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Why are some people better at working from home than others?

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Re: Why are some people better at working from home than others?

#31

Post by cmdshiftf4 »

Let me caveat the following by saying that I'm one who believes the future of tech work is fully remote and personally hope to stay fully remote post-COVID.

I do not believe now is the time to be drawing comparisons or conclusions between the office norm and the fully remote situation most of us have been thrust into.

Sure, some people procrastinate more than others. Some people need more management than others to keep going. Some people are better self-driven and self-organized than others.

The effects of the externalities many are now faced with

- worry over savings / the state of the market

- job security as we watch others get laid off

- how the kids are holding up, how will this impact their education and future

- sick family members

- etc. etc.

renders it impossible to draw conclusions meaningfully e.g. "Susan was super productive when we were working in the office, but she seems to have really dropped off now that she's remote. Looks like remote isn't for her!"

or

"I was so effective in the office but now that I'm at home I can't seem to get anything done, or focus, therefore I must not be cut out for remote work".

Whilst in the background you, or Susan, are facing a big drop in your 401k, or you're worried your kids are watching too much tv at home all day, or Mom is headed out to get groceries again when she really shouldn't be and there's nothing I can do about it.

I believe the sweet period when some sense of normality resumes but we're still mandated to WFH because it'll be impossible to institute social distancing effectively in cost-optimized open office spaces will be when we can more effectively starting measuring and drawing conclusions over fully remote work and its impact on people and the office.

Re: Why are some people better at working from home than others?

#33

Post by fendy3002 »

As a programmer, apparently for me the best will be WFH with coming to office in between, let's say 1 or 2 days a week, based on ongoing tasks.

While wfh and online conference brings so much benefits, it cannot replace the value of face to face meeting. There are some problems that can be easily tackled with physical discussion, that can be complicated with online meeting / conference.

Re: Why are some people better at working from home than others?

#34

Post by cmdshiftf4 »

amrrs wrote: post #24
Ductapemaster wrote: post #20

One really positive thing I have found for myself in the WFH life is that I am taking MUCH better care of myself. So far I have lost weight, started a bodyweight workout routine, which I do in between meetings/calls/other work, and have gained back 2 hours of my day by not taking transit into the city. That's 2 more hours every day that I get to relax, work on a personal project, hang out with my SO, or even crush ou…

Actually it's the opposite for me, I've started taking so much junk snacks (which wasn't available at Office), Less Walks and No proper schedule. Sleeps off the time. Many a days just getting up and jumping into calls. On the positive side, it's more quality time with family but I'm still wondering how to fix the health part.

>I'm still wondering how to fix the health part.

Everything you've mentioned is entirely in your own hands i.e. it's entirely self-control. You don't need an office, or the boss watching, to get up with time to spare, to not eat crap or get out for some fresh air.

With the above being said, don't beat yourself up too much. We're in a situation whereby we're all experiencing a sense of loss of control and total uncertainty about the future, combined with many other factors to worry about, so it's not surprising that it may propagate itself to affect the control you exercise over your own life.

If you're comfortable with it, just look at it as accumulating debt much like tech debt. Not tackling these things now might be fine but eventually you'll have to pay some of it down in the near future, and that may be a conscious trade-off yourself, and indeed many others, are happy to make right now.

Re: Why are some people better at working from home than others?

#35

Post by onemoresoop »

I find myself being more relaxed and because of that I indulge in breaks and brcause of that I end having to put in some work here and there at night after my kid fell sleep. So it feels like my whole day is work, lighter but permanent work.. At least its on my mind. The moment i was leaving the office work was out of mind. In an ideal world I’d do wfh 2-3 days a week and the rest in the office. I even miss my routine and buss ride to work. Some of it is I suspect simply isolation nonsense, im now saving 1.5 hours of commute which can’t possibly be worse

Re: Why are some people better at working from home than others?

#37

Post by mydongle »

amrrs wrote: post #24
Ductapemaster wrote: post #20

One really positive thing I have found for myself in the WFH life is that I am taking MUCH better care of myself. So far I have lost weight, started a bodyweight workout routine, which I do in between meetings/calls/other work, and have gained back 2 hours of my day by not taking transit into the city. That's 2 more hours every day that I get to relax, work on a personal project, hang out with my SO, or even crush ou…

Actually it's the opposite for me, I've started taking so much junk snacks (which wasn't available at Office), Less Walks and No proper schedule. Sleeps off the time. Many a days just getting up and jumping into calls. On the positive side, it's more quality time with family but I'm still wondering how to fix the health part.

You'll get over it over time. You're still adjusting, but eventually you'll get tired of wasting your day sleeping off or eating junk food that makes you feel bad. Then you'll be able to make your own schedule. I believe in you, but it's even more crucial that you believe in yourself.

Re: Why are some people better at working from home than others?

#38

Post by laumars »

tayo42 wrote: post #26
chrisseaton wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> One really positive thing I have found for myself in the WFH life is that I am taking MUCH better care of myself. I think people are going to come out of this one of two ways - half will come out fitter, mentally and physically, more positive, with new interests and skills and stronger relationships, and the other half are going to come out a mess (understandably.)

I'm coming out of the this less fit, mostly because my workouts depended on being out of the house. gyms being open. Or freedom to travel to somewhere. Im also not eating as fresh as I normally do. I can usually get fish and vegetables and cook the day of. Now I gotta stock up on groceries for the week to reduce shopping frequency.

What workouts are they that cannot be done without access to a gym?

For me it’s the variety of city food I miss the most. I live quite a way out from where I work and while there are still a few open takeaways, they’re pretty average in quality and lacking in variety. However there are larger and mostly well stocked supermarkets so buying fresh food to last the week hasn’t been a problem (most veg will last a week albeit some items will need to be refrigerated). However I definitely feel your pain about fish.

To be honest very little has changed with regards to shopping for me because i have two young kids and my wife works full time as well, so we are used to doing big weekly shops since that’s the most practical way for us to shop even pre-COVID19. I guess the biggest change is where we used to order it online and have it delivered, now we are driving to the store and picking the items ourselves.

Re: Why are some people better at working from home than others?

#39

Post by imafish »

I’m an introvert with two small kids at home. They do not disturb during work hours (b/c wife).

WFH has been a blessing these two last months. Minimum interruptions. I am probably 10-20% more productive than in the Office.

Schedule:

- get up at 8

- eat b/f with kids

- work 8:30-12

- lunch + exercise 12-1pm

- work 1-5pm

It just works. I am much happier, less fatigued due to no commute AND I get exercise.

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