Comment by caseymarquis | Hacker News Reader

Comment by caseymarquis | Hacker News Reader

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I'd like to offer a dissenting point of view on some of this.

I roll out of bed, put on comfy pants, and shamble over to my work/ gaming pc. When I get hungry I go cook something. When I need to think through a problem I go clean the house, do dishes, or lay back in a comfy chair and think. If I need to get something done around the house or run an errand, I just go do it. If I need a nap, I take one. I do try to get up at 8AM and stop at 4:30PM consistently (mostly to be available for calls), but sometimes I get carried away when no one is home and work into the night or through the weekend (guaranteed time with no interruptions).

I'm probably about 4 times more productive working from home than from our office. It's very relaxing, I get some cleaning done, and I don't feel a strong need for much of the rigid structure you've described.

Spot on about socializing though. I live near our office and if I didn't have the option to pop in for a less productive but more social day, I would have to find something to fill that gap.

I’d echo this response. For me the added mentally energy of resisting the desire to take out the trash, clean some dishes etc is just a distraction because I worry about getting it done. I just take care of what I need to take care of at home chore wise and then trust myself to get enough work done to not feel guilty.

Yep I'm this way as well.

But it heavily depends on your personality (are you easily distracted?) and your employer (are they generally lax with WFH, or are they on the strict side?

I tend to have a flexible schedule. Take 2 or 3 hour breaks mid day (gym, grocery store, cook lunch, relax). But I also end up working "off hours" and put in more than 40 hours a week on average.

I know some people thrive with the "treat it like a 9-5", but for me that doesn't make a difference.

The biggest piece of advice I have that seems to overlap is, don't let your family take advantage of you working from home. It's easy to get roped into doing non-work things because your family thinks you have free time.

Yep, agreed. I'm at least 4 times more productive working from home than from any office I've worked in, and I don't do the "strict separation" thing either. I never put shoes on, for example, and I'll wander around the house, clean, cook, whatever if I need to think through some problem.

However, I love my job. I can imagine that if it felt like more of a chore, and I didn't really want to do it, I might need that "strict separation" to put me in a work mindset.

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