Hacker News Reader

Comment by ReptileMan | Hacker News Reader

I don't know. For me commute is the most pointlessly wasted time a person could do. And I have played lineage.

So as long as your commute is 10 seconds home office beats real any time. At least until we get the whole teleportation thing nailed down.

View on HN

I thought so too, but now, after WFH for 2+ years, I'd tolerate up to 2h commute a day total - assuming I'm not driving - for a private office at the workplace. Home is much more conductive to focused work than an open plan, but it comes with its own set of distractions.

I dislike commute in general, but as long as I can read a book or use a laptop over it, it can be even more productive time than spending it at home.

Yes, I have a baby here. My ideal imaginary working condition changed from 'working from home' to 'working from a place that is a 10-20 minutes walk from home', and maybe with some colleagues. (And talking to people by typing gives me almost none of that human connection...)

It depends a lot. When I commuted from Redmond to Seattle, that was just a ridiculous amount of time to fill, and transportation options are limited (bus, car, or a really long bike ride). Now I work seven miles from the house, I ride an electric push scooter (Boosted Rev) or the bicycle. If I decide to whip back into ultra marathon shape, I can run to work. I'm not the type to just take the scooter out for a joy ride, so it gives me the opportunity every day to go for a ride along the river. Probably would not have even purchased the scooter if I had no commute, which means I'd still be driving the car three miles down the road for milk. But now I just take the solar-charged scooter if I need something from the store, et. al.

But that same commute in a car sucks ass, so your point stands.

A benefit no one has mentioned, afternoon delights with the wife.

assuming your wife is also WFH or not working

Mine comes home for lunch. Quick break brightens everyone’s day.

Or with Mr. Right

I like combining my commute with workout. Cycle, run or walk to work. Especially running to work in the morning gives me very nice energy for the day.

This is only an option for most people if there are locker/shower facilities at the office (most do not have this)

Every company I have worked for has had showers. Even the lousiest office I was working in back in the days had this kind of shower installed in the cleaning room. Did the trick.

That is an exceptional situation. Far, far, far outside of the norm.

2/3 of my offices have had access to showers too, pretty neat.

The commute at my last job was around 2 minutes (walking), 5 if I stopped at Starbucks on the way. Not as low as 10 seconds, but still a great life.

I'm a ~20 minute walk away, and it's perfect - it's just far enough that I can decompress or get my mind in gear.

A while back I could go from my apartment's front door to my desk in my office in under 4 minutes if I hustled. That was pretty great. Had to move for family reasons and my commute was almost reaching 2 hours one-way on bad days. Couldn't do it anymore.

Not to discredit your opinion, we're all different. For me the commute is worth the benefit of human interactions, seeing my coworkers for lunch and I also go to the gym next to my office. If I could only have my own private office it'd be great...

What prevents you from going out on a lunch with someone or the gym while working remotely? You just have to live in a metro area, not suburbs. I generally have done that for the last 13 years.

Well, you answered the question for me "You just have to live in a metro area, not suburbs".

I'm not saying I couldn't do both of those things when working from home, merely that as an added bonus of working out of an office I end up doing those things more often.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com