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Working alone sucks

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Re: Working alone sucks

#11

Post by philbarr »

marknutter wrote: post #3

Title should be "Working alone sucks for some people ". I've been working from home for years and love it, for instance.

Same here! And I'm an outgoing person with more friends than most at my age and happily get along with most people socially.

However, if I've got my head deep in the code and some berk interrupts me with inane crap it feels like a physical slap in the face. I actually, physically "jolt". And this happens all the time in an office. So working from home by myself all day lets me focus on my work with no distractions, and I just make sure I get outside and meet people when I'm not working.

Re: Working alone sucks

#12

Post by labaraka »

obviouslygreen wrote: post #5
marknutter wrote: post #3

Title should be "Working alone sucks for some people ". I've been working from home for years and love it, for instance.

Specifically since this person mentions that he's "active, extraverted [sic] and social." Which is not to say that such people will always hate working alone, or that people who enjoy it can't be those things, but it seems from his description that working alone is something he probably should have avoided or, now that that's impossible, do something to change. I think the coworking environment in another comment is…

Not to nitpick on a trivial point but extrAverted is an accepted spelling alternative to extrOverted. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraversion_and_introversion

Re: Working alone sucks

#13

Post by obviouslygreen »

labaraka wrote: post #10
marknutter wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

+1 for co-working. I occasionally work from a co-location workspace or a coffeeshop with local friends and hackers and it satisfies my need for human interaction without being too distracting.

There is a difference between general human interaction and specifically having a peer working with with you on a common goal.

Which is actually a good argument for coworking spaces, regardless of which you're looking for, as they tend to attract both a variety of people/businesses and people like the author who are just looking to be around other humans. Of course, depending on your priority, it'd be ideal to check out whatever's in your area and see if there are such spaces that would cater well to your particular inclinations.

Re: Working alone sucks

#15

Post by jaymorg »

I have been working from home for almost four years now. I don't consider my self an overly social person, but it's beginning to take a toll on me.

I live in a small city (~80k population) with absolutely no tech industry and don't have any close friends that are working programmers with similar interests. I tend to have a lot of ambitions, which make it even worse when you have no feedback system to discuss those ambitions.

Lately I've been considering applying for jobs in the Bay area, but I'm not sure I'm qualified enough to get a job worth moving my family for.

Re: Working alone sucks

#16

Post by calinet6 »

Definitely join a Co-working space. They are designed for this.

You may not be working directly with the people you interact with, but you are all working toward something, and that fact alone helps me be productive.

The diverse community and productive environment of any good coworking space have untold benefits beyond the obvious. Try it out for an extended time before you make any assumptions.

Re: Working alone sucks

#17

Post by labaraka »

calinet6 wrote: post #16

Definitely join a Co-working space. They are designed for this. You may not be working directly with the people you interact with, but you are all working toward something, and that fact alone helps me be productive. The diverse community and productive environment of any good coworking space have untold benefits beyond the obvious. Try it out for an extended time before you make any assumptions.

I am not yet 100% comfortable giving up our office. But we have some extra desks and we are located in a very nice part of town. I think offering these to interesting local entrepreneurs might achieve a similar goal.

If you are en entrepreneur interesting in a space in Old Montreal, leave your contact info here and I'll contact you.

Re: Working alone sucks

#18

Post by labaraka »

danhou wrote: post #6

I can definitely empathize. A few years ago, I co-founded a startup with one of my close friends - except he had relocated to Shanghai and I in Virginia living with my parents to save on rent. We talked or IMed every day, but it definitely wasn't the same as working with a co-located team. There's no grabbing lunch together or the occasional drinks after work. It definitely got lonely, and led to some unusual behavio…

That's how I also started. After too many unshowered days eating cereal, I decided I needed to get an office :)

Re: Working alone sucks

#19

Post by contemplative1 »

jaymorg wrote: post #15

I have been working from home for almost four years now. I don't consider my self an overly social person, but it's beginning to take a toll on me. I live in a small city (~80k population) with absolutely no tech industry and don't have any close friends that are working programmers with similar interests. I tend to have a lot of ambitions, which make it even worse when you have no feedback system to discuss those am…

Sounds like a strikingly similar situation to mine: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4905386

Re: Working alone sucks

#20

Post by marknutter »

labaraka wrote: post #10
marknutter wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

+1 for co-working. I occasionally work from a co-location workspace or a coffeeshop with local friends and hackers and it satisfies my need for human interaction without being too distracting.

There is a difference between general human interaction and specifically having a peer working with with you on a common goal.

I pair program with a couple other devs on a Google Hangout all the time and it literally is no different than being in the same room together. In fact, it's often much better because we can easily switch between presenters.
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