Separation of Work & Home
January 26th, 2009 by Geoff 13 Comments
For about 6 years I lived next door to P’unk Avenue. A few weeks ago, I moved to Collingswood, NJ. It is fresh enough that my daughter still refers to the place I work as “next door.”
This move has inspired me to think about the proximity of home to work.
I structured a lot of my life around not having a long commute to work. My father was a short-commute role model to me. He would often come home for lunch since he worked about 3 local-road miles from our house, and he rarely was late for dinner at around 5pm.
We all probably know a person that commutes three or more hours to work. We know about how people can spend years of their lives commuting, and we know it can have impact on family, community, the environment and finances. Most people acknowledge the negatives of living a long distance from work, but what is too close? Is there a sweet-spot commute?
It is much too early in my personal exploration of this issue to have any authority in my conclusion, but my early findings lead me to believe that a short commute can be a good thing. By short, I mean about 15 minutes to a half an hour. That is the time it takes me to traverse the 7.9 door-to-door miles between where I live and work. It gives me time to decompress, listen to a podcast or some music, and get ready for my responsibilities as a father.
The view out of my window when I am home is not the same view at work. For some reason, I think this helps me clear my mind of work-related issues and to really relax at home. This separation has improved my state of mind, and I feel more focussed and refreshed in both locations.
I report this with a couple of caveats. Collingswood is the equivalent of a streetcar suburb that is serviced by the PATCO high speedline (light rail) 24 hours a day. This makes the commute easy, guilt-free and it lets me get my money’s worth out of the iPod part of my iPhone.
Another caveat is that I suspect that this appreciation for a short commute is related to my stage in life as a father of young children. I know that seems counter-intuitive, since when I worked closer to home (next door) I could be home much faster and spend more time with them. Also, I could pop in and see them throughout the day, if I wanted. This was certainly an advantage when they were newborns and up to the time they started attending school, but over time I started to see the return on that decreasing and I felt like the time with them outside of work hours was impacted by my lack of ability to distance myself mentally from work.
Probably the biggest and most ironic part of this story is that many of the choices I made in my life revolved around getting to a place where the work I did for a living was all encompassing and interesting to me. The kind of work you do even if you are not paid to do it. The kind of work you love. Like when I used to design zines with friends, play in a band or edit films in graduate school. Hours would go by without me remembering to eat.
I am fortunate enough to be in that place now. The work I do is satisfying, it fully captures my attention and I love it. I have trouble turning it off, but as a father, I want to turn it off.
In 2008, I identified three priorities: family, my work at P’unk Avenue and my health. When I made that determination, I had no idea that a few months later I would also determine that the best way to honor each of those priorities would be to physically separate two of them. Life is certainly an interesting journey.
January 26th, 2009 at 11:25 pm
Inspired post Geoff. Looking forward to arriving at “that place” myself someday very soon
Cheers.
January 27th, 2009 at 9:54 am
I’ve always had an hour commute via SEPTA and I despise it. Even though I can listen to a bunch of audio, I feel like I’m just wasting time. I would love to work as close as you did. I guess after a while I will value the separation you’ve given yourself.
January 27th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Great post Geoff.
I wholly agree with the benefits of this type of separation. I grew up in a household where my father worked (and still does) from home. I feel it made him reclusive; cut off from everything around him. Which, of course, is not healthy. I guess all the more reason for someone to take advantage of an opportunity like coworking.
Do you use separate computers as well? (One with all your work email and project, the other with personal email and family photos?) I’ve been giving this sort of separation some thought but am worried it might come bring more distress from the than it’s worth. The decentralization might get bothersome.
I’d enjoy a follow up post. Maybe six months from now, after you’ve been in this new routine for a while.
