Like many of us, for the last year I’ve not been anywhere near an office. A few months ago I decided that a move away from the city would be the best thing all round. I hadn’t really gone anywhere anyway, so what difference would it make if I was in a field in the middle of nowhere?
I mean, it *is* possible to get more remote, but not much.
I moved a couple of weeks ago, and I have to say the difference is quite astounding. While I’m working of course it’s not that big a deal. I have my 3 monitors set up as I did before. I’ve got a pretty decent, although not as good as before, internet connection. I have Teams and M365.
I’ve written elsewhere about how I think Microsoft have smashed it out the park with M365, it really is incredible the tools you have at your disposal now. I’ve also spoke about how I think this way of working was always coming, Covid just sped it along a little.
The real difference for me is when I take a wee break from my screen and step outside. There’s rabbits running around, the chickens are running scared and I can look out to the sea. Sometimes the sea looks like a sheet of glass, and other times it’s ferocious and roaring. I love it.
Right now at this time of year, it doesn’t get very dark until pretty late. Definitely after 11pm. But when it does it’s *really* dark. And the moon and stars are just incredible.
When I think about how I could have made this work even 5 years ago, I’m not entirely sure I would have been able to. The technology was there I guess, although nowhere near as good as now and the appetite for video calls instead of face to face wasn’t there.
I’ll still be travelling down to the office now and again, because I do think that “real life” interaction is important. But for now, I’m loving the open space, the wildlife, the stars and the sea. So I plan to keep a diary for myself and anyone who wants to pop in, just to see how it all plays out and whether true remote working is actually possible.
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I’m so glad you’re liking the move, though how you’ll feel when it’s rained every day for five months solid is another thing altogether! Internet connectivity should improve gradually and that’s bound to make things easier.
It’s great to see how business is developing to accommodate the available technology.
Thanks for the comment Jane! I’ve had a few people tell me they’ll come back to me after a harsh winter and see how I feel! I’ve also heard from a few people that there was a project to do Fibre To The Property for the whole island but it got cancelled for some reason? I’ve not had any real issues so far, but the line coming into the house does look precarious on a windy day!