Commuting to my office at home
Scott Hanselman posted a tweet with the following tip:
Here's a tip that my remote team does - When you get up in the morning, if you're willing and able, try COMMUTING to your home office! Go for a circle around your neighbourhood and arrive back home to your home/remote office! It psychologically marks the start and end of the day.
If you are working from home then the easy option in the morning is to just go straight to wherever you are working and start work. I thought I would try his suggestion, especially as the weather is improving. So for the last couple of weeks I have helped shepherd the kids out of the door to school, waved goodbye to my wife as she goes to work and then gone for a short 20-30 minute walk either around the houses or to some of the fields close by.
I put on my headphones and put on a podcast then start walking. I used to listen to a lot of podcasts, 100s per year, on my commute but have not been doing this since permanently working from home. I have got in to the habit of reading a lot but there are too many distractions at home for me to just sit and listen to something for a period of time.
When listening to podcasts my mind tends to wander, based on what I am listening to, and some of my best thinking happens when I am walking and listening so it is great to get back into that again.
If I visit the fields then I have also taken to sitting on one of the benches for about 5 minutes, headphones off, just to relax, listen to the birds etc. and just take time to slow down.
Has it made a difference? I guess the most important thing is that I have enjoyed doing it and it gets me out of the house - whereas before it was easy to potentially go the whole day without stepping outside. Not only am I getting some exercise, albeit only walking, but it has also given me time to think and brainstorm which is fun and, you never know, may lead to some flash of inspiration or wisdom at some point.
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