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Ask HN: Has remote work made you procrastinate more?

• deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
• burntoutfire 5y ago
  > I always feel overwhelmed, and basically, I don't have the energy and excitement to do the things I should do in life. Who says you should do them?
• kidgorgeous 5y ago
  quit. If I'm not mentally engaged I bounce. just left a 6 figure position 2 weeks ago.
  • randomopining 4y ago
    I'm seriously thinking about doing the same thing. Seems really dumb financially though... did you save up a ton? I actually just got promoted and get paid well but somehow not engaged mentally at all. Everything big is done and it's just fixing smaller issues and implementing tedious things. And support.
• kingkongjaffa 5y ago
  Probably less productive on an average day, but it’s also far saner for my mental health if I’m having an off day to be able to do less vs being forced to be at a desk in some office. As a result I have more high value deep work days where I can get difficult things done. The biggest thing is being able to proactively manage my own burnout without a manager physically breathing down my neck.
  • kingkongjaffa 5y ago
    It is however easy to slip into multiple unproductive days and it takes conscious effort to get out a funk.
• psyc 5y ago
  No. Procrastinating is mostly a function of whether I want to do the thing.
• dazc 5y ago
  A working environment where you set your own rules is an ideal breeding ground for bad habits to fester and take hold, you just have to develop new strategies to counter this. I have found that maintaining a daily routine is an effective way of dealing with procrastination. I still get those moments of thinking I should be wasting my time rather than doing something productive but knowing that it is only an hour until lunch, or 2 hours 'till nap time helps me push thorugh the tedium. I have also found that anything that requires creative thinking is best done early in the morning and simple mechanical stuff late in the afternoon. My easiest rule to adhere to, and my one concession to my procrastinating alter ego, is that from 12 noon until 2pm I can do what the hell I like.
  • b3morales 4y ago
    > I have also found that anything that requires creative thinking is best done early in the morning and simple mechanical stuff late in the afternoon. Note that this varies from person to person. I have the opposite polarity to you: it takes me a few hours in the morning to get out of the mechanical crap stage, and I hit my coding flow in the latter half or two-thirds of my workday. The important thing is for each of us to figure out what works individually and plan around that. I am fortunately able to have most of my meetings in the morning, for example, where they don't interrupt my creative time.
• ranguna 5y ago
  I procrastinated more at the office. There was always a time to go and play some ping pong with the mates, now not so much. It's non stop work except for lunch and maybe 10 mins during the afternoon.
• tluyben2 5y ago
  I personally spend less hours working but doing more when at home. I first thought it was procrastination until I measured my output and noticed that I was being far more effective and doing work in maybe 50% of the time so I can just take days off.
  • johndavid9991 4y ago
    hi @tluyben2, what is the nature of your work and how do you measure your output?
• Tepix 5y ago
  I think if you procrastinate at the office you have less of a bad conscience when you head home. OTOH when you procrastinate at home you end up working late to make up for it.
• hbogert 5y ago
  Wouldn't call it procrastinate. but I do play a game of dota2 every now and then. Then again, I still put in more hours than the contract says, so...
  • esperent 5y ago
    > put in more hours than the contract says This is the exact opposite of procrastination.
• DanHulton 5y ago
  Keep in mind, you're not just "working remotely" these past two years, you're "working remotely through a pandemic". These are two very different things. There are a lot of extra stressors that are involved in surviving through a pandemic, and honestly maybe your goal of not just surviving, but thriving, is unreasonable. Maybe just getting through it so you can kick-start your life on the other side is just fine! For example, if you were in an accident and had to undergo extensive physical therapy, you'd be a lot more understanding with yourself if you weren't also running marathons at the same time. Be kind to yourself, OP. This shit is hard and you're doing an important job just getting to the other side of it.
  • bluedino 5y ago
    Other than some shortages an inflation, isn't the pandemic mostly over?
    • subpixel 5y ago
      Cases are rising for lots of communities, we just lost another half-week of school to a close encounter quarantine, I’m still masking to avoid all the possible serious side effects of even a mild case. Plus we have an unvaccinated person in our home and have to live accordingly. I’d say no, not quite over.
    • alar44 5y ago
      It's over.
    • schwartzworld 4y ago
      Parents are still dealing with it, exposures and cases in school mean kids can and are sent home surprisingly often.
