Working Remotely In Space, But In Time Too
I get up at 6am. By this time in the morning, my employees have been working for hours already and (depending on daylight savings time) could be almost completely done with their day.
So by the time my pre-coffee keister hits the couch on this side of the planet, I’m already checking in, managing issues, and directing traffic. Sometimes this daily reality is fun, but other times I’m just exhausted by the always-on pace of it all and sometimes just want to play my Wordle in peace in the morning.
I’m not whining. I love my job, love my employees dearly, and the work we’re doing is important. It’s just that being way downunder here — while everyone else is up there snug in their comfy Easter Time Zone — means that schedules are not anywhere near aligned.
Once they are all done with their EST workday and we “good-bye” each other on Teams, I still have the lion’s share of my day still to go.
Alone. Without interaction.
Of course, I do send notes to my people during my day on Teams. But I explicitly tell them that they’re not to respond during their evenings. They’re not on the hook for my geographical choices, that’s my bill to pay.
But honestly, it’s this remote-in-time weirdness that makes the whole work experience even more isolating than just working from home.
I know this isn't true for everyone. Some people would hear the phrase, “I don’t have to interact with humans”, and love it all day long.
For me, I’m more of a people person I guess, and do miss the chance to hang and talk and chat and see their faces — like it was a few years ago when we had a physical office in Pittsburgh.
The bottom line is that nothing comes for free. You pay now or you pay later, but you always pay.
I live in a beauty I never could have dreamed of — from the place to the people, and culture. For this gift, into the open palm I pay with separation and disconnection during my workday.
Alone. Without interaction.
There are pros and cons to that, just like everything else on the planet. But the real test I guess is, if you had it to do over again, whether you would rock up to this same situation and pay the same cost for those same services again.
For me, I would choose this New Zealand life every day and twice on Sunday. I feel so blessed and grateful just to be able to experience it all, and still work with my amazing employees from half a world away.
Being remote in space and time is just the price of admission.
