======= ======= ====== ====== ====== ===== ==== ====== ====== ===== ==== ======= ======= ====== ====== ====== ===== ==== ====== ====== ===== ====
Working from home is, and always has been, the dream. What could possibly be better than posting up in my recliner and firing off emails with the television droning in the background? I mean, that’s how it goes, right? I honestly don’t know. What I do know is that my boss gave me the okay to go remote, so I’m moving my ass to the Shenandoah Valley to live my best life with my future wife. Except now I have some questions.
Do I need an “office”?
I definitely plan to have an area that is dedicated workspace, but do I need a full office? I’m going dual-monitor setup with a docking station because I live that Excel life, but I could just set that on a table off to the side somewhere, right? I mean, I’m sure I will want peace and quiet, but I currently share an office with a guy that chews like a cow and tries to talk to me all day long, so I’m kind of used to distractions. Mrs. Delph will be busy working twelve (which usually means fourteen or fifteen) hour shifts in her scrubs, so it will just be me at home anyway. Well, and a bird dog or two. However, that leads me to my next question.
Am I going to be bored?
I’m used to the typical office camaraderie. I have friends, and enemies, whom I interact with each day. I can always walk down the hall and find someone to make small-talk with whenever my brain is tired of breaking down spreadsheets. I probably spend 10% of my day standing in someone’s door with my coffee mug in my hand, pretending to care about the drama on their kid’s lacrosse team or how their dog ate something that he wasn’t supposed to eat…again. I have also gotten really good at fake hearty laughter, it’s a crucial skill to have if you want to make friends and climb the ladder. Plus I just really enjoy being able to take a lap around the office. But that means…
Am I going to get cabin fever?
If I sleep, eat, relax, and work in the same house – am I doomed? We’ll be posted up in a townhouse while we construct the new dream crib, so I won’t have complete solitude yet. Down the road, Farmer Delph will be in full force, and I’ll be able to go take my office laps outside. But in the meantime, I’ll still be living somewhat of a city life. I don’t like that. Beyond the gym, what the hell else am I going to do? Maybe I could start a YouTube channel.
What are the secrets that I need to know?
I feel like there is a secret community of remote workers, and I want in. I need to know everything. I need to know etiquette. Is it beneficial to get up and get dressed instead of sitting in pajamas all day? When’s a good time to log on for the day? What are the best shows to watch in the background? I think I’m going to become a Price Is Right addict, and that’s okay. Is there a list of what’s appropriate and inappropriate to do while I’m “on the clock”? Please advise.
Just a couple more months of the office grind, and then my whole world is going to change. At least I think. Am I sure I want to do this? .
Respond
@delph_13
@gdelph13
gdelph
First, sorry if this double posts (flying right now). When it comes to WFH biggest advice I have is create a dedicated work space/room. Never go in there if you aren’t working and don’t ever work anywhere else. Also, measure that shit and claim it on taxes. Also keep track of miles to and from the office/airport and claim that shit as well.
Finally, get out of the house once midday for lunch or a run or to see your dealer or anything. Prevents cabin fever.
This needs to be rated higher. This is what you do people, listen to this man.
I agree about getting out of the house. I’ve worked from home a decent amount, and if I do it too many days in a row without taking time to leave, it’s easy to get cabin fever.
I implement Work From Home Wednesdays so I can get in the zone for Things Girls Do After Graduation. Can’t imagine doing it full time, but breaks up the work week nicely.
What Will means by this is that he finishes extra work on Mondays and Tuesdays that he then claims he did on Wednesday. Furthermore, he logs into the work chat and is idly around his computer, changing his status every couple of hours. What Will actually implements is “Work Sucks Wednesdays”.
I’m currently working from home. I’ve gotten almost a whole hour’s worth of work done since I started working at 8 AM. Good luck.
This is very very true. Slippery slope.
Just think, you’ll have so much more time to furiously masterbate in the privacy of your own home/bang your wife but I already know that wives don’t bang unless it’s with the pool boy while you’re gone but then again you working from home creates a dynamic between her urge to sleep with minimally paid labor workers. You’re gonna have to plaster over your back door since that’s where all these dudes exit from when you get home. Hide all sharp objects and or projectile shooting objects and make sure you Have plenty of paper towels or socks near your desk. If you get fired, it will be done remotely too!
Ahh, thanks man.
I’m not married but Ive talked to enough married people/watched enough Investigation Discovery to be an outside expert on the topic. The best thing to do is to not buy a house, especially now that it’s a sellers market. Let all the Chinese/Saudi investors buy up all the real estate and then get yourselves an apartment because that limits your wife’s resources to sleep around since you won’t have a yard. Get an apartment at least 5 stories or more off the ground so the only back exit is via a balcony which would force homewreckers to commit suicide which would also free up traffic during rush hour and make the world a better place overall because there would be less shitty ppl.
Masterful
Devin O’Brien!
I work from home about 20% of my normal work week, sometimes more. I find that I’m 150% more productive than when I’m in the office. I’m motivated get my shit done by noon, then I can workout/run errands/take naps in the afternoon. I’m also not staring at the clock counting down to happy hour. But I’m not required to fill out a time sheet, just make project deadlines, so that helps when boss man asks how productive I am during my remote days.
Total opposite vibe when you have timesheets. Every 15 minutes I get distracted is another 15 minutes I can’t bill and have to make up later in the day, so I end up working until like 8 whenever I WFH. That said I still try to do it once a day because waking up at 8:59 am and not having to wear pants all day far exceed the downsides.
How did you approach work with this or did they bring this idea to you? Either way, how’d it go down? Need more details. Asking for a friend.
My wife was offered a new position which involved us relocating. I basically told my boss we were moving, but I would be glad to work remotely if it was something they were open to. Their only stipulation was that I stay in the contiguous US, and be willing to travel back to the office every so often.
Same
Except I’m not married.
Sup?
Knocked on the boss’s door and asked if he had a minute. Basically explained my X number of reasons why I would like to go remote, asked if that’s something we could work out, and reiterated that it would not affect my work in any way possible. I typically work from home 3-5 days a month already so I had that as proof.
This column was perfectly timed, my friend is looking at doing this exact same thing with their boss in a similar way very soon. Good read and good luck with the remote relocation.
Did you get this idea from Tim Ferriss? It sounds exactly what he recommended in Four-Hour Workweek.
I am so jealous of you, that’s all I want in life.
Shenandoah is one of the most beautiful places in the country and is full of breweries and vineyards. Just choose a different one to post up at each day.
I think he still has to get work done. I know I wouldn’t.
WFH has it’s positive and negatives. I loved the freedom of schedule, and you can get more work done in a day since there are fewer office interruptions. I didn’t have an office set-up and loved cuddling with my dog under a blanket on my couch while working.
However, I chose to go back in the office full-time because I hated being alone so much. I’d get stuck with anxiety on random projects and wouldn’t have anyone to pull me out of thinking about things incorrectly. I really missed bouncing ideas off of other people. But I also work in a job that requires a healthy amount of critical thinking and not everyone does (that’s not meant to be an insult).
Go for it, and embrace the journey. If it doesn’t work, you figure out what does for you. But I bet you’ll love it.
Oh and get dressed every day (except when you’re deathly hungover, those are the days where you can enjoy that pants are optional to your workday).
When I’m not on-site with a client, I work from home. I usually have to walk up the street to a coffee shop or something and work from there, just you very human interaction. Also, make yourself get up early, as if you were going into the office. If you allow you sleep schedule to go to hell, you’ll notice other parts of your life start slipping too.