Things we’ve learned working from home

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge | Photography by Vjeran Pavic

When we started working from home in March 2020, many of us who hadn't worked at home before may have started with assumptions about what it would be like. Most of us are spending most of our time at home now that we are able to spend time in the office.

We asked the staff members what they had learned. People talked about the need to get away from the desk and to get away from work, the challenges of working in the same space with family, and different strategies for staying sane while staying in the house.

Here is what they said.

How I learned to stop worrying and love WFH

I admit I'm stubborn. I sat at my dining table for two years waiting for things to return to normal after the Pandemic. When we returned to the office, I thought it would be over.

The spare room is where my wife works. I thought we would split the space, but last month she got a job that is completely remote. The dining corner was going to be an edit suite. I really like it now. I bought a new desk and rearranged it just as I wanted it to be. Having a place at home that I enjoy working in makes all the difference in the world.

I have to take a walk every day

I feel weird if I don't take a walk. It's usually taken in the middle of the day. I have to move around after being at my desk for four hours, take my eyes off the screen, and sometimes smell the roses that are on my route. I feel more refreshed when I return. I don't regret the walk even if it's difficult to pull myself away from the computer.

The life-changing magic of shutting down my computer

My sense of work life balance was shattered when I worked from home. There was nothing else but screens. I would keep doing stuff on my laptop while I worked. I don't think this counts as leaving work.

I found a way to shut my computer down at the end of the day instead of just closing it. Every time I tried to log back in at 10PM, I found myself wandering the internet instead of reading a book or going to sleep.

Now, the day ends when my computer’s off. My phone’s incessant notifications and general proximity mean I’m never all the way offline, but it’s a start. — David Pierce, editor-at-large

You need to have a routine

The only thing I don't like about office life is how it creates structure in my day to day life. If you want to get your butt at your desk by 9AM, you have to wake up at a certain time, eat at a certain time, and walk the dog at a certain time.

When I worked from home, I had to wake up 10 minutes before I had to log on, and I had to work out at odd hours. I woke up in my PJs and ate breakfast. I realized I was working from 8AM to 7PM most days because I could sit at my desk and look at my computer screen. I did this for two years without anyone asking. While I did well at work, my personal life and physical well-being had fallen apart. When we do things, some of us shouldn't have total freedom.

This was not something that was planned. I'm the sort of person who doesn't care about their own needs unless they're enforced. I researched the history of King Jeongjo of Joseon and his father, Crown Prince Sado, because I was able to. During that time, I did not eat or go to the bathroom. I lost 15 pounds and started setting time blocks on weekdays. The first block of work is from 9:00 to 10:30. The lunch time is at 1:30PM. I have to log off by 6:30PM even if I don't finish the task. I have little alarms that go off throughout the day on my Apple Watch, so I don't have to worry about them falling down. I often don't succeed in sticking to my own routines. At least a few times a day, I spend time taking care of myself because of the structure built into daily life.

I still have no idea what I’m doing

I have made a more comfortable workspace for myself at home than I have ever had at the office. It's easier to get food, coffee, and a restroom. I should be firing all the time. Even with everything in my control, the transition to working from home still feels like it's in progress.

I feel like my work life is unbalanced because of the Pandemic. It's easy for my apartment to become overrun with review gadgets and not notice the growing problems until they're too late. It is more difficult to take a break from work since my computer, phone, and other gadgets are close by. The last two years have given me an endless supply of distressing world news and I have realized that it is harder for me to deal with it when I am alone.

Buying the right ergonomics and tech products is only part of the equation. I can't solve all of my problems or feel refreshed all the time. Instead of replicating the office at home, I am trying new things, like going to the gym in the morning, which I have never done before.

Will working from home change how my kids see me?

The routine used to be easy. At the end of the day, my kids would go to school, and I would go to work, and we would all return to our homes. My kids lives have returned to normal, but mine has not.