January 27th, 2009 at 10:43 am
One thing that’s important to keep in mind about commutes is predictability and ease. I’m also a PATCO-commuter, living in Philly and working in Camden, and getting to work takes about 30 minutes, every day. I used to live in Bryn Mawr and drive to King of Prussia, and on a good day, it’d take me only 20. But on a bad day, it could easily be 40 or more. Sometimes I’d finish up a high-intensity day and proceed to stop-and-go for an hour, which completely countered the destressing potential of a good commute.
Now, even though on average it takes me a little longer, the process is more ‘automatic,’ and it allows me to enjoy the time, listen to music, relax, and soforth.
I also work from home on Fridays, but I tend to be heading out to socialize shortly after the ‘work day’ ends, and the walk/subway ride to wherever I’m going generally fulfills the same work/life filtering process as a commute.
January 27th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Last year I traded in a 40 minute commute in North Jersey traffic for a 15 minute walk through downtown Philly. I love it. The only thing I miss is listening to NPR or my podcasts. The only time I listen to the radio is in the car. And I don’t want to walk around with an ipod on, I find it disturbingly isolating. As a bonus I get to walk my son to school on most mornings and stop for a cup of coffee at a cafe.
January 27th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
There is no question that an unpredictable commute or a commute that requires driving is generally not helpful in creating time for decompression.
I would avoid that at all costs. What I am finding interesting, though, is that there are costs associated with living too close to work. I didn’t think it would be the case that would be an issue.
Additionally, I think the fact that I am very visually orientated has made it more necessary for me to have a different view when home. My brain doesn’t need those visual triggers firing off.
It should probably be stated that some people can probably create the mental separation without a physical separation. I am just reporting on what I have been discovering.
And… I will try to write honest updates periodically.
January 27th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
The real trick to a great commute is not driving.
The occasional “I’m just going to work from home” when the weather sucks is also a really nice when you’re in a job where you can do that (sorry, ER nurses).
Also PATCO is more dignified, less expensive, quicker, and more reliable than SEPTA. I’d prefer a 30 minute ride on PATCO over a 15 minute ride on SEPTA, plus there’s the view from the bridge without the supports to get in your way.
I think anything around a half-hour when you don’t have to drive it the aforementioned “sweet spot”.
January 27th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
I can literally see both sides of the coin Geoff. I work at home a few days a week (a flight of stairs in my commute) and two days a week in NYC (one hour plus on the train). I love the days I am able to get my kids off to school, jump right into work without the distractions and office gossip, and finish the day by having dinner with my children.
However, I relish the days I can go into Manhattan, put on my “good” shoes and shake off suburbia – even the Starbucks tastes a bit different. On the NYC days, I spend my hour commute each way catching up with friends, making appointments, reading a magazine from cover to cover and listening to music that is not Demi Lovato or the Jonas Brothers. It’s my time, shared with 1,000 of my fellow travelers, but its “me” time like you say. Now if I drove, I think it would be a different story altogether.
January 29th, 2009 at 11:41 am
I’ve read that “good sleep hygiene” can be key to sleeping well at night: in a nutshell, stay out of bed when you’re not actually sleeping, and your body won’t get confused. No reading, no geeking, etc.
I would imagine that “good home hygiene” could involve a similar principle. If physical separation helps, embrace it.
January 30th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Great piece here and very thought-provoking comments. I also fall into the crowd where I don’t mind the commute as much if it’s public transportation or walking. When I moved to philly I got a job at the place on the 1st floor of my apartment complex. Way way too close to home.
February 6th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Congratulations Geoff and Shannon!! We just heard today that you moved here and we hope you love Collingswood as much as we do!
We’ve been here just over a year now and have found that (thankfully) our work commutes to various neighborhoods of Philly have stayed basically the same.
I really resonated with this part you wrote:
“The view out of my window when I am home is not the same view at work. For some reason, I think this helps me clear my mind of work-related issues and to really relax at home. This separation has improved my state of mind, and I feel more focussed and refreshed in both locations.”
Dead on.
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March 1st, 2009 at 9:38 pm
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