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I'm a natural recluse who loves living alone and loves working remotely. I've always been this way. This article didn't resonate with me; I don't get lonely and

I'm a natural recluse who loves living alone and loves working remotely. I've always been this way. This article didn't resonate with me; I don't get lonely and generally don't desire many social connections or interactions. My key issue when working from home is staying focused and avoiding distractions. Still haven't found a good solution (I only end up using website blockers a few times before my hedonistic side takes over and just stops using them). I can be very productive and effective when I'm able to stay concentrated for extended periods of time, but it's tough. I disliked working in an open-ish office, but knowing people could see my screen often pressured me into being productive.

piyh 8y ago
The distractions don't go away once you step in an office.
- jgtrosh 8y ago
  On the contrary… I'll actually stay home if I want to stay focused on one task! You have to find out what sticks with you.
  - dkersten 8y ago
    I’m the same. I find office great for planning things out with others but when it’s time to focus and implement things, I find it easier at home. Everyone had to find their own sweet spot and hopefully their employer will allow them to do that.
  - fernandotakai 8y ago
    yup. i used to work at an open plan office. it was absolutely impossible to focus on anything. even with noise-cancelling headsets, people would still talk to me. or people would do impromptu meetings on a desk by my side.
- meowface 8y ago
  I was distracted easily in an office, too, but it was different distractions (usually coworkers wanting to talk to me, or the whole room, about some issue that's not important to answer right away). At home, my issue is really self-discipline. I'm the cause of my own distractions when I'm working from home, and this can potentially lead to boundless distraction. In theory, it's a lot easier for me to stay focused when I'm at home, and many days that is the case, but in practice my lack of discipline and procrastination become problems.
- twothamendment 8y ago
  Right - home and office both have distractions. I find I can manage them better at home. It has been much easier to train my kids than my old co-workers.
bg4 8y ago
I worked from home for 7 months and also loved it. I stopped simply because benefits were better for a gig right up the street.
corv 8y ago
I found emotional wellbeing and mental state to be significant factors when dealing with procrastination. Of course our emotional state is a derivative of our daily experiences, so we cannot always affect it directly. Regular exercise, good sleep, healthy diet and taking a break every now and then go a long way however.
- meowface 8y ago
  I've definitely noticed basic stuff like sleep, diet, and exercise help to keep me focused. Exposure to sunlight helps, too. But there are still many days where I don't get much done even when I've got everything else right.
  - Royalaid 8y ago
    I have a similar situation to yourself. Honestly I have found that working environments become "soiled" for me over time. I try to constantly mix up where I am working in my place or get out of the house to a coffee shop to work if I am not focusing. Keeping s good rotation of these work spaces has been a huge boon. Often times I work from the couch in the living room, take a break, move to the kitchen, then end the work day in bed without the TV on. Eventually I will probably move back to working in my office but since the new WoW expansion has come out my office is no good for productivity.
    - meowface 8y ago
      Thanks, this is good advice. I'll try it.
ergothus 8y ago
I get lonely, but I feel it more poignantly when I'm in an office and everyone is taking in groups, sharing personal details. I don't know how to get into such groups. I fail to resonate with what they discuss, and generally am faced with a demonstration that I am alone. Put me remote and I can get by just fine with some casual jokes on slack. I can lurk in channels where issues that matter to me are discussed and tune out when it doesn't apply, and there is no anxiety because people dont know not care that I am "present". Not saying my practice is healthy socializing, just saying that putting me in physical proximity of other people does nothing good for my loneliness.
erezyehuda 8y ago
It's kind of funny- I assume other people will assume I'm not productive at home, so I end up hyper-focusing on getting things done when I'm working from home just to prove I'm not slacking off.
- arwhatever 8y ago
  Wife and I see similar things while working remotely. Some people have a hard time not referring to what we're doing as "vacation." Even wife's boss of her formerly in-person, now remote job praised her for how much time she spends online/connected, even though she's just strictly keeping a normal work schedule. We both view our jobs as having the exact same responsibilities as before, just with a flexible location, but I guess some folks might have a hard time not inferring some slacking off or other drop in productivity.
samuell 8y ago
> My key issue when working from home is staying focused and avoiding distractions. Still haven't found a good solution (I only end up using website blockers a few times before my hedonistic side takes over and just stops using them). > I can be very productive and effective when I'm able to stay concentrated for extended periods of time, but it's tough. I disliked working in an open-ish office, but knowing people could see my screen often pressured me into being productive. - - - As having been able to work a lot from home over the last few years, I recognize this too well. What works for me is time boxing: Set the alarm on 25 minutes, and don't allow yourself to do anything than work towards the current task at hand before the alarm rings. After that, you're free to check email/social media etc, until you set the alarm for another 25 minutes. Works wonders for me. Just have to remember to actually do this, since after some time I use to get over the problems and don't need the time boxing ... but then I need to remember to start using it again when starting to backslide.
robohamburger 8y ago
I agree, and as a person who used to work from home and is now going in again, it is hard to adjust and I find my self-questioning the merits of physical offices. I think there is a big difference between working from home and spending lots of time alone vs being in a place where you don't have any friends physically around for 100s of miles. I tried that for the last 5 years, wouldn't recommend it.
01100011 8y ago
shoot, I surf the internet less when I work from home. I do take more breaks to stretch, exercise, or walk around, but those don't distract my mind. In an office, I feel somewhat caged and constrained by the presence of others. I end up trying to get my nervous energy out by surfing and end up distracted. Not to mention that I get a lot of good work done after the sun goes down, and it's a lot easier to do that when you're working from home and people aren't commenting on how they haven't seen you lately(which happens at my day job all the time unless I'm in a chair 9-5).
- meowface 8y ago
  All I can say is I wish I could do the same. I feel caged in an office, too, and in theory I'm more productive at home. On my good days, I am definitely more productive at home than in an office, but I wish I had more of those good days. I'm just too distracted by the Internet.
emerged 8y ago
My solution was to work fewer hours. I'm down to 4 per day, divided into separate slices. It's easy to hold focus for those individual time periods and the net result is as good or better as trying to focus for 8 hours. I'm same as you, natural recluse who never feels lonely. I do get out and interact with people but have found that most are so overflowing with negative emotion that being alone is more enjoyable.

