4 ms·
I've been working from home for the last three years and I can say that I'm far happier and more productive on a day to day basis. I worked in offices for about
by pdxandi 12y ago
I've been working from home for the last three years and I can say that I'm far happier and more productive on a day to day basis. I worked in offices for about 10 years and just never felt comfortable in the cube life.
I think one of the biggest improvements is that when I need to take a break, my breaks feel productive. 20 minutes of cleaning the house, as an example, feels completely mind-clearing and, in some cases, actually helps me solve an issue I may have. I really enjoy my daily runs or bike rides, which help me feel like I'm more than just a developer, that I get to take advantage of the day.
That being said, I believe the biggest drawback is the monotony of the at-home routine. Some days and some weeks just feel like one large workday, and sometimes I can go for a day or two without saying a word to anyone other than my wife, or my cats. That's the greatest challenge for me. Working in a busy coffee shop probably appears like it would help the improve the feelings of isolation, but it oddly does the opposite. I see the same folks coming and going, day after day, and rarely do I get in conversations. And I'm actually quite social.
I don't think I'd go back to an office if given the choice, but I'm still working on the best way to feel less alone. I've been road bike racing on a team for the last few years and I believe having that constant outside-of-work social activity has helped quite a bit. For me, the cats are also huge! Plus, I just love cats. But there's certainly room for improvement and that's something I think about often.
I should note that I was hired to work remotely. My whole team is remote and spread out around the country.
- davidjairala 12y agoI've been having similar difficulties lately. I've been thinking about shared workspaces. Have you given them a shot?
- pdxandi 12y agoI actually have an office in town that I can go to (I work for a larger company that's in a lot of cities) so I try to go once or twice a week. I just have an open cube in a quiet corner. It does help, but I usually don't talk with anyone because it's both a very small office and the team there works on different web properties. I'm moving in a few months to a really small town so I imagine I'll checkout shared space there, if I can find it.
- imjared 12y agoCouldn't agree more about the breaks. I think I've come to the conclusion (as I've started to mature a bit more as an engineer/developer) that I'm almost never going to solve coding problems by writing code. Breaking up my day whether it's with a walk to the park, a nap, a shower, or folding my laundry is usually when the real moments of inspiration come. These are the moments that I've solved some of the more challenging problems I've been faced with recently.
- b_emery 12y agoI had a similar setup at one point, and solved the social problem by taking a language class (I was living in a foreign country at the time). The point is I was in a group, and conversation was a built-in part of the interaction. Including the walking commute it was only about 1.5 hrs 3x per week and that made a huge difference.
- jmccree 12y agoBelieve it or not, I've found sitting at the bar at restaurants/pubs to be on of the best places to work when you're feeling that need for socialization. You don't have to consume any alcohol, just go for lunch, and a lot of places actually have coffee with free refills (tip your bartender well). This may vary depending on your city, but in Atlanta it's not uncommon to see 3-4 people on laptops at the bar working during the time between lunch and dinner rushes (1pm-4pmish) when restaurants are mostly quiet.