Ponto de Vista

#WFH #gyaan Going through my old folders, I found a column I wrote for Mid-Day back in 2013 about working from home. It’s dated but still more or less holds, so I decided to post it. The text is too long for LinkedIn so I was finally motivated to put it on my very neglected web site:

CC: pexels-huy-phan-316220-11382772

Hed: The case for working at home

Byline: Chhavi Sachdev

Words:  600

Subhed: It’s not about being Zen, it’s about discipline.

By pulling the flush on working from home at Yahoo!, last week Marissa Mayer sparked quite the debate online and off. On twitter, most of the people on my timeline were outraged (but, of course!) Everyone was for working from home.

But when a leading Indian daily published an op/ed positing that only a rare breed with ‘a Zen approach’ could possibly hope to accomplish anything at home, I was incensed (erm, clearly, I don’t have this Zen approach). Does it really take a personality type? I think not. What it does take is discipline and a few good habits.

I belong to a tribe of people who bristle at the implication that working from home means you’re goofing off. The truth – my truth – is that I’m much more productive at home without the constant interruptions that constitute ‘work culture’ here – and anywhere in the world.

Allow me to illustrate: When I was editing the international section for a US-based paper, oh-so-many years ago, one of my duties was to put together a 10-page pull out section every three months. I commissioned several smaller pieces but I had to research and write the main 5,000-word article myself. Four days before the deadline, pressure to wrap was mounting and I found myself asking the uber-editor, my boss, permission to work from home.

His response was more or less what Marissa Mayer of Yahoo! has gone on record as saying, except he took it further: He told me that he could picture me sitting around in my pyjamas, eating popcorn in front of the TV while on the payroll.

I was so offended at the idea, I went back to him and proposed a trial. He knew where in the piece I was – and if he didn’t have 5,000 words on his desk when I came back, he could fire me.

Of course, I finished it. I knew I would. Without chai breaks, smoke breaks, and general ‘faffing’, without staff writers and other editors wandering into my office to ask questions, brainstorm, and, without my favorite use of time in an office (read: gazillions of meetings), I was so much more productive.

I believe people only procrastinate so much. Ultimately you are responsible for the work and if you don’t perform, someone will notice. I currently work at an office that allows me the freedom to work from home when I want to, and honestly, if I didn’t have that, I wouldn’t be working there. What is an office for? Face time over things that matter, I would imagine. Sure, collegiality helps – it’s nice to see other faces than your maids’ but I think there are plenty of benefits to staying put. You save on transportation costs, transportation time, and you don’t waste as many natural resources.

So, how do we, the forces who manage to deliver from home do it? It’s easy. We treat it like work.

Which means, that we wake up in the morning, make our beds, get our chores and routines done, bathe, get dressed for work, eat breakfast, and then work.

Sure, like anything else, it’s hard at first. But there are things you can do to make it easier. So, set reasonable deadlines for yourself, make lists. Some days (just like at any office), it’s harder to concentrate. What works for me is breaking tasks into chunks. Reward yourself when you finish something. Make delayed gratification a game. And ultimately be afraid of what people will think of you if you don’t under-deliver what you promised. If you have a work ethic, you can work from home.

LINK to “a Zen approach”:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/yahoo-ceo-marissa-mayer-workfromhome-case-present-maam/1082796/0

published in the Mid-day newspaper back in 2013.