piyh 8y ago

The distractions don't go away once you step in an office.

jgtrosh 8y ago
On the contrary… I'll actually stay home if I want to stay focused on one task! You have to find out what sticks with you.
- dkersten 8y ago
  I’m the same. I find office great for planning things out with others but when it’s time to focus and implement things, I find it easier at home. Everyone had to find their own sweet spot and hopefully their employer will allow them to do that.
- fernandotakai 8y ago
  yup. i used to work at an open plan office. it was absolutely impossible to focus on anything. even with noise-cancelling headsets, people would still talk to me. or people would do impromptu meetings on a desk by my side.
meowface 8y ago
I was distracted easily in an office, too, but it was different distractions (usually coworkers wanting to talk to me, or the whole room, about some issue that's not important to answer right away). At home, my issue is really self-discipline. I'm the cause of my own distractions when I'm working from home, and this can potentially lead to boundless distraction. In theory, it's a lot easier for me to stay focused when I'm at home, and many days that is the case, but in practice my lack of discipline and procrastination become problems.
twothamendment 8y ago
Right - home and office both have distractions. I find I can manage them better at home. It has been much easier to train my kids than my old co-workers.

bg4 8y ago

I worked from home for 7 months and also loved it. I stopped simply because benefits were better for a gig right up the street.

corv 8y ago

I found emotional wellbeing and mental state to be significant factors when dealing with procrastination. Of course our emotional state is a derivative of our daily experiences, so we cannot always affect it directly. Regular exercise, good sleep, healthy diet and taking a break every now and then go a long way however.

