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After years of working remotely, I find I'm very different than the author when it comes to being flexible with my day. While initially it was great to be able

After years of working remotely, I find I'm very different than the author when it comes to being flexible with my day. While initially it was great to be able to head out for an hour here and there when I was feeling burnt or losing focus, I realized that I often made excuses just to get out of the house. It also meant that I was working "all day" and late into the night in order to make up for the lost hours from taking these breaks. Ever since I have converted to my own set schedule (5:30 am and finished by early afternoon), I've never been more productive. Long story short, find a way to be productive that works for YOU. This may mean working early, working late, or working in chunks from morning until you go to bed. The author's experience didn't parallel mine, and it may or may not parallel yours.

nerdklers 11y ago
I completely agree! And I hope I got that across in my post (but perhaps not?), that it all comes down to finding the ways that work for you. Since all in all, switching to a remote job is about finding your own way, or at least it was for me.
copsarebastards 11y ago
> Long story short, find a way to be productive that works for YOU. Exactly. I am so tired of all these "Open offices are great", "Open offices suck", "Remote work is great", "Remote work sucks", posts. If it works, keep it, if it doesn't work, change it.
- jaawn 11y ago
  It would be nice if more managers agreed with the "what works for you" mindset, instead of "what works for the manager."
  - enraged_camel 11y ago
    Both are important. Workers need to be able to work and managers need to be able to manage. Otherwise there will be friction.
    - jaawn 11y ago
      I agree, but what I mean is managers trying to govern how employees work rather than how they are managed. There are cases where these are related, but I think most of the time they are separate.
  - tfigment 11y ago
    I try to be nice but people will take advantage even if they don't think they are. They will say that they are getting the work done so those 5 hour days are justified. I don't always agree and as a working manager I'm working 10-12 hour days cleaning up the rest and need more help and that attitude doesn't help me. If you finish early, there is usually nothing stopping you from helping out with other miscellaneous things than just the big projects.
    - jaawn 11y ago
      You should have clear, stated goals for deliverables, each deliverable should have a group of people who is responsible for it. Anyone who is is responsible for any deliverables which are delayed should not be working 5 hour days.
      - tbrownaw 11y ago
        It's delayed because one of the big dependencies is delayed, and there's not much to be done until it's ready.
        jaawn 11y ago
        Then, depending on structure, people could assist on the delayed dependency, or devote time to a lower-priority project until they are able to work on the more important one. If neither of these are possible, then it probably is okay for that employee to work shorter days in the meantime, and leadership resources should spend time solving the bottle neck issues to prevent the situation in the future.
    - jlg23 11y ago
      > If you finish early, there is usually nothing stopping you from helping out with other miscellaneous things than just the big projects. From an employees perspective: Then what is the motivation to perform better than my peers? More work than my colleagues and the hope to get a bigger bonus? If someone is performing better and helping out in the remaining 3h, do you also pay extra for these 3h? If not, ain't it wiser for the employee to finish the work in 7h and help out for 1h? Less overall work, same money and one still stands out as a performer.

nerdklers 11y ago

I completely agree! And I hope I got that across in my post (but perhaps not?), that it all comes down to finding the ways that work for you. Since all in all, switching to a remote job is about finding your own way, or at least it was for me.

copsarebastards 11y ago

> Long story short, find a way to be productive that works for YOU. Exactly. I am so tired of all these "Open offices are great", "Open offices suck", "Remote work is great", "Remote work sucks", posts. If it works, keep it, if it doesn't work, change it.

jaawn 11y ago
It would be nice if more managers agreed with the "what works for you" mindset, instead of "what works for the manager."
- enraged_camel 11y ago
  Both are important. Workers need to be able to work and managers need to be able to manage. Otherwise there will be friction.
  - jaawn 11y ago
    I agree, but what I mean is managers trying to govern how employees work rather than how they are managed. There are cases where these are related, but I think most of the time they are separate.
- tfigment 11y ago
  I try to be nice but people will take advantage even if they don't think they are. They will say that they are getting the work done so those 5 hour days are justified. I don't always agree and as a working manager I'm working 10-12 hour days cleaning up the rest and need more help and that attitude doesn't help me. If you finish early, there is usually nothing stopping you from helping out with other miscellaneous things than just the big projects.
  - jaawn 11y ago
    You should have clear, stated goals for deliverables, each deliverable should have a group of people who is responsible for it. Anyone who is is responsible for any deliverables which are delayed should not be working 5 hour days.
    - tbrownaw 11y ago
      It's delayed because one of the big dependencies is delayed, and there's not much to be done until it's ready.
      - jaawn 11y ago
        Then, depending on structure, people could assist on the delayed dependency, or devote time to a lower-priority project until they are able to work on the more important one. If neither of these are possible, then it probably is okay for that employee to work shorter days in the meantime, and leadership resources should spend time solving the bottle neck issues to prevent the situation in the future.
  - jlg23 11y ago
    > If you finish early, there is usually nothing stopping you from helping out with other miscellaneous things than just the big projects. From an employees perspective: Then what is the motivation to perform better than my peers? More work than my colleagues and the hope to get a bigger bonus? If someone is performing better and helping out in the remaining 3h, do you also pay extra for these 3h? If not, ain't it wiser for the employee to finish the work in 7h and help out for 1h? Less overall work, same money and one still stands out as a performer.