  • 123asd23wers 5y ago
  • rat9988 5y ago
    > Keep in mind, you're not just "working remotely" these past two years, you're "working remotely through a pandemic". These are two very different things. I will disagree with it. I may have agreed the first year but not the second. The pandemic doesn't excuse anything anymore.
• Claude_Shannon 5y ago
  Not work, but university. I had nearly failed my first year at it, it was fully remote. I could not focus at all on the lectures or my homework, I've spend the whole year on my phone. Now that we get some stationary lessons, it's going better, and I've got some contact with my peers.
• uuyi 5y ago
  If you’re overwhelmed seek comfort in the fact that if you do something then you have taken a step forward. Start with small reasonable things that take ten minutes. They give you the energy and motivation to do the big things. Eventually this builds into self control and organisation which allows you to do the huge things. When you get demotivated and start procrastinating look back at what you did to remind yourself what you can do. Oh and write lists. Lists are cool. Don’t procrastinate by spending ten hours reading HN trying to find some list software though; just use whatever you have on your phone already (I just use reminders on iOS). Don’t use some outliner software on a PC because you need that on you all day every day.
  • johndavid9991 4y ago
    @uuyi thank you, starting with a small reasonable task or things that take ten minutes seems to be a good trick. I will try this. Whenever I start my day, I try to finish some of the complex tasks right away, thinking the rest of my todos are easier. Then I would find myself spending time on other things distracting myself from being overwhelmed, and ended up achieving nothing or incomplete work
• k__ 5y ago
  Not really. But I transitioned into it from a one year sabbatical in 2014. The job I had before was full-time employment in an open office. I never procrastinated more in my life. Currently, I'm self-employed and work from home. Now, I simply work explicitly less and take time off more often, so the procrastination turned to something more enjoyable.
• brailsafe 5y ago
  Absolutely. April 2020. Lost the job because I couldn't do anything but go from my bed to work, no gym, no social, no stimulation from life. Somehow writing React components that render react components didn't suffice. Also I didn't respect my manager. But now it's better because I can do those things.
• mft_ 5y ago
  I think there’s an effect that isn’t well-recognised, but which is something along the lines of “working-from-home-in-the-pandemic-low-level-chronic-burnout”. I see this a lot in many colleagues - everyone is just really tired, fed up, fighting to keep things on a level and just exist. It’s a weird concept, as (from a personal perspective) pre-pandemic, working from home was always a pleasanter, stress-reducing choice. So I don’t think it’s purely related to the location - but there’s definitely something happening on a large scale related to how we’ve been working and existing over the past couple of years now. Anyway, I wonder if this is what you’re describing? And if it is, then the ‘procrastination’ you describe maybe isn’t actually procrastination, but a natural (protective?) secondary reaction to something else going on in the background. And if so, the correct response is probably to recognise and accept it, not beat yourself up for not being productive, and instead figure out what you need to do to recover and heal.
  • Sakos 5y ago
    Definitely agree with this. I was eventually so burnt out that I quit my job and wallowed in depression for a good 6 months and started therapy. After starting to rebuild myself and my personal environment, I finally felt like I was in the right place to work again. I recently started a new job and I feel like a different person. I couldn't imagine procrastinating because I'm so motivated to work again. I know what I did is maybe not an option for a lot of people (thank god for the German social net and healthcare system), but I feel many could really benefit from therapy and focusing on their mental health for a while.
    • hirvi74 4y ago
      > I recently started a new job and I feel like a different person. I couldn't imagine procrastinating because I'm so motivated to work again. I am hoping to do the same over the next few months. I haven't started looking, and I am quite horrified to do so, but my back is up against the wall at this point, and I have no where left to hide. If I stay at my current job, my life will be a constant spiral downwards, and if I leave but cannot find another job, then my life will still be a constant spiral downwards, so I have nothing to lose in my search.
• cardanome 5y ago
  As my procrastination is mostly anxiety fueled, I have more ways to cope at home than in the office. In the office I would end up browsing social media to distract myself while at home there is lots of things to do from listening to loud music to just walking around, doing the dishes, stretching, going for a brisk walk and so on. It is way better. This also helps with my creativity as sometimes the best ideas come when I do house work. The best way to solve a problem is sometimes not found starring at a screen but when you allow yourself to relax.
