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Ask HN: What does your WFH day/routine look like?

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Ask HN: What does your WFH day/routine look like?

#1

Post by kcindric »

I’m one of those people who are sworn never to return to the office (ok, maybe once a week) as I truly and wholeheartedly enjoy working from my office. I’m interested to how does your typical wfh day looks like, during and off office hours, mainly for inspiration what I could add to my routine.

Disclaimer: I don’t have kids. Mine is wake up around 6am, have a cup of coffee with my spouse and go meditate for 30min. After I’m finished my spouse had breakfast and is at the door with the usual “lucky you for having the opportunity to wfh” (she’s right). I have breakfast and check my emails. After reading the emails I write a separate work and private to-do lists which I try to follow as best I can. I try to work using a pomo-timer (pomofocus.io) and during the breaks I do laundry, cook a meal and do other chores. After work is done I do a 1hr scheduled do-nothing time where I literally try to do nothing to reset my brain. During this time my phone is on dnd. After that my routine stops and every day is a little bit different.

Re: Ask HN: What does your WFH day/routine look like?

#2

Post by Am4TIfIsER0ppos »

Wake at 10:00-10:30. Eat. Turn on computer by 11:00. Work. Go for lunch between 13:00-15:00. Return to desk within 60 minutes. Work. Finish at about 19:00. Eat. Return to computer. Leisure. Get in bed between 2:00 and 4:00.

Leave your house and go to the office, seriously!

Re: Ask HN: What does your WFH day/routine look like?

#3

Post by mttjj »

Single. Live alone. WFH since March 2020 and no intentions of going back into the office.

Wake up at 6. Get out of bed sometime between 6.15-6.30. Treadmill for the next 15-25 minutes. Shower. Breakfast. Meditate for 15 mins. Read or watch an episode of a 30 minute TV show. Log on to work at 8. Lunch break from 11.30-12.30. Work until 5. Eat. Watch a movie from 5.30 to whenever it's over. Read for the rest of the evening. In bed by 9. Asleep by 10.

Re: Ask HN: What does your WFH day/routine look like?

#4

Post by Jemaclus »

No kids. I wake up at 7:30am, walk the dog, then exercise (choose one: 30 minute run, 60 minute walk, 60 minute lift weights). Quick shower, then breakfast/protein shake. First meeting between 9 and 9:30. Lunch at noon. I mix it up with leftovers, a PB&J sandwich, or walking to a nearby restaurant to get something.

In the afternoon, 1pm-5pm is usually back to back meetings. Right at 4:58pm my dog walks into my office and starts whining. 5pm-6pm is walking the dog with my partner and general just decompressing from work. 6-7pm is cooking dinner, and 7-10pm is whatever we want, usually binging whatever TV show we want. In bed by 10:30, read til 11:00-11:30, sleep.

My work schedule is usually pretty packed, so I'm very busy from 9am-5pm.

I like being busy, but this schedule does make me feel like I'm maxed out on time. I'd love to write a book or learn a new skill or take up a new hobby, but I can't really see a time to squeeze it in without giving up something else. (My 7-10pm is technically "free" time, but I really enjoy spending time with my partner, and if I give that up for another hobby or something, it just feels wrong to me.)

Re: Ask HN: What does your WFH day/routine look like?

#5

Post by autodev1 »

mid 30s male. no kids or gf. live alone.

Wake up at 8. Coffee, possibly oatmeal/toast or other simple breakfast. Daily standup at 9 or 930 depending on the day of the week. Shower. Walk to cafe or drive to library. Start work around 10 or 1030. Lunch break around 1230 or 1. Work until 5pm or so. It's a bit flexible depending on workload.

Re: Ask HN: What does your WFH day/routine look like?

#6

Post by kingkongjaffa »

autodev1 wrote: post #5

mid 30s male. no kids or gf. live alone. Wake up at 8. Coffee, possibly oatmeal/toast or other simple breakfast. Daily standup at 9 or 930 depending on the day of the week. Shower. Walk to cafe or drive to library. Start work around 10 or 1030. Lunch break around 1230 or 1. Work until 5pm or so. It's a bit flexible depending on workload.

assuming since you do a stand up that you write code?

