Last Updated on August 31, 2023 by David
Working from home and some counter-intuitive realizations.
I busted my ankle! Ever since, it’s been getting tougher to find interesting things to discuss and write about. I still partake in the usual office meetings and updates and such (albeit through video conferencing) but the lack of human contact puts a serious dent on my creativity and inspiration.
With more people working remotely than ever before, it must not be the first time this issue has cropped up. There are obvious advantages for working remotely but the perils are just as disadvantageous. The startup world is all about excitement, randomness, and sheer brute force of ideas. Being out of touch with my co-workers, long walks to lunch, and their creativity that is random shenanigans, has given me pause as to how much I value myself given their absence.
Here’s my 5 step plan to combat dullness of the mind and to find inspiration in working from home.
Realization 1
Dress HOWEVER you want! Because dressing to impress is boring. Conventional wisdom for working from home tells us that we should dress how we usually dress when we’re in the office. But where’s the fun in that? I prefer to take advantage of the opportunity and try out some new styles, some new jeans, or even shoes I treasure too much to walk out of the house with. We all know that how we dress affects our moods but in situations where you’re running lean on creativity, getting experimental with interesting outfits can spark random inspiration.
Realization 2
Eat brunch. Because brunch is awesome! I’m a creature of habit, but I love brunch. Eating brunch has allowed me to “recalibrate” my brain to process things differently. Some of our best ideas and epiphanies come to us when we’re doing monotonous tasks like showering, walking, or in my case, eating breakfast. Switching things up has allowed me to arrive at certain conclusions in a way that’s both constructive and surprising.
Realization 3
Practice riffing off of others’ ideas (this doesn’t sound as bad in practice). When you can’t be part of the conversation, be an extension to one. Not every conversation is going to involve you when you’re working from home. Take every opportunity to understand what’s going on and provide extended value by doing additional research, thinking about alternatives, or playing devil’s advocate more often than usual. Non remote people will appreciate your input and think of you as a reliable source of out-of-the-box thinking.
Realization 4
Distract yourself. Conventional wisdom always tell you to avoid them because they hinder your productivity. What they fail to tell you is that productivity is defined differently when you’re working from home. I’m a great multi-tasker and find distractions are effective at breaking up the lack of social contact with my co-workers. Instead of set times for productivity, I take on productivity piece-meal. 6 separate high productivity sessions is better than 1 long boring day where you’re just sitting there, quiet as a mouse.
Realization 5
Ask your co-workers to visit you (if only for shits and giggles). Sure, it’s more “normal” for remote workers to visit the home office but sometimes that’s only fun for them. You need to have fun too. Ask your teammates or friends to come visit you once in a while. Clear out your living room and set up a remote office so you can advertise it the best thing since flavored water. I’ve got Netflix running a Breaking Bad marathon, a PS4 for occasional breaks, hot coffee on tap and an endless supply of Jelly Bellies. We have a very open culture here and don’t have this problem but hey, not everyone is as cool as us. Friends (and sometimes co-workers) are a source of inspiration, you need to leverage this if you’re more remote than average.
Realization 6
Go crazy with your work hours (just don’t over do it). This is a big no no according to traditional advice. However, working from home allows you to be flexible. Outside of hours when your co-workers are around to chat, feel free to start a little earlier and end a little later. Don’t stick to the 9–5 schedule. It’ll feel less like work without the benefits and a bit more like you’re overachieving.
Working remotely is not just about convenience. It’s about having fun. Learning how to have fun is paramount to controlling your moods for extended periods of time. For startups, this is even more true. We do our best work only when we’re having fun and the startup environment begs for creative fun. I’m currently grounded by my busted ankle but I intend to work remotely more often to iterate on best practices for working from home.
Do a search for work from home best practices and almost every single one tell you to maintain a “balanced” work schedule, to keep your standard “productivity hours”, to dress like how you’d normally dress when you go into the office, and on and on. Personally, I feel these “advice” only highlight the negatives of working from home, as in, the absence of human contact and the support of teammates.
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