Most people choose to live near where they work, to save time commuting, maybe sleep a little bit, or even have some lunch at home.
And that’s fine. But what if work wasn’t the main factor in where you choose to live? What if it was the other way around?
I lived in Lisbon for about 4 years, and whilst it’s a great place in many ways, the only thing that kept me there was my job. I recently decided to move south to a much calmer place near the beach, away from the traffic, noise and pollution. I was lucky enough to convince my employers to let me trial a working-from-home arrangement, and many people were very jealous, but I can tell you that it is not easy. “Working from home” is not code for “How I Met Your Mother marathon”.
Here are the pros and cons I experienced after 3 months of telecommuting life.
Pros
No traffic
Forget about money. Time is the most precious asset you have. I didn’t have the longest commute in the world, but when I added up how much time I was spending each week, month and year… it couldn’t go on. Things had to change.
Eat at home
Less eating out means less money spent. Sometimes you won’t have enough for a proper lunch, but you can usually get enough out of the fridge to kill the hunger. And — you can eat on the sofa while watching “The Big Bang Theory”.
Coffee break
OK, OK, so you can do this in any office, in any city. But when you live in Lagos, you can do it on the beach!
Comfort
Working from home is mostly more comfortable than an office. You can work in your PJs, you can can work at a desk or any other suitable surface (i.e.: couch, bed, floor, whatever suites you).
And, you don’t have to wait in line to go to the bathroom.
Cons
No team
In the first few days, I was on fire! No distractions, no noise, completely at ease; I’ve never coded so well and so much! But then, as the days went by, I started missing all that I’d left behind. Having a bunch of guys next to you, all doing the same kind of tasks, makes a lot of difference, believe me. Being present and having presence are completely different things. And you can’t simulate that through Google Hangouts.
Degradation of social skills
The Oatmeal — Why working at home is both awesome and horrible
If you run with the wolves you will learn how to howl. — Colin Powell
Distractions
With no one watching you around the clock, it’s not easy to stay focused. You need a lot of discipline to keep the momentum. When you work alone, the awareness of your procrastination is highly present. And although at the office, with your fellow workers, you have these and other distractions, it’s easy to stay focused when everyone around you is working for the same goal.
Pressure
When you have a bad day at work you still have the sensation of accomplishment. You drove to work, attended meetings, take care of some stuff… you actually did some tasks. And then you head home!
When you work from home and you have a bad day, it feels like you’ve done nothing! Maybe you had to start something from scratch because it wasn’t done properly the first time, and when the workday is over and you’re still on the same spot… it’s a terrible feeling.
Resolutions
- Human interactions are important
- Cheering yourself it’s hard when you’re alone
- Change your working methods if you feel that you’re not that commited (e.g. The Pomodoro Technique)
- Working full-time, 9 to 5, from home, alone… SUCKS! I work perfectly from home, but without a timetable.
Cheers,
Pedro Semeano
This blog post was originally posted at Medium.
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