3d ago

How do you not feel lazy at your wfh job?

First ill preface that I know i am REALLY spoiled to even have a wfh job. Im honestly amazed something like this exists.

Which leads me to my question. Im good at my job, its a great company, I get nothing but good feedback. But honestly, its easy. Really if anyone wanted to learn, they could do it. I feel guilty pretty much everyday at how easy it is. But the fact that its easy also makes it really difficult to put in 45 hours of real work. I try to use some of the time for educational videos or something related to work but honestly with my adhd mind, 9 hours is a lot unless im SUPER busy.

All my previous work has been jobs running around all day, fixing problems, managing people, which I dont want to go back to necessarily but sometimes I miss it. I work very well in chaos.

I have tried meds to zoink me out and they do work, but I prefer not to be dependent.

34 comments

I have tried meds to zoink me out
Yeah… let’s not go this route.
Realistically you’re not aiming for ~45 hours of hyper focused work. Aim for two 1-3 hour focused sessions a day and schedule around this - lunch, walks, meetings etc.
If you’ve still got bandwidth to burn - and your goal is to get out - look into overemployment or legit avenues for self employment.
- I miss meetings because it used up the day so fast. I rarely have more than 2 half hour meetings a week now.
  I at least watch interesting videos on YouTube pretty much all day so im learning something at least. Not anything useful but its interesting!
I've had in-person jobs where I was on the clock for 12 hours and did probably 30-40 minutes worth of actual tasks over that time. I guess what I'm saying is that it isn't only wfh jobs that can feel almost too "easy." Only advice I have is enjoy it while you can, because if and when it ends, getting thrown back into a "normal" job can feel overwhelming for a bit.
Reminder that you are doing at least 10x more than what an average corporate CEO does. Enjoy it
- The problem is our CEO is an awesome respectable person. Haha! No im glad they are. Its not the norm
I'm making them a whole bunch of money regardless of what office time I put in so.......
But the fact that its easy also makes it really difficult to put in 45 hours of real work.
Cultural differences apply, but I have more or less solved it by adhering to regular office hours, here at home. People know when they can reach me, so they are happy (during lunch break and after the office hours they cannot).
Are they monitoring you? What's the problem?
Most importantly, IS YOUR COMPANY HIRING WEB DEVELOPERS?
- Nothing beyond normal monitoring. I can be away for hours with no one caring.
  Sorry, its not really that type of company. Engineering based
  
  Bummer. Well my suggestion is to stop feeling bad and stop worrying. I don't understand where your moral quandary is coming from. I can't get a company to look at my resume. Count your blessings because your life is better than MisterNeon's.
  I need someone to help me before I become homeless.
When I was WFH I worked more than I did at the office.
I just accepted feeling lazy. I'm sitting here waiting for more work to come in an hour into my day right now, just screwing around on piefed. In two hours I'll have a bit more to do, and then I'll probably play my drums and mess around on my steam deck some. My boss outright recommended books for downtime, so I don't even feel bad.
If you're getting done everything they expect you to and doing it well, there's no reason to spend all day still not working but sitting anxiously available in your desk chair imo. That's a good way to drive yourself crazy.
- Thats pretty much exactly what I do ha. I always feel everyone ele is working way harder than me and really busy but the reality is I bet a lot of them are just watching football and not caring at all!
I second the other commenter. WFH is different from office. I have a very "heads-down" job, so a bit different from you. At the office there are constant distractions, people coming up and talking to me, going to get coffees, long lunches. Think about how much work you really got done in an office, real actual work.
That's why WFH it's not about being constant full-bore all day. Instead it's about getting yourself into hyper-focus mode for a few hours. In 3 hours of hyper-focus mode at home I could get done an entire's day worth of work at an office. If you can set that bar and be comfortable with what you got done, then you can be more chill the rest of the day.
- I am good at short hyper focus at least!
  
