Today I tried working from home to distance me from distractions: email, email alerts from ticket changes, IM, slashdot, co-worker's questions, co-workers a cube over, blogs, mailing lists, meetings, etc...
I found that while at home I was still being distracted by the electronic distractions. I wasn't being as effective as I wanted to be. So I packed up my laptop and what I needed, and left the house. I then worked the rest of the day with no connection to the 'net. It was liberating. Hours of work at a time without interruptions. I got so much done it blows my mind.
Being physically disconnected from everything wasn't enough, I had to be electronically disconnected as well. In an age when everything is online, it was a nice change. ;-)
It took me years to be able to work effectively at home with all of the distractions around. They are completely different distractions from an office environment because a lot of them are entertainment. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's so tempting to just stop work and watch a movie ...but eventually it gets easier to focus. Then working at home becomes a joy - and you never want to go back to a cubicle.
And to think this comes from the guy who complained that the lack of internet while working at DND was terrible. I think that being disconnected from everything can help you get a lot done. However, there's some cases, where having an internet connection can be beneficial.
ReplyDeletehahaha... true.
ReplyDeleteIt's one thing to be trying to do research and / or pulling down new applications, and it's another to have a task that you understand and have all the resources for.
I guess it totally depends on what the goal is.
Jim and I were talking about two different things. I extended his liking the physical disconnection to my ability, over time, to be able to mentally disconnect and focus on work at home even though the distractions are even more tempting.
ReplyDeleteAfter a few months of working at home, eventually the discipline gets easier.
Not having the Internet as a work resource from DND was a real pain in the ass. It was done for security reasons, not because people were goofing off.