The Remote Routine

Working From Home & Never Going Back

A year and a half ago, I moved to Los Angeles convinced that I had to quit my job in Chicago. I loved my job, but a change, like a move-across-the-country change, was needed. Leaving my job was an unfortunate consequence of that change, or so I thought.

Turns out, I didn't have to quit, and they offered to let me stay on as a remote employee. I became part of the “work from home” cult, and have been doing so for the past 18 months. While this meant I didn't have to change jobs during my move across the country, working remote brought a different kind of change, aside from not having to wear pants everyday.

Quick story. I have this vivid memory of a journalism class during college. While most of our classes were filled with rants about how the news industry had changed (“Arghhhh, the internet!”), and how writing wasn't exactly the best field to go in to after graduation, our professor wanted to instill some hope in us. A few graduates, all who were now successfully writing for a living, came to talk about their journalism careers. Two of them worked at very traditional publications. They talked about sitting in a newsroom, pitching stories to their editors and so on. One was the exception, she was a freelance journalist that worked from home.

I had been familiar with the working from home concept, but at the time I was 20 years old, so to me it sounded like permanent vacation. She was very frank with us about the realities of working from home. How she set her own schedule, how it could be lonely, and how no one was around to tell her what to do. She ended her rant with a cryptic, “working from home is not for everyone.” For some reason, I immediately felt personally challenged. It sounded hard, but it also sounded like she had earned something by doing it. I wasn’t sure what that something was, but I remember thinking to myself, “ I could do it.”

Well, I did it, and still do.

Whenever I tell someone that I work remote, the reaction is always similar. It is as if I just told them I’ve been living without electricity for months. There’s usually some combination of the following: eyes widening, a slight nod, sometimes a “wow,” or a “cool,” and always a “so what is that like?”

To be frank, the first six months were really fucking hard. That’s a long time for something to be, again, really fucking hard. Imagine the first day at a new school, except no one else goes to that school. I was shocked at how much time I took for granted in the office. How minutes spent getting up from my desk to walk into meetings or grab coffee made the day seamlessly move along. How much I missed out on small office jokes, and all the little daily interactions that made office culture so unique. But things changed.

There was no ‘Aha!’ moment, where it all clicked. Things just got easier little by little. I installed a few rituals that helped the remote working life become easier. I got outside more. Making a point to leave the apartment at least twice a week no matter what (barring work emergencies) kept me sane and filled my “see other humans” quota. I also developed a new appreciation for baristas, my daytime bartenders. I fell back in love with naps, a pastime I hadn't taken advantage of since freshman year of college. The nap also helped me unplug from the office in my own unique way. Since I can’t leave the office like most of my coworkers, a post-work nap is my way of unplugging and “leaving the office,” even if it is just mentally, and only for a half hour.

Working remote forces you to recognize certain faults, and puts you in a position where you have to fix them ASAP. Communication issues? I learned to over communicate. Not enough attention to detail? Working from home makes you obsess over details, resulting in lengthy to-do lists. Procrastination being the only slight issue, but as I can’t leave my office, unless I set my laptop on fire (it is a Dell, so that day might be close).Whether it be with my first cup of coffee at 6:30 a.m. or my dinner at 8 p.m., the work is there on my laptop, often sitting next to me. Only having from 9 to 5(ish) to work on projects is gone. All projects become a 24 hour obsession.

There are positives in working remote. It builds a certain mental strength that is kind of weird, and borderline unhealthy. Working remote also forces you to find your own motivation cocktail (not literally, unless it is Friday). There is no live human being to give you a deadline, fire you up to finish a project, or give you feedback to grow. You have to do it to yourself. Sometimes it is a good cup of coffee, a Spotify playlist or a Drake album. Regardless of the weirdness required to give me an extra push, If I wasn't a self-starter before working from home, I certainly am now.

Full disclosure: I am not saying that I am some perfect work robot. I could do A LOT of things better. Sure, I could spend less time building up my collection of reaction gifs. And yes, my FIFA skills on Xbox have gotten exponentially better since working remote. When your entire work life revolves around the internet, distractions are part of the game.

But now I can’t even imagine going back to the other side. In fact, when I do go back to the office, those are some of my least productive days. Working remote has made me work more and work harder, in the absolute best way. I have to analyze my work and my performance more frequently than ever before.I have to be honest with myself and recognize where I can (and have) to get better. I also have more freedom in terms of office space and get to support my coffee addiction free of judgement. I get to miss out on political issues and internal battles. I can just worry about getting work done.

But aside from all that, why would I really not want to go back to an office? To be honest, I just can’t imagine living a life where pants are that necessary everyday.