Thread by @mar15sa

"Set up one specific, separate place to do your work at home"

This is typically the first piece of remote work advice we get, yet it's all wrong.

Here's why following this popular advice may be making your work worse ⬇

The one workspace advice is another example of us attempting to replicate in-office work at home.

Offices weren't created to be the most effective place to work, but to fit as many workers into a space.

Why bring that home?

Working from one desk works against us for 2 reasons:

1. It's not optimized for different types of work

Most knowledge workers have multiple modes of work like:
• Deep work
• Brainstorming
• Syncing
• Tasks

A work environment made for one of these modes directly works against you if you're in another mode.

Ex. A desk optimized for sync mode would have multiple screens, lighting, video tech, and be in a quiet space with a formal background.

This space is excellent for meetings, but distracting for deep work mode.

Plus, wouldn't provide the inspiration needed for brainstorming mode

2. It doesn't optimize for your personal mode

We aren't robots.

Flipping a switch doesn't instantly put us into work mode.

It's up to us to utilize personalization to work with us whether we have too little sleep, are feeling distracted, or any other normal human mode.

Ex. if you're feeling unproductive, it might be helpful to add some peer pressure accountability by working from a coffee shop, library, or coworking with a friend.

But if you're feeling productive, these same areas might work against you.

Molding your workspace to how you're feeling and what you're trying to accomplish can increase the quality of your work while decreasing the effort required to make it happen.

What does this look like in reality?

When I'm writing a newsletter, my mode sets my space:

• Brainstorm/Interaction = Home office
• Deep work writing = Quiet, cozy no-screen space (bed/couch)
• Editing = One screen, no distractions (dining or loft table)
• Distribution (least fave) = Purposeful distraction

Purposeful distraction helps you do mindless, necessary tasks.

So, I'll share on socials while walking with my phone or watch my fave show while working from my laptop on the couch.

If I feel stuck or uninspired, I switch to a fresh location or use the peer pressure trick above

At one point, I experimented by doing all these modes from one desk.

It ended up taking double the amount of time to finish an article, and I was left feeling completely drained.

I had to apply so much willpower to force focus and inspiration that I was left completely zapped.

Notice my example didn't require extra $$$ or unused rooms.

If you prefer applying this outside your home, you still have lots of free options:

🌳 Write from a park when you need inspiration
☕️ Work from a coffee shop for accountability
📚 Do your deep work at the library

The one workspace method is convenient. But convenience is not the same as effective.

If it works for you, great. But this shouldn't be the first remote work advice we give.

It sets you up to replicate office policies without question and leads to a poor, unoptimized experience

Physical boundaries were necessary for the age of physical reminders of work and in-person coworkers.

Remote work is done virtually and requires virtual boundaries:

remoteworkprep.com/blog/3-simple-…

Which leaves the question, why are we still overemphasizing the importance of physical boundaries for virtual work?

And how is it holding us back?

So the next time you're feeling your mind wonder at your desk, ask yourself: Is my environment optimized for the current work I'm doing?

Then experiment.

You might be surprised to find the time and energy you save when your workspace isn't working against you.

Thanks for reading! If you liked this, please share!

A detailed version of this was originally published in my newsletter, Remotely Interesting.

Subscribe here to revolutionize how you live by changing how you work:

subscribe.marissagoldberg.com