I've been working remotely for about 7 years, through 3 different employers. Here's what I've discovered: 1. I can focus better at home vs at the office. 2. R

I've been working remotely for about 7 years, through 3 different employers. Here's what I've discovered: 1. I can focus better at home vs at the office. 2. Remote work gives me an opportunity to change my scenery (travel or just go to the park) while working to help inspire me. 3. My day-to-day activities are more flexible as long as I'm delivering, which means I can cook healthy meals at home, take a mid-day run, or go walk my dog. 4. No commute, means I can sleep longer and greatly reduces my daily stress level. Those are the upsides, but there's also downsides: 1. Much harder to build a rapport with people I work with, and I haven't developed any new adult friendships through work the way I did while I was in the office. There's no after-work crew who goes to dinner together or has game nights, like I did when I was in office. 2. Office politics is more difficult and more pointed, without the watercooler / hallway conversations, everything is a lot more pointed and direct and consequently also more difficult. You can't be as soft or subtle when you're remote, because everything necessitates a calendar invite and a video call. 3. I crave socialization outside of work more, while the opportunities to do so consequently dwindle. Traveling while working was a huge help, but COVID-19 killed that. Working actually from home means I'm starved for social interaction with other adults. Then there's the things that are just a reality of the situation, but could be good or bad depending on the person: 1. I'm responsible for ensuring I get things done and how I spend my time during the day. 2. I'm responsible for making sure my equipment is up to snuff and capable of meeting the rigors of my work cycle. 3. I'm responsible for ensuring that I communicate my progress, needs, and achievements to my boss, peers, and others within the company proactively, because they have less visibility into those things directly otherwise. 4. I have to be a better self-advocate. I've done some of my best work while remote, but it's all a matter of finding a way to "get into the groove", wherever I'm working. As long as you can stay motivated and focused, that's the environment you need to be working in whether it's at home, in an office, or in a coworking space.