Working from home experience | Pros & Cons of working from home!

Work from home sounds great, because you don’t have to wake up early, get ready, be stuck on traffic and so on…but is it made for everyone?

When I started my journey at Flatiron School I specifically chose the in-class course because I was scared that I won’t be able to focus 100% . But due to the current situation we had to transition to work from home. I was not happy about it and didn’t know to how to tackle it. But with time I got accustomed to it. So I wanted to share my experience, tips , also mention the pros and cons of working from home!

When I started working from home at first, I wasn’t sure what it will be like. In the beginning it was not easy because I felt a lack of communication with my peers, not being able to get in person help from the instructors. I would find myself not focused (which I was most scared of ). The communication part I kind of got used to. But the self discipline part and being out of focused part I had to figure out my self.

Here are a few things I did to make remote environment work:

1. Pretend like you are going to the office. The mental association you make between work and an office can make you more productive, and there’s no reason that feeling should be lost when telecommuting. I made sure I did everything I would have done if I was going to class..such as (set alarm, get coffee, get ready etc etc)

2. Set a designated work spot. Just because you’re not working at an office doesn’t mean you can’t, have an office. I cannot pay attention when I am working on the bed or the couch. So I set myself an office like spot to study every day.

3. Make a schedule or goal for yourself! I made myself a schedule for the whole week so I have something to follow and make my self organized!

4. Stay away from social media. I am a part time social media influencer, thus, it was very hard for me to stay away from it. So, I kept my phone away from me and used it only during breaks or during lunch time!

5. Workout! I found myself more focused and productive on the days I worked out. Made sure to workout once a day even at least for 30 mins.

6. Take little breaks! being at home and being in front of the screen for a long time can get tiring and which can be cause of not being able to focus. I took 5–10 mins here and there which helped me focus!

7. Have a strong mind set!

Now that you know few tips of how you can work from home better, I also wanted to share some pros and cons of it.

Pros of working remote:

1. You are independent. Working from home means you’ll learn to rely on self-motivation, self-discipline, focus, and concentration.

2. You will get some flexibility, meaning you will be able to run a few errands here and there, take care of people at home. It can be very hard for people to make time to handle other important things that come up in life. When you work from home, while you still have to meet your deadlines and be available when you say you will be, you generally have wider bandwidth to tend to other responsibilities without jeopardizing your job.

3. You save money & time. When you work home you save a lot of money and time by not commuting to work, not eating out, also save money on gas!

4. You can be more productive. Yes, you can get more work done if you follow a routine and be organized.

5. Less stress! It’s not only the annoying commutes to work that you can skip when you work online. You also don’t have to deal with stressful working environments anymore. No boss standing behind you, waiting for results. No keyboard-hammering, phone-call-yelling coworkers anymore and no bullying or infighting. In the long run, this will save you a lot of nerves.

Cons of working remote:

1. Blurriness between work & leisure time. People who work from home often find themselves working around the clock. As a result, they sometimes feel like they are literally always at work, making it difficult to shift to the post-work relaxation mode that many take for granted.
2. Losing focus! This is the most common thing people face who work remotely. By staying home you will be always distracted by your surroundings. It really takes a lot of discipline to focus on your job and actually get things done.
3. Miscommunication! while you will get a chance to be pro at different method of communication, you might face difficulties in communication as well.
4. Hard to learn! by working from home you lose the chance of learning from your fellow colleagues. When you work from home, you will need to make an extra effort to seek out networking and learning opportunities on your own.

5. It can be lonely. Working all day without access to coworkers and colleagues can be very isolating and lonely. Also, It’s hard to establish trust and develop relationships with colleagues and clients when you don’t have a daily face-to-face connection.

Hope you find this helpful if you are in a remote position or thinking of switching to one!