The lure of working remotely is great. The thought of missing all those hours of commuting. The Washington Post reported that Americans spent a collective 3.4 million YEARS commuting in 2014. For the average person, it is over 15 full days a year spent commuting. Just think of reclaiming half a month out of your year! Unbelievable!
While the feeling the euphoria is rolling through your brain, you need to look at what it takes to work remotely.
Space
Since home is the most common location for working remote, the space you have for this activity is more important than you might think.
First of all, the areas in your home that don’t work:
- Corner of your bedroom
- Garage next to the car
- Kitchen table
- Laundry room
Of course, this is not an exhaustive list…just a recognition that you need a dedicated space. A spare bedroom that can be turned into an office is the most efficient. I have had a separate room for my work for over 30 years. You can leave work sitting out without worry that it will be covered in peanut butter. Visitors cannot spy on your papers. With a dedicated space, you don’t have to setup or clean up after each session of working.
Unless you can have a permanent location in your home to work that is quite and safe from the prying eyes of visitors, working remotely is going to be tough and less productive.
In the next blog post, I will talk about the electronics you need for remote work.