20 years ago, the internet was an escape from the real world.
Today, the real world is an escape from the internet.

Working online, from home this is especially true for me. I've frequently gone through long periods of time where I won't leave my project, let alone my house. While productivity during these periods can be unparalleled, cabin-fever eventually becomes a real thing!

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The adoption of a consistent Mon-Fri/9-5 has pushed virtually the entire modern world to find (work-life) 'balance' on the same schedule. And with such a high percentage of people unengaged with their work, it’s no surprise they even struggle to get through 5-days at a time.

It's encouraging to see more workplaces adopt more flexible work practices that enable individuals to choose to work more or less on the days that they see best fit, same thing with deciding to show up at the office, or not. 

Modern day workplace tools enable much easier collaboration and results driven management for employees that are all doing work at the same place, or at the same time.

An interesting side effect of the ongoing coronavirus fears is many workplaces being forced now to think through these things. Companies all over the world are not only restricting corporate travel but many have proactively adopted work from home policies to help combat further spread of the virus. This feels like a tipping point for a trend that was already accelerating.

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Rather than a 5 on, 2 off rotation for balance in a week I naturally gravitate to much longer cycle lengths. Once I get into a project it’s easy for me to go 2-3 weeks straight before I find myself losing focus and looking for an escape.

For an escape this past weekend I drove my motorbike (OK it's a scooter), into the mountains outside Medellin. Exploring the countryside is always something I enjoy when in a new region, and this particular day trip didn't disappoint! It was a vertical climb of about 1,200 meters through picturesque scenery straight out of Narcos. Maybe one day I'll be fit enough again to tackle that on a real bike(ycle).

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If you weren’t constrained to a fixed work/life schedule on your employers terms, what schedule would you choose and why? With current global events now is a great time to try new work models, and see what works best for you.