Self-optimize by working from home

Working at home has been forced upon a lot of people due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The shift could be a game changer for the business world. Some have previously seen the ability to work from home as a luxury, but having done it regularly for the last few years I see it as a way to be more effective. Now everybody seems to be getting used to being at home more, there could be a retention problem for businesses and organizations who choose not to adopt this as business as usual — this of course comes with culture changes. This could mean:

• A shift in control (to you and away from managers). You have increased control over your time, and there is nobody to watch over you
• A shift in how performance is measured. You might not be in the office as much anymore, so cannot be seen to be doing things all of the time. Your output has to become the metric you are measured by.

If you are in a position where you cannot work from home, but want to (and your role allows), there is a great guide on how to propose working at home to your boss, in the ‘4-hour work week’ by Tim Ferriss.

Working from home: an idea generator?

Working at home comes naturally to me. As an introvert gives me the time to step away from the hustle and bustle of office life and develop ideas. As Susan Cain says in her book ‘Quiet: the power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking’, ‘introverts prefer to work independently, and it can be a catalyst to…