I had a hard time early in my career adjusting to office life. It’s so prone to distraction and interruption that it can drive anyone a little crazy sometimes. I spent most of my early career in office jobs, later getting to work a day or two remote on rare occasions. Now I work entirely remote, and I’d have a hard time ever looking back.
The reason, I think, is because remote work allows you to dictate the terms of interaction with the rest of your team. In an office, anyone can “stop by” and interrupt what you’re doing at any time. Since you’re visible in the office, most people take that as an open door policy.
But when you’re remote, digital tools are needed for this stop by – and while you’ve still got to be present and available in a remote environment, the asynchronous nature of communication means you can finish what you’re doing before you shift your attention to a request.
It’s a small difference—after all, you still have to deal with those interruptions, you just get to choose when—but it’s made all the difference for me. I still feel present and involved with my team throughout the day, and feel like anyone is accessible when I need them. We’ve just managed to cut out instant interruptions in favor of handling requests on our own terms.