The highs and lows of working remote
A reflection after my first year
I‘m not going to lie, working remote has been pretty awesome — but it isn’t at all what I thought it would be. Here are some reasons why I wanted to work remote in the first place:
- I wanted to spend more time with family / friends.
- I hated the commute.
- I hated working in a cubicle.
- I wanted to be able to work from my laptop anywhere in the world.
- I wanted to cut out distractions and get shit done.
The list is different for everyone but the bottom line is usually the same; I was convinced that working remote was going to solve all my problems.
But here’s the thing — it didn’t.
More time with family & friends
The truth is, I don’t have that much more time with family and friends because I’m still working. It can even be worse sometimes because everyone knows you’re at home but you can’t engage with them. I think this is especially true if you have young kids because they look at you and they’re like, “Why can’t you come play with me? Now!”
No commute
Not having to commute is pretty awesome. I can actually sit down and enjoy breakfast, read a few articles before I start working or choose to get an extra hour of sleep. The downside is that there is no separation, no time by myself to decompress, leave my work behind and release stress at the end of the day.
When you have a commute, you can choose to use that time to blow off steam or gather your thoughts before having to engage with other people. When you’re working remote — especially from home — you probably won’t have this luxury. This can put a strain on relationships, for sure.
No cubicles!
Working in a cubicle definitely wasn’t the most inspiring thing, and my home office setup is actually pretty sweet. But after working here for over a year, let me tell you, it’s starting to feel just like a cubicle. There are some days where I take my laptop straight to the living room couch just for a change of scenery.
Being able to write code, work from my laptop and be anywhere in the world as long as there’s a decent internet connection is a pretty awesome idea — it’s something I used to dream about when I was working in my cubicle. But can you guess how many times I’ve been sitting on the beach, sipping on a drink while I grind out some work? That’s right. Zero.
While I do know some people who work remotely and travel the world, this simply isn’t going to work for most people. When you’re facing a deadline with real consequences (like losing a contract or getting fired!), you need to be in a place where you can focus and get shit done. Most of the time the local cafe just isn’t going to cut it.
Distractions
Speaking of focus, it’s pretty amazing how much we get distracted by things. I thought it was bad at the office, but it can actually be much worse when you work remote. The typical 10 minute coffee break or water cooler chat at the office can easily turn into a 3 hour marathon session if you’re working from home.
When paired with a fast internet connection and no boss standing over your shoulder, the distractions are virtually endless. There are times when I literally need to slap myself to get back into a focused state.
Of course for some ‘super disciplined’ people this won’t be an issue at all, but for just about everyone I’ve talked to who works remote, this issue has come up at least a few times.
In conclusion
Despite the obstacles above— and countless others — the pros of working remote definitely outweigh the cons, in my opinion. As long as you’re aware of the potential pitfalls, each one of the issues I mentioned above can easily be solved with some discipline and creativity.
If you’re considering taking the plunge into remote work opportunities I would highly recommend it. At the very least, it will change the way you look at your time and how you spend it. Whether you decide to continue working remote or not, once you’ve tried it you will have a whole new perspective on work / life balance.
