Table of Contents
Authors' Note 7
Introduction 9
The Time is Right for Remote Work 11
Why work doesn't happen at work 13
Stop commuting your life away 16
It's the technology, stupid 19
Escaping 9am-5pm 22
End of city monopoly 25
The new luxury 28
Talent isn't bound by the hubs 31
It's not about the money 34
But saving is always nice 37
Not all or nothing 40
Still a trade-off 43
You're probably already doing it 46
Dealing with Excuses 49
Magic only happens when we're all in a room 51
If I can't see them, how do I know they're working? 54
People's homes are full of distractions 58
Only the office can be secure 61
Who will answer the phone? 65
Big business doesn't do it, so why should we? 68
Others would get jealous 71
What about culture? 74
I need an answer now! 77
But I'll lose control 80
We paid a lot of money for this office 83
That wouldn't work for our size or industry 85
How to Collaborate Remotely 89
Thou shalt overlap 91
Seeing is believing 94
All out in the open 97
The virtual water cooler 100
Forward motion 103
The work is what matters 106
Not just for people who are out of town 108
Disaster ready 111
Easy on the M&Ms 114
Beware the Dragons 117
Cabin fever 119
Check-in, check-out 122
Ergonomic basics 125
Mind the gut 128
The lone outpost 131
Working with clients 134
Taxes, accounting, laws, oh my! 138
Hiring and Keeping the Best 141
It's a big world 143
Life moves on 147
Keep the good times going 150
Seeking a human 154
No parlor tricks 157
The cost of thriving 161
Great remote workers are simply great workers 164
On writing well 167
Test project 170
Meeting them in person 173
Contractors know the drill 176
Managing Remote Workers 177
When's the right time to go remote? 179
Stop managing the chairs 182
Meetups and sprints 185
Lessons from open source 188
Level the playing field 192
One-on-ones 195
Remove the roadblocks 198
Be on the lookout for overwork, not underwork 202
Using scarcity to your advantage 205
Life as a Remote Worker 207
Building a routine 209
Morning remote, afternoon local 213
Compute different 215
Working alone in a crowd 218
Staying motivated 221
Nomadic freedom 225
A change of scenery 228
Family time 231
No extra space at home 234
Making sure you're not ignored 237
Conclusion 239
The quaint old office 241
The Remote Toolbox 245
Acknowledgments 249