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Remote work is a an interesting case
study because it's one of the most
disruptive changes that knowledge work
has experienced since I would say the
introduction of the computer. And now
the data is very clear that we have
settled into hybrid schedules as the
semi-permanent solution. Knowledge
workers in remote capable jobs are two
times more likely to be in a hybrid
schedule any other configuration
including full-time remote or full-time
in person. The hybrid schedules lead to
these partially in office
partially at home collaboration
sessions. They're happening in virtual
meetings where some people are in a room
and other people are joining via the
network and that people uniformly report
these are less effective. It's a hard
way to collaborate. So splitting people
up between being at home and at work in
a haphazard way is not the the major
improvement to subjective well-being
that we hoped.
Here's what I've been suggesting.
Synchronize your hybrid schedule. So to
the extent possible everyone on the same
team is home on the same day and in the
office is on the same day.
And then, and here's the key part,
institute a rule that says during the
two days a week, let's say that you're
at home,
no meetings, don't email. Those are
going to be the days that you're really
working on the things that matter. The
other days are going to be the days
where we can also talk about the work.
We can do the administrative overhead.
We can meet. And hey, when we meet,
we're all here, so we can have a very
efficient meeting if we if we're all in
office.
And we're going to have two different
psychological mindsets. At home days
and in office days. Instead of trying to
mix these efforts together, instead of
trying to mix the really hard thing I'm
trying to write with a bunch of meetings
and email. By separating these two
things,
we're going to get more of a handle on
our workload. We're going to be able to
clear things out on those days we're at
home. We're going to get a cognitive
break from the the hyperactivity of
constant communication. I think we're
going to be more efficient in
collaborating when we actually
collaborate. And the result would be a
workplace in which we're more productive
and people are much happier.
So, if you're an individual
working remotely or working in a hybrid
schedule, there's a couple things you
can do to improve your situation. You
can just try to move more of your
meetings to the in-office days.
Just offer dates on the in-office days
much more aggressively for meetings. And
now what you're going to begin to get
here is just a psychological division.
When I'm at home, I have less meetings,
I have more time. When I'm in the
office, I have more meetings, I'm more
in a collaborative mindset. And you can
begin to get a lot of benefits without
having to actually have a real formal
rule that says, "Here's what happens on
these days and here's what happens on
those days."
If you're fully remote, something that
is useful is to have two different
spaces that you work.
And I don't mean this necessarily in
some extravagant way. It could be I'm at
the kitchen table is where I always do
my deep thinking and the home office is
where I do email.
It could be I sit outside if I live in a
place where the weather is good when I'm
trying to read a complicated memo or
something cognitively demanding and I
work inside when I'm doing email. You
can even have a commute. Now, people
don't like commuting for good reason.
Traffic is annoying and you get stuck,
but there is an advantage to commuting.
Your mindset has time to shift. I've
left my house. I have 20 minutes when
I'm on the subway or driving and over
these 20 minutes, I'm slowly doing the
cognitive machinations needed to get my
mindset away from home mindset
and towards work mindset. That's
actually useful. It's useful on the
other end as well. Okay, I'm going to
now leave work mindset and load up home
mindset and I have a 20-30 minute drive
to do that. So, if you work completely
from home,
simulate a commute.
Have a 15-minute walk you do to start
and end your day. I'm going to walk to
this coffee shop and get a coffee and
walk it back. That's how I begin my work
day.
You're going to get those same
psychological benefits of a transitory
ritual. A moving from home to work and
work from home, even though you never
actually change the location where all
of these activities were happening.
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