4 ms·

I've gotten used to WFH but agree that the ideal remote work location is actually a "third-place" -- non-home non-office location -- like a library or a Starbuc

by wenc 6y ago

I've gotten used to WFH but agree that the ideal remote work location is actually a "third-place" -- non-home non-office location -- like a library or a Starbucks or a shared workspace close to home. The psychological separation between home and work is so important.

LeSaucy 6y ago
I keep an office and a gym in my finished basement and it works perfectly for that separation. Not feasible for everyone but if you have the space it’s totally worth creating the division.
ghaff 6y ago
>The psychological separation between home and work is so important. Honestly, It varies by person. I've gone into an office increasingly intermittently for the most part over the past 15 years or so and don't even have an assigned desk any longer. I have a dedicated office at home (which I also use for video/photo editing, screwing around with electronics, etc.) but I don't feel it has to be just a work-work room. I do videocalls from this room because it's where my good webcam is attached to my desktop system and where I've fiddled with lighting and background. TBH though, half the time I work somewhere else in the house on a laptop. But I've absolutely worked with a lot of people who pretty much came into the office every day even though they had no particular need to. My overall conclusion is that most of the "rules" for working remote or WFH only apply to some people.
papito 6y ago
That's a matter of habit. The trigger before was space. "I am in the office - work mode on". In WFH the trigger has to be time. We have a hard 9AM start policy, with 12 to 1PM lunch. That puts everyone on the same page and gets rid of the ambiguous "I wonder if anyone else is looking for me right now, and should I be working". You should absolutely know. If people don't respect it, it's their problem, but you should not be responding to people at 7AM or 9PM unless the sky is falling. No different from how it was before. This lack of boundaries is what really exhausts people. Also, create a separate account on your computer for work. You should do that anyway to avoid screen share mishaps (no one wants to see your personal bookmarks and history). At end of day, log out, killing slack notifications and email, and log into your work-free personal account. You are done for the day.
- mjevans 6y ago
  I don't have a home _office_, an actual area dedicated to doing just work stuff, with hardware dedicated only for work stuff. Working remotely probably should include that.
  - WrtCdEvrydy 6y ago
    I have a personal desk with two monitors and a laptop arm... I set up my desk with a KVM (just a USB switcher) for the keyboard and mouse and two HDMI switchers. Three clicks and all of my IO is routed to the work laptop and that allows me to separate cleanly from work. Before work-mode is engaged, I put my Windows workstation to sleep and I bring it out of sleep right after switching all of my IO back.
godelski 6y ago
One strategy I've found is to work in a different room from where I "hang out". I think it helps your brain realize that this is work time.
Consultant32452 6y ago
One thing that helped me with this is routine. So I wake up, take a shower, get dressed, etc. just like I would if I were going into the office. It has to be a different routine than what you do on weekends. This allows me to be in that different "work" mental space. Hopefully you are able to find something that helps you.
- ghaff 6y ago
  I used to be more consistent about this. I definitely don't dress like I'm going into the office any longer. But it's like anything else. Having some formal steps can help you establish a routine and once you've internalized that routine sufficiently (some people) can start dropping some of the formalities that aren't strictly necessary.

by wenc 6y ago

LeSaucy 6y ago

I keep an office and a gym in my finished basement and it works perfectly for that separation. Not feasible for everyone but if you have the space it’s totally worth creating the division.

ghaff 6y ago

>The psychological separation between home and work is so important. Honestly, It varies by person. I've gone into an office increasingly intermittently for the most part over the past 15 years or so and don't even have an assigned desk any longer. I have a dedicated office at home (which I also use for video/photo editing, screwing around with electronics, etc.) but I don't feel it has to be just a work-work room. I do videocalls from this room because it's where my good webcam is attached to my desktop system and where I've fiddled with lighting and background. TBH though, half the time I work somewhere else in the house on a laptop. But I've absolutely worked with a lot of people who pretty much came into the office every day even though they had no particular need to. My overall conclusion is that most of the "rules" for working remote or WFH only apply to some people.

papito 6y ago

That's a matter of habit. The trigger before was space. "I am in the office - work mode on". In WFH the trigger has to be time. We have a hard 9AM start policy, with 12 to 1PM lunch. That puts everyone on the same page and gets rid of the ambiguous "I wonder if anyone else is looking for me right now, and should I be working". You should absolutely know. If people don't respect it, it's their problem, but you should not be responding to people at 7AM or 9PM unless the sky is falling. No different from how it was before. This lack of boundaries is what really exhausts people. Also, create a separate account on your computer for work. You should do that anyway to avoid screen share mishaps (no one wants to see your personal bookmarks and history). At end of day, log out, killing slack notifications and email, and log into your work-free personal account. You are done for the day.

mjevans 6y ago
I don't have a home _office_, an actual area dedicated to doing just work stuff, with hardware dedicated only for work stuff. Working remotely probably should include that.
- WrtCdEvrydy 6y ago
  I have a personal desk with two monitors and a laptop arm... I set up my desk with a KVM (just a USB switcher) for the keyboard and mouse and two HDMI switchers. Three clicks and all of my IO is routed to the work laptop and that allows me to separate cleanly from work. Before work-mode is engaged, I put my Windows workstation to sleep and I bring it out of sleep right after switching all of my IO back.

godelski 6y ago

One strategy I've found is to work in a different room from where I "hang out". I think it helps your brain realize that this is work time.

Consultant32452 6y ago

One thing that helped me with this is routine. So I wake up, take a shower, get dressed, etc. just like I would if I were going into the office. It has to be a different routine than what you do on weekends. This allows me to be in that different "work" mental space. Hopefully you are able to find something that helps you.

ghaff 6y ago
I used to be more consistent about this. I definitely don't dress like I'm going into the office any longer. But it's like anything else. Having some formal steps can help you establish a routine and once you've internalized that routine sufficiently (some people) can start dropping some of the formalities that aren't strictly necessary.