meowface 8y ago
I've definitely noticed basic stuff like sleep, diet, and exercise help to keep me focused. Exposure to sunlight helps, too. But there are still many days where I don't get much done even when I've got everything else right.
- Royalaid 8y ago
  I have a similar situation to yourself. Honestly I have found that working environments become "soiled" for me over time. I try to constantly mix up where I am working in my place or get out of the house to a coffee shop to work if I am not focusing. Keeping s good rotation of these work spaces has been a huge boon. Often times I work from the couch in the living room, take a break, move to the kitchen, then end the work day in bed without the TV on. Eventually I will probably move back to working in my office but since the new WoW expansion has come out my office is no good for productivity.
  - meowface 8y ago
    Thanks, this is good advice. I'll try it.

ergothus 8y ago

I get lonely, but I feel it more poignantly when I'm in an office and everyone is taking in groups, sharing personal details. I don't know how to get into such groups. I fail to resonate with what they discuss, and generally am faced with a demonstration that I am alone. Put me remote and I can get by just fine with some casual jokes on slack. I can lurk in channels where issues that matter to me are discussed and tune out when it doesn't apply, and there is no anxiety because people dont know not care that I am "present". Not saying my practice is healthy socializing, just saying that putting me in physical proximity of other people does nothing good for my loneliness.

erezyehuda 8y ago

It's kind of funny- I assume other people will assume I'm not productive at home, so I end up hyper-focusing on getting things done when I'm working from home just to prove I'm not slacking off.

arwhatever 8y ago
Wife and I see similar things while working remotely. Some people have a hard time not referring to what we're doing as "vacation." Even wife's boss of her formerly in-person, now remote job praised her for how much time she spends online/connected, even though she's just strictly keeping a normal work schedule. We both view our jobs as having the exact same responsibilities as before, just with a flexible location, but I guess some folks might have a hard time not inferring some slacking off or other drop in productivity.

samuell 8y ago

> My key issue when working from home is staying focused and avoiding distractions. Still haven't found a good solution (I only end up using website blockers a few times before my hedonistic side takes over and just stops using them). > I can be very productive and effective when I'm able to stay concentrated for extended periods of time, but it's tough. I disliked working in an open-ish office, but knowing people could see my screen often pressured me into being productive. - - - As having been able to work a lot from home over the last few years, I recognize this too well. What works for me is time boxing: Set the alarm on 25 minutes, and don't allow yourself to do anything than work towards the current task at hand before the alarm rings. After that, you're free to check email/social media etc, until you set the alarm for another 25 minutes. Works wonders for me. Just have to remember to actually do this, since after some time I use to get over the problems and don't need the time boxing ... but then I need to remember to start using it again when starting to backslide.

robohamburger 8y ago

I agree, and as a person who used to work from home and is now going in again, it is hard to adjust and I find my self-questioning the merits of physical offices. I think there is a big difference between working from home and spending lots of time alone vs being in a place where you don't have any friends physically around for 100s of miles. I tried that for the last 5 years, wouldn't recommend it.

01100011 8y ago

shoot, I surf the internet less when I work from home. I do take more breaks to stretch, exercise, or walk around, but those don't distract my mind. In an office, I feel somewhat caged and constrained by the presence of others. I end up trying to get my nervous energy out by surfing and end up distracted. Not to mention that I get a lot of good work done after the sun goes down, and it's a lot easier to do that when you're working from home and people aren't commenting on how they haven't seen you lately(which happens at my day job all the time unless I'm in a chair 9-5).

meowface 8y ago
All I can say is I wish I could do the same. I feel caged in an office, too, and in theory I'm more productive at home. On my good days, I am definitely more productive at home than in an office, but I wish I had more of those good days. I'm just too distracted by the Internet.

emerged 8y ago

My solution was to work fewer hours. I'm down to 4 per day, divided into separate slices. It's easy to hold focus for those individual time periods and the net result is as good or better as trying to focus for 8 hours. I'm same as you, natural recluse who never feels lonely. I do get out and interact with people but have found that most are so overflowing with negative emotion that being alone is more enjoyable.