The Single Most Important Lesson I’ve Learned After Remote Working Across Continents

The pandemic hit us hard. The year 2020 was a constant battle with our mental health. A deadly virus is out there to get you, while in the comfort of our homes, our mind starts to play tricks on us.

I started the lockdown in a downtown apartment in Chicago. A bit unsure at the beginning about the whole work-from-home fiasco and the way it will play out in long term.

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Soon I built my workspace around my comfort zone which may be too comfortable for my own good.

As I was confined in my own comfort, I realized I was too comfortable and decided to make a change. So beginning of 2022, here I was setting my comfortable workspace in an apartment in Munich.

As the year has progressed, I find myself running into similar issues like distractions, productivity lags, and mental fatigue as I had during the early days of the pandemic.

I realized one thing hasn't changed, even though I am living on an entirely different continent, and that is my workspace setup.

Over the past 2 years, this is the single most important lesson I've learned about remote working:

Be wary of the ideal comfortable workspace

And here's why:

The idea of an ideal workspace for me is very appealing. Over the years I have tried to add a bit of personality to my office desks. A small plant to liven it up, cut out of title-winning Manchester United teams to motivate me, and a small poster of Led Zeppelin to make the place look cool.

So, when there was an opportunity to create my ideal workspace at my home, I went overboard. I tried to make everything perfect, and make myself feel comfortable and at home at my working desk.

The result is that my workspace got so comfortable that it turned into my comfort zone.

We all know that the comfort zone is not the best of friends for one's work life or career.

The ideal workspace for me quickly turned into a dead zone for work.

Keep it professional and clock out

One thing I did to counter the constant distraction is dialling down on the desk set-ups. I learned that minimal setup is the best, as workspaces are not meant to make you comfortable but to drive you.

I also started to set my work hours religiously and walked away from my desk when I wasn't working. The old-fashioned clock-out.

Finally, I realized and understood that in a quest to design my ideal workspace, I managed to block myself in my own comfort zone.

No matter where I am or move on from here, the lesson I will take is to not overthink and overdesign my working area. Keep it minimal and treat it as a workspace and not like a dorm room.

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