Now I just need a cafe that isn't closed in the middle of the day, actually has heat in the winter, has chairs that support those of us that weigh over 98 lbs, and that attracts people/encourages them to hang out. Man this town needs another coffee shop...
My first experience at working from home
51–60 of 87 posts
Re: My first experience at working from home
#52I've been working at home for about a year and can sympathize with the author. I've really been surprised at what an effect its had on me socially. I'm not the most outgoing person to begin with so the forced in-person interactions (both appreciated and unappreciated) that I got in my previous office settings were probably a lot more beneficial to me than I previously believed. I feel like I have the additional chall…
Get out while you still can. Seriously. I worked from home for 2.5 years and it has had a profoundly negative impact on my social life and even my personality. I'm good with people, but sitting alone all day for such a long-time has turned me into the kind of person who thinks of calling an old friend, then thinks 'eh, why bother. Let's see what's new on Reddit instead'. Then there's the problem with setting a routin…
What's the turnover rate at your co-working space? If people aren't working there for any significant period of time, you might not be able to develop the same type of meaningful interactions you'd hope for in an office.
Re: My first experience at working from home
#53I've been working from home for almost a year now. I agree with most of the article. My checklist of things I do for sanity goes something like this:
1. Set up regular lunch get togethers with friends.
2. Use Video Conferencing liberally. Don't keep trying to hash something out via email or chat for too long. At some point the higher bandwidth of face to face communication even over a VC will be much more efficient.
3. Keep a persistent group chat for you team open. IRC, Slack, Anything that is always on and provides a sense of presence for you. Don't be afraid to joke around and make small talk there. Out team even plays the occasional verbal logic puzzle there.
4. Stock some variety in your kitchen. You get bored of Bologne and PB&J after a while. You are going to want to provide some variety for lunches.
5. Be responsive but only during regular working hours. It helps your team to know when they can contact you and get a response. After 5pm I don't respond to txts or emails unless they are emergencies. But before then I make sure people get a quick response from me even if it's just that I'll have to get back to them later.
6. And lastly join a Gym. I swim regularly but you might run or play some basketball or lift weights. When your place of work is your home it can be hard to disengage. A gym is a good way to leave the work behind and reset the mental clock as well as meet other people.
Re: My first experience at working from home
#54I've been working at home for about a year and can sympathize with the author. I've really been surprised at what an effect its had on me socially. I'm not the most outgoing person to begin with so the forced in-person interactions (both appreciated and unappreciated) that I got in my previous office settings were probably a lot more beneficial to me than I previously believed. I feel like I have the additional chall…
Get out while you still can. Seriously. I worked from home for 2.5 years and it has had a profoundly negative impact on my social life and even my personality. I'm good with people, but sitting alone all day for such a long-time has turned me into the kind of person who thinks of calling an old friend, then thinks 'eh, why bother. Let's see what's new on Reddit instead'. Then there's the problem with setting a routin…
is a trade-off, I worked from home for a year, and although I missed the casual interactions you get in the office, I was able at any moment to take a 5 minute break to play with my kids, go pick them up from school, help them with homework, and that's priceless
Re: My first experience at working from home
#55I've been working from home for almost eight years now. At first, it was just me and my dogs while my wife went to work. That was definitely hard at first, to stay focused and productive. Every day Alicia would come home and I'd be desperate to get out of the house, she'd usually want to stay in and chill, though, having just had a full day interacting with people at work. I eventually learned that walking down to the library or coffee shop a couple times a week helped some. But coffee shops aren't ideal workspaces in that they don't provide reliable internet, space, often too noisy and sometimes feel like you're not welcome to stay for a long time.
The past few years my wife started staying home and we have two kiddos now. Being able to work from home while raising a young family is a huge advantage logistically speaking and I am thankful every time I get to have lunch with my kids or take a 15 minute break to play in the backyard. But there's also a lot of distractions that are sometimes hard to ignore and the problems of professional isolation and like and reduced networking opportunities.