• dandare 5y ago
  In my case not at all. While it is true that I may do laundry between meetings, even have a power nap, in the end I have more energy for the demanding marathon of work. One more important thing: I thrive in the environment were important things are written down. In my world it eliminates the power of "popular" people and cliques who work via "charming" and "politics".
• TheGigaChad 5y ago
• hdjjhhvvhga 5y ago
  No! On the opposite: I try to do the work quickly so I have more time for my hobbies. It's fantastic! On the other hand, when I'm in the office, I'm a bit depressed and feel like a powerless slave, just can't wait to be free. Fortunately my companies has an elastic WFH policy but I'm not sure how long it will hold.
• difosfor 5y ago
  I struggle with procrastination in general, but yeah, working from home started out great for me for lack of noisy colleagues and diversions, but ended up making me feel lonely and unmotivated and messing up my daily rhythm. So I decided to go back to the office with the other people that feel likewise or have some obligations there and I really like it. Thankfully the office is still pretty quiet, so it's kind of the best of both worlds for me.
• darthrupert 5y ago
  No, even though it feels like it would. At home, I need to pretend working much less, which feels less like working.
• jacobmischka 5y ago
  Sometimes, but that was primarily because the job was very dull and didn't actually require much work. I would some days do absolutely nothing and it wouldn't matter at all (and I stopped feeling guilty before too long because I was being paid so little). When I was working from the office I would usually be motivated by people being around and fill those gaps of boredom with extra work, but when working remotely I realized how pointless that busywork was. I got a new job around 6 months ago, and now I feel more productive than ever because it's interesting and fulfilling.
• pgt 5y ago
  @johndavid9991, do you work from home alone?
  • johndavid9991 4y ago
    @pgt, yes, throughout the pandemic, I work from home alone. Before that, I worked at the office for more than 8 years
• projektfu 5y ago
  Yeah, I haven't been remote working but I tried working from home before with that result. Now I know I have ADHD.
• bluishgreen 5y ago
  Just a datapoint. No, I procrastinate less now. My tip is to schedule remote co working, even if you are not working together, just talking to someone- planning your work and help them plan their work and end of day check etc has helped add structure better than onsite.
• Aeolun 5y ago
  I really only have to go to the office once every month to regain my apprecciation/motivation for working at home. And that is at like 5% occupation. Can’t imagine how horrible it’d be when everyone moves back to the office. I apparently had someone hotdesk in my spot (fair, it’s a kind of nice one, with a ultrawide screen near a window with a view), but when I saw someone had rearranged the stuff that had been in the same place for the previous 2 years, I found out how much I absolutely loathe the idea of anyone doing that.
• blenderdt 5y ago
  I work from home as a freelancer. As a freelancer I can decide to stop working when the job is done. This is completely different when you work for a boss. Then you start 'spreading' work over 8 hours per day. When you are in a office you don't notice this much because you have interaction with colleagues. But when you are alone at home you might start to wonder: why am I sitting behind my screen all day while I can do this job in 4 hours or less. And as others comment: the pandemic is also what influenced your mood. You sound a little down. And I think that is normal because most restrictions during the pandemic were very destructive for society. One fix for procrastination is to think about the first step for something you would like to do. Do you want to go walking outside: the first step is to put shoes on. Start doing only that and the rest will follow.
  • ostenning 5y ago
    Can I ask, how do you find work as a Freelancer? Generally I find a majority of companies are looking for FTE workers and often its hard to negotiate to work as a contractor/freelancer on a role that's advertised on a job board.
    • blenderdt 5y ago
      What works for me best is to tell people what I do. This includes family and friends. Most of the time someone knows someone who needs a custom webapp. Sometimes you can also join a business club in your community. This sometimes costs money but this can be a good investment. And the most important: deliver good work. That will spread the word.
    • datavirtue 4y ago
      Majority of companies are looking for contractors. Which is pretty much the same as a freelancer. FTEs are still a thing in a lot of companies because the company enjoys maximum control over them, fluffing it up with a bunch of fake benefits that contractors supposedly don't get. It's psychological manipulation to make the lowest paid micromanaged people think they are getting the good deal.