The office has gone through a number of closings and re- openings due to various COVID waves. I have only been back a few times since my family moved from Brooklyn to the New Jersey suburbs. I wonder how the new status quo will affect my children. I used to be the guy who went to the office, but now I am always home. How will my presence affect them?

Working from home has helped demystify my job for my children. They didn't know what I did for work. As I sit cross-legged on the bed, clacking away on my laptop, they look at me with bewildered looks. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my job. As a result of the global Pandemic, the reordering of our professional lives will have consequences for our family relationships.

My daughter is having a temper tantrum about going to the playground. As she stomps and shouts and disassembles, I sit here, still cross-legged on the bed, wondering if it's too late in the day to hop on a train and head into work.

Working from home doesn’t mean you need to work out from home

Home workouts were a lifesaver for me and my flatmates when we needed them the most, because we didn't have to spend a lot of money on equipment.

I have learned that sometimes you have to grab onto the little excuses you get to leave the house to work from home. I have switched to running every other day as my primary form of exercise this year.

It can't match the satisfaction of finally managing one more rep after weeks of hard work, and it's a far less efficient way of burning calories. When the alternative is accidentally spending three or more days without leaving the house, I learn to relish the chance to engage with the outside world.

Know the rules and when to break them

I have a lot of experience with some of the most common pieces of advice that are floating around the internet. No matter how many people tell me to separate work and leisure spaces, have a reasonable schedule, or create an ergonomics setup, I always end up working from my couch.

I don't recommend anyone else work this way, but I will push my co-workers' more traditional advice on people who are at the beginning of their work-from- home journey. No one way of working is going to fit everyone. If you want to work from home, you shouldn't be afraid to break with tradition and find something that works for you.

It may be worth trying out the more traditional methods of building yourself a workspace that is separate from your personal space if you have been winging it and find yourself constantly stressed out. It is important to know what works for other people and what doesn't work for you when working from home.

I need to fill the air with sound, almost any sound

I was used to the new normal after working from home during the Pandemic. Even if they fly a different plane for a different company, having a co-pilot helps. While working in our shared office, we rarely had to flee from one another because I was the one with all the zoom calls.

I realized how quiet our house was when her job called her back to the office most days. To fill the void, I turned to almost nonstop music listening and background streams. We bought a mix of speakers so I can hear music from room to room when I need to refill my coffee or if I just want to move around. Even if I don't pay much attention to the music or chatter on twitch at times, it still helps me keep up with what's going on. It has helped me branch out a little further to more types of music and genres that are more suited to deep work, when my mood is right.

It has trained me to fill almost any void of silence after work hours. Sometimes, I pull out my phone to watch a video when I can do something better and get less distracted by my phone. There is always good music to listen to and be fanatical about.

Missing time to read during my commute

I used to read a lot when I was a child. Adulthood brought with it work and home obligations that made it hard to read. The only time I had to read was before I went to sleep and during my commute. My daily time on the subway or bus is usually 45 minutes to an hour each way, and I like to read anything I have on hand.

I have more time to do home chores now that I am not working. Barbara Krasnoff is the reviews editor

Working from home really means working from anywhere

I have been working full-time from home for almost two decades. It didn't take long for me to find out that I could work from anywhere. Even though phones get more capable, mobile data gets faster, and communication tools become ubiquitous, even that requirement has become optional.

There has been a change in the definition of where. My local coffee shop was the one with the good wi-fi and lemons. It allows me to clock in and out at the same time every day, regardless of where I am in the world. In Europe, I can get an unlimited data plan that covers most of the country for just 35 per month, which is useful if myAirbnb's wi-fi is terrible. Starlink RV has done a great job of filling in the gaps left by the mobile providers. At a time when all the revelers have overwhelmed the local tower, I use it to work from a Dutch beach.

There is no limit to where I can work because of redundant data solutions, Apple's new power-sipping laptops, and any number of solar panel / LFP battery kits. Maybe you can work from anywhere now that more and more people have the chance.