This evening I realized I had spent almost the entire weekend at my house. On the surface this doesn’t sound like a horrible thing, but it is a productivity killer for me some times. I just get into this funk where I don’t do anything productive and I get grumpy. Like, get off my lawn type of grumpy. When I get like this I know I need to get out of the house, but for some reason it is so hard to actually do that. I have to get MUCH better at just getting the #@%#@$ out.
It’s Not The Work
I am a business owner. I am supposed to love doing what my business is about, and I do. And if I were working for my company (that’s Presstronic Studios LLC by the way) full time I bet I might still run into this problem. Even though I love what I do.
Look, I have worked “Remote” one day a week with the last company I worked for during a pilot. It worked fantastically. I was almost always able to get more real work done on these days.
But I know. I know, if I were to try to work from home every day, despite a family that respects my “office hours,” I could not do 5 days a week in my home office. I would go stir crazy, and my productivity would plummet.
Get Out, Get Productive
This afternoon I could tell I was turning into a grumpy bear, and got up and left the house without much more than a quick goodbye as I slipped through the door. I was not in a good mood at all, but I stopped and worked for a bit at Chipotle, then did some time working at a local Starbucks and soon I was smiling again.
I was also productive. This is the key for me. As soon as I see work becoming a challenge, it means I need to get up, and get out.
Companies Must Embrace Remote Work
This is one of the biggest problems I have working for someone else. While things are changing, most companies still don’t get that their employees could be just as, if not more so, productive working at the corner coffee shop.
More and more companies that are trying “remote work pilot programs” to attract young talent, will fail to attract and/or keep this young talent. They will fail because most of them don’t embrace remote work fully, throughout the entire organization. Remote work can not be seen as a luxury but instead it must be seen as a tool to increase productivity while also increasing employee morale.
Sigh.
Do You Get Out to Get Productive
I guess my get out, to get productive turned into a remote work rant. Either way, the problem is the same regardless if I need to get out of my house or get out of my desk at work. Anyway, what do you do, and where do you go when you need to get out, to be productive?
Image Credit: Nicolas Raymond