Nothing beats working from home!
Is it just me or are you also more productive when you are at home? Last night I worked until 11 because I am facing a problem with a process that has really bothered me. I couldn’t do this at work, I could only do this at home.
Then this morning I woke up early and the problem still bothered me so even before I ate breakfast, I was working on the issue. It really bothers me when I can’t figure something out.
If I had to go to the office I would have lost two hours of troubleshooting time that I spend on this. This is my commute/prep time. Then I would have been distracted by the people walking up to me and asking questions that were best addressed to the team. Don’t misunderstand. I am always happy to help others. It is just that sometimes there are projects that have big importance to fix so that everyone’s experience is smooth and reliable. That is the problem I am working on now.
For me, I am a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP). This means that the normal office sounds are not only distracting but wear me down mentally and physically. Imagine if you reacted to the noise, light heat, and all the other environmental pressures more sensitively than you currently do. Yesterday for example there were a dozen people in the office, but it sounded during lunch that there were a hundred. It was hard for me to focus, and the poor headphones I had didn’t help.
This is not to complain but rather to say that HSP needs more time for quiet and focus. Even with headphones I still have the pressure of heat, light, vibration and other things that for normal people are okay, but for me are overwhelming.