The Truth Is — Working Remote Made Me Unhappy
To make it clear, I’m not a digital nomad. I worked for a corporate company when I ended up going remote.
Working remote wasn’t a choice for me, as I’m sure it wasn’t for a lot of people during 2020.
And we all know what kind of shit-show 2020 was.
Before said shit-show, I used to work for a ‘little’ company called Yelp. Maybe you’ve heard of it, maybe you haven’t.
I worked as an Account Executive, a fancy title for sales, and loved it. I called business owners and tried to pitch them. Yeah, I’d get cursed out. I’d get called terrible names. I’d get hung up on. And that motivated me.
OH YEAH, SUSAN? YOU NEVER WANT TO HEAR FROM ME AGAIN? Yeah okay, I’ve heard that 80 times today. Talk to you next week!
It’s the nature of sales, what can I say. We were trained to be relentless sharks.
Not only was the job itself fun, the environment was everything I could ask for at a job. Picture Wolf of Wall Street but instead of stocks… advertising sales. Footballs flying across the office, people hitting the Gong when they made a sale, clapping, and an exuberant amount energy. It was fucking lively.
I lived for that.
And you know what shit on all of that? Coronavirus.
Remote Work Sounded Like The Best Thing Ever
Let’s rewind for a second.
Before any of this coronavirus shit happened, my goal was to be able to work remotely. To me, that meant being able to live wherever I wanted. To be able to work from my dream home office, in a dream location.
I used to have meetings with my manager to figure out how we can make that happen. I was determined to get there. To be a remote worker. But, there was still this lingering fear I had when I thought about going remote.
I really love to be around people. I love talking to people and joking around.
And if I decided to work remotely, I was going to have to give up something that made my days brighter. I wouldn’t see the people I looked forward to seeing everyday.
But, in my mind I was imagining me working in Hawaii, sipping on a Mai-Tai with no cares in the world. Yes, a virgin Mai-Tai. Are you really thinking I’m dreaming of drinking on the clock?
Really realistic imagination, I know.
Then I Had To Work Remote And It Sucked
Flashforward to the beginning of the pandemic.
Businesses started closing and a lot of corporate offices turned to remote work. Yelp was one of them.
Was I excited? No.
This was something I had wanted to do. Why the hell wasn’t I excited?
To start, I didn’t even have an office set-up in my house. I went from working in a lively office, fully stocked with food and snacks, top-of-the-line office equipment to a messy room with no desk, office chair, or snacks.
The snacks!
This was not what I had dreamed, but I obviously had to make it work.
It was a huge adjustment and it honestly felt so weird cold-calling people from my home. My silent, echo-y home.
Weeks went by and I started to loathe clocking in.
My routine was wakeup, get breakfast, clock in. Work. Clock out. Take 10 steps to another room and hangout for the rest of the evening.
Repeat.
Day, after day, after day.
I started to get sick of it. This was not what I had envisioned. I was not sipping Mai-Tai’s on the beach.
What. The. Fuck.
Several weeks into working from home, we got hit with the news that Yelp employees will be working from home until the summer of 2021.
That’s when I eventually said I couldn’t do it. I quit. The job no longer brought me joy. I hated every second of it.
Working from home sucked. I never wanted to do it again.
So I Quit My Job — Now What?
After I quit my job, I decided to pick up my stuff and move to a new state. Start fresh.
I needed to get a job eventually, so I started applying. And you know what was really ironic? Most jobs were work from home. Great. Just what I wanted.
I didn’t have much choice, so I ended up taking a remote position as a Social Media Coordinator.
This time, I decided I was going to do things differently. I didn’t want to loathe yet another job.
So what did I do? I made myself a routine. A healthy routine.
Instead of waking up mad at the world, hating my job, I decided to have a different perspective.
I’m fucking lucky I got a job when I did. There were so many people struggling for work. I’m lucky I got to work from home.
I’m so lucky.
And I wasn’t going to ruin that for myself.
The Routine That Made Me Love Remote Work Again
I started getting up early and going to the gym. Every. Single. Day.
My goal wasn’t going to the gym to get super fit and pumped, rather it was to get my blood flowing, my body energized and to find someway to get active before I go sit at my desk for 8 hours.
When I get home from the gym, I make myself a decent breakfast. Selfcare, baby.
When I moved into my new house, I made sure my desk was in front of a window that received a lot of light. I also spent a pretty penny on a new desk, chair, and everything else you could need to work from home.
I always make sure my desk is organized and the room is clean. A cluttered space can lead to a cluttered mind, and we don’t want that.
By the time I get to my desk to start work, I’m energized, I’m in a room with a ton of natural light, and I’m ready to focus.
During the day, I take my dog for a walk mostly for myself. He loves it, but I really appreciate it. It’s so important to step away for a few minutes. Get some fresh air. That was a game changer for me when I started working from home at this new job.
When I’m done with work for the day, I leave my office, close the door, and continue on with my night. Work is out of sight and out of mind.
It no longer feels like I’m still at work when I’m just hanging out at home. I dedicated a space to work at, created a routine, and “left” work at the end of the day.
Working remote is not all rainbows and butterflies.
I had an entirely different idea of working from home that wasn’t this. But, I eventually made it work.
Keyword: eventually.
The moral of this story is whenever you are burnt out, or sick of something. Change it up. Do something different.
That’s my advice to you.
