About three years ago, my wife, Jen and I decided that we needed to be closer to our families before having kids. I had been working at the Aten office in Williamsburg for three years, and Justin was open to a change. So, we packed up and moved back to Rochester, NY (where we met in college) and I’ve been telecommuting ever since. Working from home is both terrific and terrible.

What Works

Luckily, 99% of everything I create is for the web. That alone makes telecommuting work well. I can quickly post design comps online, get feedback, and roll that feedback into a new version, all in a few hours.

We work for clients on a national scale. So we already have a solid platform developed for long-distance communication.

With IM, Skype, Phones and SMS, it’s cake to get in touch with people.

We use three main tools to share information; Basecamp for project management, Google Docs for sharing document files, and Gmail for e-mailing. Most of the time, they all work great together, with Basecamp sending you e-mail notifications and Google Docs inviting you to edit documents other people start. This trifecta of online software lets us share Requirements Documents, take collaborative notes during meetings, and generally record any communication we could possibly make. As a testament to how important a good process can be, I think our process has improved since I’ve been in the office, to the point where it just doesn’t matter where I am.

I do my best work when I’m in “The Zone,” that magical place where ideas come easily and I type about 10 times my normal speed. Working in a quiet space is essential to keeping focused, and having a home office allows me to have as much quiet as I want. It’s much harder for people to distract me than when I worked in the office. Sometimes I come up with an idea over breakfast and being this close to my office allows me to implement them while they’re still fresh on my mind.

And finally, one of the greatest perks of working from home is that when I make a pot of coffee, I get it all to myself.

The Challenges

One of the biggest things you miss out on when telecommuting is face-to-face interaction. When I worked in the office, it was great hanging out with everyone outside of work. It stinks to miss out on snow-boarding with the team. That said, when I’m in Denver and we do hang out, it’s usually a lot of fun.

With IM, Skype, Phones and SMS, it’s cake to get in touch with people. Sometimes people forget I’m in a different time zone, but that’s okay.

The software we use is great for storing information, but sometimes it feels like the information is spread a bit thin, or it’s hard to find what you’re looking for. And not being in the office means I can’t just stick my head up and ask someone else.

The downside of working by myself is that sometimes it’s too quiet. Sometimes I’ll go for a couple days without seeing anyone other than my wife. That can be a bit strange. So, I try to hang out with friends for game nights and I’m looking into design-related networking opportunities in Rochester. Any ideas?

And then there are the random things you have to deal with when working from home. Just yesterday I had a guy deliver eggs while I was on the phone. And the week before that, I had to deal with an electrical problem in my office (A UPS is a must, even when using a laptop).

The Future

I’m really enjoying working from home. Despite its challenges, it’s been really great to live in Rochester and work for Aten in Denver. And if you have any questions about how well it works, just take a look at our work.

Jen is about 25 weeks pregnant, so things at home are going to change quite a bit in the next couple months. It’s exciting knowing I’ll be close after the baby is born, though who knows if it’ll ever be quiet again?