My Journey Working Remotely
The past few months have been quite an experience, introducing us to new ways of remote working due to Covid-19. I always dreamed of how life would be if I became a digital nomad, as I have been following several YouTubers working remotely while traveling. This time gave me a taste of what that is like.
The last three months have been very dynamic. My roommate displayed symptoms of Covid and I immediately left my apartment. I moved into a friend’s house and lived with her family for a month. I enjoyed every moment of working in their house. It almost felt like studying for finals on Thanksgiving. I took over the rooftop and the patio overlooking beautiful scenery. I felt like I had become the boss.
After I returned to my humble apartment in New York City, I encountered some challenges working from home. My commute from my bed to my computer was one second, too fast. When my workload was heavy, I woke up and started working right away until bedtime. This caused me a lot of stress and I became unbalanced.
I had to find ways to destress, so I bought a bicycle! With my new bike, I started to explore alternative work spaces in the city. Thanks to good weather, I went to Fort Washington Water Park, Central Park, and Bryant Park to work while listening to my favorite playlist. This freedom of deciding where to work allowed me to have a much better work-life balance. The entire city became my office and my productivity returned to as if I was working in the office before Covid-19. This made me wonder…why didn’t we start working remotely sooner?
My New Normal: Happy Hour in Fort Washington Park
My New Office on Friday Afternoon
History of Remote Working
History of Office Design
Everyone worked in their own house before the Industrial Revolution. Skilled carpenters or clothes makers had their own studios at home and sold products from there. Distributed working was normal at that time.
After the Industrial Revolution, large machine settings required people to come out of their houses. The work environment at that time needed people present and working together. We started to commute to “work and office spaces.”
The factory era faded as the economy strengthened after World War 2 and we entered a golden era. Large offices and cubicles were adopted at this time as we moved to the 8-hour work day, Monday – Friday.
With technological advancements and economic expansion came the personal computer and WiFi in the home and workplace. It paved the way for modern-day remote working. Internet based software (such as Microsoft and Sharefiles) emerged and mobile phones contributed to the ability to work from anywhere. We are living in an era in which people in different zip codes, time zones, and countries can connect easily. This pandemic has shown us that this connection can stay intact while working apart.
The Age of Remote First Worplaces
43% of Employed Americans said they spent at least some time working remotely. *Gallup Study
There are also cons to working outside of office. No printers and scanners, and I also miss in-person collaboration with my dear coworkers. At the same time, I believe remote working will be more popular and accepted — perhaps it happens once a week.
I encourage people to explore the new work environment. Your office can be on top of a mountain or roof, at the beach, or even in your bathtub!
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