• codingdave 5y ago
  I feel far more productive working from home, both professionally and personally. I keep a running list of the tasks I want to accomplish. It includes my work, my hobbies, exercise, and my chores around the home. I just keep working that list, almost constantly, and get more done than I ever did while in an office. Because there is a variety of work and fun on the list, I don't get burned out. I also don't get overwhelmed because aside from updating the list, I focus on one task at a time. I do take breaks to just relax and spend time with family, of course. Working from home can turn into a blur of you do not manage your work and your time somehow. For some people, that just try to replicate the office and work 9-5 with some activity to replace the commute to give themselves a psychological distance from their "home" time. But I've found that the most productive remote workers are the ones who work a few hours at a time, a few times a day, and live their own life outside of those working times. I'd recommend playing with different schedules to find on that works for you, and be deliberate about what you are doing - work when you are working, play when you are playing, relax when you are relaxing.
  • Rastonbury 5y ago
    I need to do this, thanks for sharing. I'm more productive at home, but when I'm online during "working hours" I feel guilty doing house work or side projects during that time, so when I have free time I end up doing the same time wasting stuff I used to do in the office, surfing, news, reddit etc.
  • __ryan__ 5y ago
    I have had mixed results with lists. When there’s an obvious priority for each task, i.e. I can just complete the tasks in order, I am a machine. When I need to prioritize and order the tasks, I end up paralyzed and crash hard. Do you have any advice in this regard?
    • tmaly 5y ago
      I deal with this same problem every day. But I reach out to different business people and construct a priority for my team. I would say your manager should be setting priorities for you.
• doix 5y ago
  When covid started, I was working for a different company that was traditionally 100% in the office. When we switched to work from home, the number of meetings doubled/tripled and I was definitely procrastinating more. It felt like there was no point starting anything because in 1 hour I'd have a meeting. And that statement was true the entire day. It was really hard to force myself to work during those 1-2 hour gaps between meetings. I switched to a startup that's fully remote and it feels much better now. I went and traveled east from the regular working hours and started work at 12 instead of 9. Then I spent the morning surfing/snowboarding (depending where I was). By the time I came back, I was physically exhausted but mentally prepared to work. I realized, for me, I procrastinate when I have too much physical energy. I wanted to get up and move around rather than sitting and coding. Maybe that could help you?
  • sys_64738 5y ago
    I find more meetings empowers you to decline them. The more you decline them the quicker people realize your time is important. People at meetings need to be there to contribute and not be passive unless it’s a one off all hands. If you need status then emails. Don’t waste my time, your time or company’s time.
• kewrkewm53 5y ago
  It definitely has, mainly because I lack motivation for my work (very underpaid, boring tasks, temp contract). At the office there was more social pressure to do something other than reading the news, and I got some enjoyment from random discussion with co-workers. Now all that's left is endless boredom and apathy. I also struggle to separate work from my personal life due to living in a small apartment, I definitely could use a separate room to use as home office. I believe WFH would work great if my job was motivating and I could afford a proper house with clear physical boundaries between work and leisure. Small apartments are absolutely depressing if you have to spend nearly all of your waking hours in them.
• sys_64738 5y ago
  No, it makes me more productive. I only go in for whiteboard design sessions and that forces decisions. I also get to avoid busy work and time wasters.
• nvarsj 5y ago
  Oh yes, I struggled with this a lot. I started working full time remote about 4 years ago, then decided after a couple years it wasn't for me, and swapped to a short lived office job as the quarantine happened. It's only in the last few months I've been able to go to an office. The problem, for me at least, is that my brain doesn't want to swap to "work mode" when I'm at home. I can do it for the short term but over the long term I really struggle with focus at home. How did I cope with it? Well, sad to say, I never found anything that completely worked. Outside of lock down I'd go work in a coffee shop and that was my most productive time. Now, going into the office, it's crazy how productive I am compared to when I'm at home. I think all you can do is try to trick your brain into work mode. If you have space (which I didn't), a dedicated office that you only use for working is one approach. Only enter that room 9-5 when you're working. Other people have similar tricks. Prior to lock down, at least half the remote engineers I was working with had co-working offices they'd go to. Another trick I used was to have a dedicated pair of noise cancelling headphones just for working, and use them at home just like I did when in the office. This seemed to help quite a bit. I will say though that the flexibility of working from home is wonderful. But I never feel quite as productive work wise.