To this end I started working with a couple friends on a project last year called SpareChair (https://sparechair.me) to build a community of people who work remotely and so we can get connected and provide easy access to a lot of places to work together. We're mostly active in Brooklyn/Manhattan right now to gather feedback and learn how to make this work. Would definitely love to hear any thoughts you all might have on SpareChair, too.
Re: My first experience at working from home
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wonder if there are any techniques that might work, like using a dedicated computer that you put away, taking a walk or a shower, etc.
Humans are creatures of habits and compartmentalization. - Get a different computer (use a mac if you are a windows guy for extra separation). - Work in a different room (DO NOT work from the room you sleep or play in!). - Wear different clothes (business casual is great, and if you have to do a quick errant outside, you feel like a professional instead of a lazy guy working from home in his underpants). - Do not vis…
Indeed, I had a separate room for my office, and tried to work a strict 8am->5pm schedule Mon-Fri.
However, that all fell apart during a major crunch time where we were trying to ship a chronically late product, and for that period of time, my work life balance was essentially destroyed.
Re: My first experience at working from home
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
Get out while you still can. Seriously. I worked from home for 2.5 years and it has had a profoundly negative impact on my social life and even my personality. I'm good with people, but sitting alone all day for such a long-time has turned me into the kind of person who thinks of calling an old friend, then thinks 'eh, why bother. Let's see what's new on Reddit instead'. Then there's the problem with setting a routin…
is a trade-off, I worked from home for a year, and although I missed the casual interactions you get in the office, I was able at any moment to take a 5 minute break to play with my kids, go pick them up from school, help them with homework, and that's priceless
It's definitely not for everyone. In my work 90% of the people I interact with are working remotely, so working from home half of the week doesn't really affect me. Not having to commute in the morning has a profound effect on my mood. I've also learned that rolling out of bed and just plunking down to work makes me less productive than getting up and showering and putting on at least some casual clothes. However I also have a wife and kids that come home after I'm done with work, so I'm not fully isolated all day.
Re: My first experience at working from home
#58Working from home for 3 years now, and I love it. I think what people in general tend to forget is that you can work from home but you don't have to . Renting a spot in a coworking space is very fun and helps with the loneliness.
Honest question: what is your home situation like? Are you married? Kids? In my experience, older folks with kids and a spouse tend to love the work from home thing. Younger people tend to get bogged down by the lack of social interaction.
Not OP but, I have been at home for the last year. Married with a kid and another on the way. ~30 years old.
I love it.
I do at times feel the loneliness, but we have worked hard as a team to make it possible for me to be "in the office" as much as possible. We set up a persistent Google Hangout on a 60" TV that I can jump in at any time and be a part of the rest of the non-remote team.
I love being able to rush in to my kid's room when he wakes up in the morning, saying goodnight when he takes his nap. I love eating from my own kitchen. I love working outside of home.
Re: My first experience at working from home
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
Humans are creatures of habits and compartmentalization. - Get a different computer (use a mac if you are a windows guy for extra separation). - Work in a different room (DO NOT work from the room you sleep or play in!). - Wear different clothes (business casual is great, and if you have to do a quick errant outside, you feel like a professional instead of a lazy guy working from home in his underpants). - Do not vis…
Indeed, I had a separate room for my office, and tried to work a strict 8am->5pm schedule Mon-Fri. However, that all fell apart during a major crunch time where we were trying to ship a chronically late product, and for that period of time, my work life balance was essentially destroyed.
While crunch time are necessary sometime, you should do your best to balance things out. Worked extra hard all week? Take half the next week off and go camping.
Re: My first experience at working from home
#60How do you guys communicate while working remotely? At my current job we have daily two daily meetings (in the morning and in the evening) where everyone tells what he's done or we discuss something with a whole team. These meetings lock us to particular schedule and make traveling hard. I'd like to suggest my boss to get rid of these daily meetings but I don't know with what to replace them.
My team is entirely remote and we do written standups/sitdowns. This adds some flexibility to your day which helps given that we are spread across many timezones. At the end of the week we have a demo day via google hangout where we can show off work that we have done or something cool we learned.