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At @DeepSourceHQ, we'd never been a remote team. I've always felt more productive working from the office and amidst teammates within earshot.
But 2020 changed that for us. The first few months were difficult, but we found our stride soon.
A thread on some things we did:
But 2020 changed that for us. The first few months were difficult, but we found our stride soon.
A thread on some things we did:
1/ Embracing documentation. 
We started writing DeepSource Enhancement Proposals, or DEPs, for everything — new products or features, change in processes, or major company decisions.
Writing things down and getting them reviewed async made our meetings much more effective.
We started writing DeepSource Enhancement Proposals, or DEPs, for everything — new products or features, change in processes, or major company decisions.
Writing things down and getting them reviewed async made our meetings much more effective.
2/ Instituting no-meeting days. 
Zoom calls all day can be taxing and often prevent deep work. So we started blocking one day of the week without any meetings (different for everyone).
For me, it's Wednesdays. No internal or external meetings. Just deep, focussed work.
Zoom calls all day can be taxing and often prevent deep work. So we started blocking one day of the week without any meetings (different for everyone).
For me, it's Wednesdays. No internal or external meetings. Just deep, focussed work.
3/ Friday mixers. 
Every Friday after sprint retro calls (which are sub-team specific), the entire company gets on a Zoom call. We talk about what we achieved this week or engaged in friendly banter about random things, or spar in a game of Skribbl!
Every Friday after sprint retro calls (which are sub-team specific), the entire company gets on a Zoom call. We talk about what we achieved this week or engaged in friendly banter about random things, or spar in a game of Skribbl!
4/ Embracing lightweight video calls. 
Too many "zoom calls" are hectic. We started using tools like Tandem / Around that allowed for one-off meetings without having to schedule something.
This is equivalent to tapping someone on the shoulder to ask a quick question.
Too many "zoom calls" are hectic. We started using tools like Tandem / Around that allowed for one-off meetings without having to schedule something.
This is equivalent to tapping someone on the shoulder to ask a quick question.
5/ #kudos channel on Slack. 
We really miss going out to our favorite local pub to celebrate the small milestones and good work by teammates. The kudos channel is a substitute — where people applaud whenever someone in the team blows their mind with something awesome.
We really miss going out to our favorite local pub to celebrate the small milestones and good work by teammates. The kudos channel is a substitute — where people applaud whenever someone in the team blows their mind with something awesome.
It turns out we *can* make this remote thing work after all. However, I can't wait to go back to the office myself. But the team continues to work largely remotely — so we can enjoy the best of both worlds now. Thanks, 2020!