Do you work in the library/cafe?

Do you socialize with other people there?

Do you have some agreement with the local cafe that you are working etc?

I am remote and would love to do this.

I also struggle because my home office is great (multiple monitors, proper keyboard and mouse , big desk) do you not miss some creature comforts?

Re: Ask HN: What does your WFH day/routine look like?

#7

Post by skocznymroczny »

Wake up 8:50am. Start work at 9. After logging in and checking emails I usually go grab something to eat for breakfast. Then I don't eat anything else until around 2-3pm when my mom makes dinner. I work until 4pm then I take an hour break. I usually go for a walk at this time, or do some stuff I have to do like online shopping. At 5pm I have an hour long webmeeting. After that I am free. I usually browse internet and play videogames until late night. I go to bed around 1-2am.

Don't plan to go to the office ever. But it's not that I dislike offices, I just dislike the commute, which for me could easily be 1-1.5h one way.

Re: Ask HN: What does your WFH day/routine look like?

#8

Post by autodev1 »

kingkongjaffa wrote: post #6
autodev1 wrote: post #5

mid 30s male. no kids or gf. live alone. Wake up at 8. Coffee, possibly oatmeal/toast or other simple breakfast. Daily standup at 9 or 930 depending on the day of the week. Shower. Walk to cafe or drive to library. Start work around 10 or 1030. Lunch break around 1230 or 1. Work until 5pm or so. It's a bit flexible depending on workload.

assuming since you do a stand up that you write code? Do you work in the library/cafe? Do you socialize with other people there? Do you have some agreement with the local cafe that you are working etc? I am remote and would love to do this. I also struggle because my home office is great (multiple monitors, proper keyboard and mouse , big desk) do you not miss some creature comforts?

Yep, software developer.

- I do most of my work from library/cafe-- usually 1-2 hours at home, 4-6 hours at cafe/library.

- I don't socialize much-- Occasionally chat with barista to get to know them. Or occasionally with other patrons.

- Nah, I've never had an issue with cafes letting me sit for hours and work-- I always buy coffee and/or food. If I didn't buy anything, I imagine it would eventually piss off the barista/manager/owner a bit. Sometimes I have too much coffee and get drowsy or jittery

- Nah, I don't miss the creature comfort of big desk & 27" screen-- I trade it for the opportunity to get out into social spaces. Otherwise I'd be lonely at home. If I am under pressure to get something done fast, sometimes it's easier at home. Currently my "home" is a studio apartment ($800/month, all bills paid except internet).

I think if I had roommates or lived in a more communal place (Such as housing coop) I'd be more interested in spending more time working from home. But since I am alone there, it feels too lonely.

Re: Ask HN: What does your WFH day/routine look like?

#9

Post by dudul »

Married, 2 young kids.

Up at 6am. Breakfast with family, everybody getting ready and leaving the house around 7.30 for school.

Back a bit after 8am. Make my coffee, chat a bit with my wife and head to my home office around 8.30 to start the day. My days are usually made up of a lot of calls, but I always block 12pm-1am to have lunch with my wife, then back to work. I also try to include some short 15min breaks to go for a walk or something.

I stop around 4.30pm to take care of the kids bath, then early dinner (~5pm). Kids are in bed around 6pm, and then it depends. Sometimes it's an evening with my wife or sometimes it's video games or reading or side projects, whatever until 9.30pm. Then I read a bit and go to sleep around 10.

Re: Ask HN: What does your WFH day/routine look like?

#10

Post by gardenhedge »

Wake at 9.30am or 10am, hit the on button on my laptop straight away. Quick skim of emails and chats. Then go greet my dog and family. Make a coffee and go back and reply to emails. 10.15am standup. That decides whether my day is spent helping other people or working on my own tasks. Work for about 2 hours (getting more coffee during that time) and then have lunch anywhere between 12pm - 2pm depending who has put in lunch hour meetings. Shower during lunch time if I need to. Go for a walk during lunch time if I have the time and the weather is agreeable.

Back at (or before) 2pm for more meetings and work. Get more tea or water throughout the day. Work until 5pm or 6pm depending on what I need to get done.

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