first setup steps

log in with your root ssh key

local> ssh -i ~/.ssh/root_key_rsa root@46.101.181.30

set a root password

root@remote> passwd

install zsh and vim

root@remote> pkg install zsh
root@remote> pkg install vim-lite

create a new user

root@remote> adduser
Username: johndoe
Full name: John Doe
Uid (Leave empty for default): 
Login group [johndoe]: 
Login group is johndoe. Invite johndoe into other groups? []: wheel
Login class [default]: 
Shell (sh csh tcsh zsh rzsh nologin) [sh]: zsh
Home directory [/home/johndoe]: 
Home directory permissions (Leave empty for default): 
Use password-based authentication? [yes]: 
Use an empty password? (yes/no) [no]: 
Use a random password? (yes/no) [no]: 
Enter password: 
Enter password again: 
Lock out the account after creation? [no]: 
Username   : johndoe
Password   : *****
Full Name  : Jon Doe
Uid        : 1002
Class      : 
Groups     : johndoe wheel
Home       : /home/johndoe
Home Mode  : 
Shell      : /usr/local/bin/zsh
Locked     : no
OK? (yes/no): yes
adduser: INFO: Successfully added (johndoe) to the user database.
Add another user? (yes/no): no
Goodbye!

enable group "wheel" for sudo:

root@remote> visudo
## Uncomment to allow members of group wheel to execute any command
%wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL

Transfer another ssh public key to the machine for the new user, move it to the right location and set the user / group accordingly

local> scp -i ~/.ssh/root_key_rsa _~/.ssh/user_key_rsa.pub root@46.101.181.30:johndoe_rsa.pub
root@remote> mkdir /home/johndoe/.ssh
root@remote> mv ~/johndoe_rsa.pub /home/johndoe/.ssh/authorized_keys
root@remote> chown -R johndoe /home/johndoe/.ssh

Try to log in as new user on remote machine (and configure zsh)

local> ssh -i ~/.ssh/user_key_rsa johndoe@46.101.181.30

Since there is now a user with sudo privileges, we don't need to login as root anymore. Every other config should be done with the new user and sudo:

local> ssh johndoe@46.101.181.30