I think this seems kind of anti-empathetic. What the author proposes is that being an ineffective remote worker is entirely the lack of real-time comms, unless someone needs the author in real time in which case they are not available without strict time boundaries.
This is not the secret to remote work. The key to remote work is empathy towards the situations that other people are likely to be in. People come to the door, kids are home, problems arise. Flexibility is important.
To be an effective remote worker, you must have a personal queue that allows you to continue doing work when otherwise planned activities cannot happen on time. Work to make sure your calendar isn't full of dependencies, etc. Telling other people how to do their jobs (and how to behave in their jobs) is not helpful.
Self reply here. From the POV of someone who has been full remote since 2012, I will propose an alternative list of effective behaviors. Essentially, effective remote work is designed around the same principal as an API - liberal in what you accept, conservative in what you send.
1. Maintain an accurate calendar. Internally, this means marking available/working hours. Externally, this means calendly or something. You don't need to be perfect, but make it easy for other people to self-serve. When trying to meet with others, be aware of their timezone, their working blocks, etc. Try to schedule meetings that start 5 minutes after if you have to book against time that is already blocked.
2. Be flexible in your own hours to accommodate the work. If you work with people in very different time zones, you will need to make concessions to this. There will be 5am calls and 10pm ones sometimes. But, you are remote, block out the 2-4pm block to go for a walk or call your mom.
3. Manage a cadence with colleagues. It is easy to go a long time without speaking to someone if you only work tangentially. it is helpful to treat colleagues with a CRM process. Don't book pointless standing meetings, but do try to communicate either verbally or in writing with remote colleagues to ensure they are aware of what you are working on. Be available to help others, and don't only be the person asking for help.
4. Recognize the difference between business and productivity. Everyone gets overbooked, but you have to know when that impacts output. Assume others are also managing it and be flexible in how much time you consume.
5. Not everyone is going to work the way you do when remote. This is fine. Be accommodating to them when possible and communicate to them when they need to accommodate you.
I like this perspective. I work a similar way. I'm very careful about what I send out, but try to be very responsive and clear with communications. Sometimes I write, rewrite and rewrite/edit a 2 sentence slack message just to ensure clarity.
Re: timezones, I work extended hours, by my own preference, to coordinate with a team in eastern europe. I space out the hours and take many breaks during the day to ensure I don't burn out. I find it less exhausting to work a longer but chill day, than to work a shorter nonstop day.
This is not the secret to remote work. The key to remote work is empathy towards the situations that other people are likely to be in. People come to the door, kids are home, problems arise. Flexibility is important.
To be an effective remote worker, you must have a personal queue that allows you to continue doing work when otherwise planned activities cannot happen on time. Work to make sure your calendar isn't full of dependencies, etc. Telling other people how to do their jobs (and how to behave in their jobs) is not helpful.