  That's plenty then. If you're getting your job done and you have time to spare that means you're efficient - not lazy. Don't overthink it
The whole reason I sought a remote job was so that I could be lazy.
Stop feeling guilty. You’re doing what they’re paying you for.
I suggest with the rest of your time you start a side hustle. Doesn’t even have to be lucrative to start with since you’ve got this easy gig paying the bills.
Write romance novels, build websites, create music, record ASMR videos, write a cooking blog, write a koi carp blog and monetise it through ads, build an Etsy store where you sell hand-carved cheese, or a Redbubble store where you sell t-shirt designs, an Instagram account where you post photos of the snails outside your window, a Pinterest account that only shares pinned photos of spoons (don’t do this one, I’m already all over it) … anything you can do around your main hustle commitments.
You have the luxury of time to get something going. Who knows, maybe you’ll hit the motherload and your side hustle will overtake your main gig.
I just remember that when I go to the office, I spend 4-5 hrs fucking around doing office things. Because of distance, refilling my water is 5 min, not 1 min. Washroom is 10 min, not 2 min. If I run into someone along the way, it’s 20 min. Recognize that you’re more effective because you’re focused and at home, not stressed from and about the commute.
If you’re ahead of your work and chores - and work in an industry that makes it possible - consider over-employment as an option. Personally, I don’t need the stress, don’t have the time management, and my industry doesn’t support it.
Way-back-when, long before WFH or any of these modern things the kids are up to nowadays, I did consulting from home, and I found it was actually way better to make a "workplace" for myself. I wound up talking with a startup run by friends of mine and they kindly agreed to let me bring my computer in and set up a desk for myself, just so I would have an "office" that was conceptually separate from the "office" in my bedroom. I got a lot more done in there.
One, it was bringing me anxiety, that I would wake up in the morning and my workplace was right in the room with me. Two, I found I got a lot more done when the workplace was separate. YMMV, but that was what I found.
45 hours of real work over what period of time?
I mean, a normal work week is 40, and that's ass-in-chair. You're expected to be taking hourly breaks and so forth.
Anyway, my answer to that is I get more bored otherwise, so I can't be of much help.
You need to compartmentalize. Create an office space if you can. When you start work, walk around the block, come home, go into the office, and start work. At the end of work, walk around the block come home and start your normal life.
Don't use your personal PC or gaming pc for work. Make it and the whole setup look, sound, and feel different.
- If only these two realities could be somehow... I dunno, severed from each other. Wouldn't that be nice, with no foreseeable consequences?
I used to think my dream job would be building custom furniture in my own workshop at home, but now that a small part of my work actually involves making custom pieces, I’ve learned it’s not my dream job after all. I’m far more productive when I have a set time and place to show up - otherwise I’ll procrastinate until noon and end up working through the whole evening.
Sounds like you just need to find some ways to stay busy. My go-to is to either develop yourself or research your industry.
The first option involves getting more education that relates to your field. Classes, courses, webinars, etc. Build your skills on the company dime. What you learn of yours to keep, so learn all you can.
The second option is better suited to forums, magazines, publications, and news articles. What is going on with your industry and peers? Being on the cutting edge can involve a lot of just sitting and reading. Just write up a quick summary and save it for future reference or to justify the time spent.
The important thing is that you aren’t behind on your existing responsibilities. Even in some office jobs, not everyone is productive 100% of their 8-9 hour shifts.
You can always ask for additional responsibilities/training, offer to help your coworkers, or take a second (maybe part-time) job if you want to keep your skills sharp. Or use the free time to teach yourself something that you are interested in even if it’s not work-related.
Feel free to ignore this next part if you feel it doesn’t apply to you, but I’ve always been afraid to get too comfortable at work when I was in a situation like yours if something were to happen to my current job. Nothing feels certain or secure anymore - layoffs, new technologies, changes in leadership, company failing or deciding you are under-utilized… - I like to have backup options in case I find myself out of work.
I find that having a task list that you use religiously helps a lot because then you can visually see what you have to do.
At some point though, if you’re getting all your work done and don’t have more to do, work on bettering yourself in some way you care about and enjoy it while it lasts.
The short answer is I don't.
I get my work done, my boss is happy with my performance, and I get some extra training done on the side. With the rest of the time, I get simple chores done around the house, or simply screw around. It's never directly stated, but my boss is well aware that since our team is full time WFH, there will be non-work activities on work time. Even when I was at the office, I wouldn't be focused on work the entire time.
My work is measurable whether or not my physical body is being observed.
I've come close to the threat of homelessness and hold myself accountable to do a good job so that I can keep my job.
I'm commissioned. I get paid more the more I sell and my team gets paid more the more we sell. If we are lazy we make less.
I turned my company 100% WFH in 2012. The fact is that out of an 8 hour workday at the office, most people only do about four hours of actual, put your head down and focus, work.
My suggestion is, if possible, moonlight a second wfh job. If you can do the work to satisfaction, you might as well get paid for it. Just don't get caught by your main employer. We (my company) don't care but many are touchy about it.

34 comments