• forinti 5y ago
  WFH actually helps with healthy procrastination. Sometimes I just need to think a bit while washing the dishes or even take a short nap. There's no secondary task at work to help me rest my mind a little, nor a comfy sofa to get some rest.
  • datavirtue 4y ago
    Naps are natural and super important. Me not being able to crash on the couch for a while isn't helping anyone.
• rjh29 5y ago
  If you're not mentally in a good place, WFH combined with social isolation (lockdown) can be a pretty brutal combination. If you think you'll thrive more in an office job, go find one! The increased social opportunities and separation between work and home are beneficial for lots of people. You might also consider if you're in the right job. If you're not given engaging work, you don't care about the company's goals, and you're not being monitored/managed properly (due to WFH) it's easy to procrastinate. First step would be to discuss this with your supervisor, but changing job to a more interesting one, even if it pays less, might help.
• glmeece 5y ago
  I began WFH in October, 2018. At first it was a bit disorienting, and I found myself struggling with anxiety about my performance. Instead of "enjoying" and 8-hour day (minus a commute), I began working 10-12 hour days so I would feel productive. Even that wasn't enough - I kept slogging through, working on weekends, etc. Eventually, I began to understand "remote culture" and that just because I was seeing others doing stuff, asking questions, committing to repos, etc. at all hours didn't mean I was expected to be "up and working at all times". Once I made my peace with things, I began to see what advantages WFH brought. Once I understood what I really needed to be working on, I found that the quiet of my home office made me much more productive. I bought a standing desk (and, yes, YMMV) and it's been a great way for me to focus, especially early in the day. There are still some advantages to going into an office. Two that stand out to me are: • Early planning meetings where it's much more productive to brainstorm/whiteboard together. • Water cooler conversations. Yes, you can still connect with your co-workers remotely, but it's a lot less organic. TL;DR - Yes, there are times I find myself justifying running personal errands or other stuff that ends up deferring (procrastination of) the things I need to accomplish for my team/employer. However, I've learned that I'll feel much better about myself and work product if I'm "diligent enough" to do just that.
• Sean1991 5y ago
  I have been working remotely for years, at first it was hard, until I found a routine and stuck to it.
• NicoJuicy 4y ago
  My collegue comes to work sometimes, remote work is mostly still allowed. Everytime we pass by, he has to tab his screen of Lychess/Reddit away. And he's more productive at work than at home.. Another collegue comes online before the Kanban, interrupts us at 12:05 ( when we eat) or at 17:35 on Friday or at 18:10. Just to show that's she's working "more". ( Hard to reach during normal hours fyi ) Ugh
  • NicoJuicy 4y ago
    Downvoted because some people want to downvote reality and prefer remote work, i suppose.
• black_13 4y ago
• Beaver117 4y ago
  Lol, I used to be a workaholic. Now for some reason I hate working. Barely work an hour a day (unless I'm oncall). Still haven't been fired.
  • nso95 4y ago
    Same
• nso95 4y ago
  My issue is that I can't seem to ever stop thinking about work
• farhaven 4y ago
  I've been working mostly remotely for the last 10 years, I think if I remember correctly the only jobs I had an office at that I had to be physically present at were my very first job that I got immediately when I started attending university (held it for two years), and then half a year as a research assistant at the same university to bridge the gap between my 2nd job (that was already fully remote, as a research assistant) and my 4th job when I got my bachelor's degree. All others have been remote (with a few days/year spent at the office at most). I like to think that I'm more productive at home because there the way I show my work is to actually produce visible results instead of being at a certain place for a certain amount of time. It's IMHO way easier to goof off at the office.
• dt3ft 4y ago
  Absolutely not. I am definitely more productive working from home, at least 40% more. Whenever I go to the office, I spend at least half of the day in random off-topic conversations (where people talk to me while I’m trying to focus and write some code). Getting into the flow is almost impossible in the office.
• vvf1 4y ago
  Yes.
• vvf1 4y ago
  Yep, pomodoro technique rules.
• mbrodersen 4y ago
  Not my experience at all. I am way more productive working from home. My home office is setup the way I like it, no interruptions from nice but noisy coworkers, the ability to cook healthy meals instead of buying expensive crap etc. I will not accept working for a company without a flexible WFH policy.