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I did the work-from-home (wfh) thing for about 5 years across two different jobs. The first job was the worst kind of wfh situation because there simply weren't
by bane 9y ago
I did the work-from-home (wfh) thing for about 5 years across two different jobs. The first job was the worst kind of wfh situation because there simply weren't any boundaries between work and home and day work bled into night into weekends.
The second was the other worst kind, paid very well to do almost nothing, and again day nothing bled into night nothing into weekend nothing. I tried to use it to study things or learn other topics, but every once in a while I'd be needed for a few days, go and put a fire out and be back home doing not much at all. The reason for the situation was a disastrous corporate management. However, the situation was so great in theory (get paid top-10 metro senior pay to do nothing at all) that I actually had a hard time changing jobs because I kept telling myself I actually enjoyed screwing around.
Given a binary choice of one or the other I'd actually choose the second job again, but I'd structure my days very differently and try to be much more productive. The good news is that life isn't binary, and I'm in a place now where I work most days in an office, but can wfh when I need to, and rigorously control my schedule so work and home-life don't intersect. I took a pay cut, but I love this current work much more than either of those two jobs (and my wife is much happier as well) -- lessons learned I guess.
- RSchaeffer 9y ago>I'd structure my days very differently What would your restructured day look like?
- bane 9y agoI think I would definitely put more effort into establishing clearer space/time boundaries between work and home. I live near a local library and might turn it into an office of sorts so that I have a place to go, people to interact with and so on. I'd definitely put more effort into making sure I'd wake up, shower, and dress for work during work hours and then stop at the end of the work day. Basically, better discipline, more delineation.
- jdswain 9y agoI used to go out in the morning to a local Starbucks and do email and planning tasks plus also get some social interaction. That worked really well for staring the day with a clear boundary. At the end of the day I'd walk up to the train station (through a park) to meet my wife, so I'd have a clear boundary on both ends of my day. It worked really well while I lived there. Now I'm in a small town and it's a bit harder to do something similar.
- spraak 9y agoThat's great advice, thank you.
- rorykoehler 9y agoI do this. I work from home mostly as my companies office is an 8 hour flight away. I have a standup first thing in the morning and try get a bike ride or gym session in at the end of the day. I also have a table in an office that is a 40 minute bike ride away however I feel better and more productive when I work from home with this schedule.