3 Harsh Realities About Working Remotely
I’ve been working remotely full-time for the last 12 months out of my house in Austin, Texas.
I’m not a digital nomad. I have a wife, dog, and cat that all prefer to have a stable home.
Now that everyone is writing about work from home tips I thought I’d write about what it’s like to work remotely for a long period of time. There are some simple things that everyone talks about:
- Yes, you need to eat healthily.
- Yes, you need to take breaks, walk around, stretch, and work out if you’re really ambitious.
- Yes, getting a second monitor is a must.
But there are some harsh realities I learned too that weren’t as obvious.
You won’t be as productive, at first.
Sitting in meetings is not a productive use of time. I get very little value out of most meetings I’m in, and they comprise 30–50% of my days sometimes.
Time spent in meetings is time you could’ve used to get shit done. Your productive time between meetings is precious. Protect it at all costs.
In an office that’s not a problem. You’re surrounded by other people working, and appearing to be productive, so it’s easy to do the same.
