When I first started my career, just six years ago, I quickly came to love my job and my office environment. While the jobs I had didn’t last longer than a couple of years before I jumped onto the next best thing, I came to enjoy my colleagues as well as our working environment.
Over the years, my priorities have changed in terms of what I find a “healthy work environment”. A lot of that has to do with the nature of which Austin is moving, which is overcrowded in return jamming the few highways through the city. I have quickly learned to love working from home.
Initially, I started out just working remotely Tuesday’s and Thursday’s. Each of those were days I spent early mornings with my run crew or getting killed in the gym. Either way, they were early mornings, but not early enough for me to get home, shower, and then make it to Slopac before the traitorous traffic set in.
The days I worked from home were some of my most productive as well as my most calming. Mr. TCP didn’t come home to an angry commuter cussing about how ridiculous traffic was that particular day. Instead, he came home to a happy, calm wife.
Enough about that nonsense, here are a few ways I make working remotely work, for me, at least:
- Have a schedule. When you work remotely, it’s easy to always be working. You’re always connected in a way so it’s hard to delineate how you’re going to separate work from your home life.
- Reliable internet connectivity. We use Verizon for our internet which allows us to be connected practically anywhere in the United States. I check the coverage map before we move to a new location to make sure we will have coverage, and sometimes there isn’t so we have to change our plans. The western United States has a few more “white” spaces which means no coverage, so you just have to navigate which areas you can stay. When we are somewhere with a weak signal we use a WeBoost to boost our signal. In order to get an even better signal, we will put the antenna on a pole and beam it into the sky, in which ever direction we see a cell tower. We also have an antenna that we put on the truck so I can work while Mr. TCP drives.
- Designated work space. Working remotely from the Airstream means we have multiple uses for each space, meaning, my desk is also our dining table. During the day, I try my best to keep it uncluttered which keeps me from getting distracted. Some days this is a success and others, it is not.
Aside from the points listed above, the number one thing is to just do your work. Remote workers can get a bad reputation due to one rotten apple who spoils it for everyone. I will say, that I work more efficiently from the road knowing that if I don’t perform, I will get canned. It’s sometimes easier to just “scoot by” when you show your face in the office, but when you are remote, you have to show your worth 10 times over. Working remotely isn’t f0r everyone. There are some people who could never imagine such a thing and truly enjoy an office environment. You have to determine what is right for you and your family.