7 Things Only Remote Working People Understand

Remote Working | Life Nomading

I have worked remotely off and on for the last few years, in fact I am writing this article from the chair at one of my favorite local coffee shops. This is the type of lifestyle that I obviously love, but it is certainly different than your “average” 9-5 type of job. And don’t get me wrong, there are certainly shitty sides to the remote working lifestyle. But have you ever wondered what those people working at the coffee shop such as myself do during their day? Well here are just a few things that only people that work remotely can really relate to.

But if you are stuck in an office somewhere you may find these entertaining.

The 10AM wakeup

Not having to be judged by a boss means sometimes you find yourself waking up a few hours later than you desire. Will the world end? No. It’s likely you will stay up until 3 AM working anyway so it all evens out.

 

The mid-day run, lift, or movie

Try sneaking out of work mid-day to watch a movie, or do something healthy like run! We do, whenever. Or we don’t, whenever.

 

The, “Why shower?” internal dilemma

There are many times where we just don’t see the point in showering. It’s not like anyone will have to interact with us. Unless our smell can be transmitted via instant message or conference calls, we’re usually good for the most part.

 

The longer than intended visits back home

We usually go back home to visit for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or some other holiday. When we take a bite of our mom’s home cooking, boom an extra week passes before our eyes. Delicious food plus a laptop is all we really need anyway!

 

The impossible distinction between vacationing and not vacationing

Remotely working is great! But when you want to be relaxing and enjoying the mountains or beach, clients or business usually has to be dealt with. However, when you are at home or at your favorite workstation ready to work, you are usually in a shortage of work. So it can certainly be an on-call kind of life if you have clients. If you are starting a business, you are always working no matter where you are. So while remote work has us free to “move about the cabin” there are still certain aspects that keep our seatbelts fastened.

 

The coffee shop shuffle

We all know this one way too well. We move from coffee shop to coffee shop for the free wifi, awesome coffee scents, and usually, the community of other fellows remote working friends.

One of my remote working friends that takes this to the next level is David Sherry who is one of the founders of the awesome company Death to Stock Photo.

I laughed once when I found him at a different coffee shop after I had run into him at the one I was working from for the day. I thought perhaps he left because of my breath smelt, but when I asked why he does this rotation of coffee shops he mentioned that the Buffer team moves from a workplace to workplace every few hours.

There’s actually a term for this strategy and it’s called workstation popcorn, and it makes sense! This is done to stimulate creativity and prevent monotony etc… (read into it).

 

Outsiders rarely take your work seriously

The typical feeling I get from others: “Oh you work remotely, so when are you going to get a real job to pay for life?”

Perhaps out of naivety, jealousy, or anxiety I think people just don’t understand that you really can make money by blogging, freelancing, or starting your very own online business.

If this is you, and you want to join the dark side of remote work a good way to start is by writing helpful articles based on your own expertise.

So that’s it, just a few quick things that us remote workaholics can relate to. It’s certainly a more free way of working, but it’s not always as glamorous or as boring as some may think. It’s just different… oh and better 😉

Share this post if you are a remote worker that can totally relate!