal life, how to communicate better when I write, heck I’ve even learned how to use the right emoji at the right time; it’s more useful than you think if you’re on Slack each day. 😉 ...
In the summer of 2019, I started to build Planleave, a SaaS product to manage time off days in an organization. I did it as a side project while working full-time as a software engineer at Buffer. Three years later, in 2022, I sold it. I’ve never worked harder on any side project than on Planleave. When I start any project, I usually go through the first honeymoon phase of absolutely loving the idea, but that fades away quickly, and I usually stop at that point. Still, with this project, I kept going and added features, fully automatized sign-ups and billing, and talked to many potential customers. ...
Naturally, as you grow in your profession, you develop a vision and think about ideas and opportunities you can take to grow and have a more significant impact. The natural process when these ideas come to mind is to add them to a never-ending to-do list. When I have time, I’ll propose that thing I’ve been thinking about for the last two months, you might think. Sometimes, it’s even worse. You forget about them. ...
I’ve recently launched a side project, a SaaS product to manage absences in companies. It might generate some money in the future and yet, I don’t need any of it. I know what you’re thinking. Money is always nice, and you’re right, but I’m also working full-time as a software engineer. Any extra income is welcomed but not needed. This is a great path for many creative people. You have the good parts of working for an employer and the benefits of having a side business where you can fully unleash your creativity and learn new things, and learning is so important for professional growth. ...
Showing gratitude is a great way to improve an organization’s culture and it doesn’t cost anything. In this article I’d love to share 5 great ways to do it that work really well in a remote environment.