Work It From Home

Fantasy life, or a fresh kind of hell? Listen to the men who make it work.

- Andrew Daniels

It’s probably hit you mid-commute, maybe mid-meeting, or smack in the middle of just another day at the office: if I was working from home, I’d be much more productive. More and more men are listening to that voice: about four in ten Americans work remotely at least part of the time, according to a Gallup report published last year. Nearly one in three works remotely 80% of the time. No wonder: “Until you don’t have a manager, you don’t realise how much time is spent – and wasted – with a manager,” says Adam Cahn, 54, an accountant who started working from home about six years ago. “You don’t have that corporate BS. No meeting after meeting. You don’t have to show up in someone’s office and explain yourself. You just explain yourself to yourself.” Listen to a couple of guys who are doing it and loving it; and then, maybe listen to that voice in your head.

THE ART OF FOCUS

Chuck Vadun, 51, communications director at Fire Engine RED and father of two.

My wife wasn’t sure I could stay focused and productive working at home. That was almost five years ago, and I’m doing well. She even admitted it. I wish I’d recorded her saying that. I’m in marketing, collaborative work, so I was used to saying, “Let’s go to the whiteboard and sketch it out.” I can’t do that now, so I use Google Docs and Sheets, Slack, and other tools to share ideas. It works very well.

When I started, I stuck to my morning routine: breakfast and a shower. My breaks include lunch, walking the dog, yoga, and playing the drums. I’m also a neat freak, so another break may be tidying up one area or doing one cleaning task, but then getting right back to work.