Table Of Contents

The One Minute Commute is a free eBook written by Zack Grossbart. It shows you how to get and keep a job as a successful remote software developer. You'll learn how to interview for a remote software development position, how to convince your boss that distributed teams can work on any software project, and the tools you need to work away from the office. You'll see step-by-step instructions on how to effectively communicate with your team when you aren't physically present for day-to-day meetings. You'll find out how to avoid the pitfalls and drawbacks common to being a remote engineer and become successful working remotely.


You can also read The One Minute Commute as a PDF.

Preface


Doyle’s Room – Online Poker and Telework

Chapter 1 - Introduction

Introducing The One Minute Commute
You Are Not Your Code
The Plan of The One Minute Commute

Section 1: Landing A Remote Job

Chapter 2 - Market Yourself Into A Remote Job

Market Yourself Into A Remote Job
Publicize Yourself Into a Telework Job
Build Your Personal Network
Personal Networks for Telework Success
Sidebar – Specialization
The Big Brother Telework Model at oDesk
Building A Brand
Get A Job By Warping Bill Gates
Working With Open Source Projects
Choosing an Open Source Project
Getting Started With Open Source
Starting Your Own Open Source Project
Becoming Publicly Visible
Showcase Your Abilities With a Blog
Types of Blog Articles
Quality Over Quantity
Getting Blog Readers
Garr Reynold’s Personal Branding Blog

Chapter 3 - Land The Remote Job You Love

Looking For Your Next Job
Find Your Next Job With Specialization
Working With Recruiters
Interviewing
The Phone Screen
When To Talk About Working Remotely
The In-Person Interview
Accepting The Job

Chapter 4 - Transitioning to a Remote Job

Transitioning To A Remote Job
Make It Easy To Say Yes
Telework Works for You
Make The Telework Transition
Start Teleworking

Section 2: Team Organization

Chapter 5 - Team Profile: CodeSourcery

Code Sourcery: An Open Team In Action
Make It Easy To Give You An A
Track Teleworker Productivity
Staying Close To Teleworkers Around the World
Being An Open Team
Feeling Like One Organization
The Only Man In The Office
The Benefits of A Teleworking Team
A Fully Distributed Company

Chapter 6 - Staying Close When You're Far Away

Staying Close When You’re Far Away
Staying Close With Your Team
Your Picture Is Worth More Than 1,000 Words
Start With Face-To-Face
One Laptop Per Child In Nepal
Talk About Yourself… A Lot
Talk About Other People Too
Make Time To Waste Time
Manipulating People Is Good
Cross-Cultural Connections
Hallway Conversations
Staying Close
Teleworkers Presenting
Teleworkers Talk To Customers
Contribute Outside of Your Team
Help People From Other Teams
Attend Corporate Events
Attend Industry Events
Beware of The Dotted Line
Emotional Connections For Telecommute Success

Chapter 7 - Team Profile: Subversion

Subversion – Creating An Open Team
Second Class Citizens At Subversion
Subversion Transition To An Open Team
What About Code
Subversion’s Open Team Results

Chapter 8 - Open Teams

Open Teams
What If My Team Isn’t An Open Team?
Code Kingdoms
Open Source and Open Teams
Understanding Open Teams
An Open Team In Action
Be Patient
Small Changes Make a Big Change
Real Life Isn’t Like The Movies
Putting Open Teams Into Action
How To Succeed In Your First Peer Review
Code Style
The Peer Review State of Mind
Document Why, Not Just How or What
Use The Tools Well
Code Reviews
Tag Team Code Comments
How To Get a Good Code Review
How To Give A Good Code Review
Online Code Review Tools
All Team Members Should Review Code
What About The Managers
My Manager Can’t Code
Distributed Open Teams

Section 3: Communication

Chapter 9 - Communicating in Real-Time

Communicating In Real-Time
Internet Relay Chat
Stalk Words
Instant Messaging
Conference Calls
Little Distractions Replace Big Ones
Video Conferencing
How You Communicate Matters

Chapter 10 - Written Communication

Written Communication
General Communication Guidelines
Improve Your Written Communication
Think About Your Audience
Read What You Write
Read What Other People Write
Grammar Girl
Punctuation Matters
Writing Style
Don’t Be Funny
The Curious Case of The Misplaced Modifier
Direct Email
Mailing Lists
Forums and Newsgroups
Creating Your Professional Programmer Blog
Bug Tracking As Communication
Learn The Command Line
Wikis
The Consolidation of Information
Work With The Tools, Not Against Them

Chapter 11 - Remote Presentations

Remote Presentations
Creating Good Remote Presentations
Desktop Sharing
Presenting Well
Garr Reynolds Presenting Remotely At Powerpoint Live
Making Effective Slides
Use Fewer Slides With More Data
Mixing Up Your Content
Give Your Audience Something To Take With Them
Creating a Demo Script
Educating, Impressing, and Inspiring Demos
Sharing The Screen
Making Your Virtual Presentations Real

Chapter 12 - Team Profile: 37signals

Team Profile: 37signals
The 37signals Tools
Building a Very Small, Very Loyal Team
37signals: Simple and Easy To Use

Chapter 13 - Understanding and Resolving Problems

Signs of Teleworking Trouble
Beware of The Black Box
Fixing Problems
The Two-Tiered Team
Hotelling
You Aren’t Getting Your Work Done
Stay Focused and Productive
Your Team Hates Your Telework
A Coworker Is Taking Advantage of Your Telework
You Aren’t Getting Promoted
Your Manager Wants You Back In The Office Too Often
Virtual Problems With Real Solutions

Section 4: Balance

Chapter 14 - Balancing Work Life and Home Life When You Live In The Office

Balancing Work Life and Home Life When You Live In The Office
Staying Focused While Teleworking
Julie C’s Flexible Schedule
Staying Focused… Without Being A Jerk
Don’t Let Telework Get You Isolated
Setting Up Your Home Office
Staying Professional While Teleworking
Robin M’s Story
Telework and Your Family
Completing The Telework Balancing Act

Chapter 15 - Conclusion

The One Minute Commute Saved My Job
The Principals of The One Minute Commute

Appendix A - Perfect Remote Communication

Perfect Remote Communication

Appendix B - People Featured In The One Minute Commute

People Featured In The One Minute Commute