A Year of Working From Home

It has already been a little more than a year ago when a lot of people have started to participate in the great work-from-home experiment.

Just two years ago, I couldn't imagine myself working effectively outside an office environment. I've always felt that I need some sense of structure, a signal to myself that "this is the time and place where you do work".

I'm not particularly a social butterfly but another thing that I liked about being in the office are the merienda and the late-night-dinners-after-solving-a-bug-for-4-hours with my friends from work. Which is when we try to talk about things that has nothing to do with our job – a chance to take our collective minds off our busy work day.

Fast forward to March 2020, all of that was suddenly gone.

I am one of the very fortunate ones that was able to keep their job, and I'm very grateful for that. But for a full year, I needed to learn how to navigate my professional life through this extraordinary scenario. A lot of people did.

Long Commutes Are Soul-Sucking

Ever since college, I've already been used doing 2-hour commutes each way everyday. I didn't even question it, I just thought that maybe that's just the way it is.

I didn't realize how much time I'm wasting doing these long commutes until I rented my own place 3 years ago, which is just 30 minutes away from my workplace. Just like that I freed up a significant amount of my time – no waiting in line, no sitting in traffic. I didn't feel as tired when I get off work that I was able to spend more time on other things that I enjoy doing like reading and exercise.

This past year took it to another level, the commutes were totally gone and I was extremely grateful for that. But I still understand that this could all be gone soon and everything will go back to how everything is once was. That's perfectly fine with me but now I clearly understand that even if I need to shell out a few more money just to be near my workplace, I should do it.

Time over money. Always.

After all, at least for me – there's no job that's worth an hour or more of commute.

Set Boundaries

Since your home is basically also your makeshift office, it's always tempting to extend your work past the working hours – trying to cram as much work as you can in a single day. I fell victim to this several times, and though it felt good at first since I accomplished a lot, I ended up exhausted and drained after a few days.

It is also definitely a lot easier to get distracted by a lot of things at home. And since we're not as closely monitored by our bosses like in an office, some of those distractions are self-inflicted and can be avoided. This is why it's crucial to set boundaries when it comes to working from home.

Here's a few things that I keep in mind:

1. Start and end the work day on time
2. Turn off all notifications and put away the phone
3. Take breaks

In many ways, this has been a work-from-home revolution. We all might be back in the office by next year or we might not. But one thing's for sure – this has been the most transformative year for a lot of people professionally.