The New Corner Office: How the Most Successful People Work from Home
Published July 21st 2020 by Portfolio, Kindle Edition
Drawing on her 18 years of experience working remotely, plus original interviews with managers, employees, and free agents who've perfected their remote routines, Laura Vanderkam shares strategies for productivity, creativity, and health in the new corner office.
How do you do great work while sitting near the same spot where you watch Netflix? How can you be responsive without losing the focus necessary for getting things done? How can you maintain and grow your network when you spend less time face to face?
The key is to detach yourself from old ways of working and adopt new habits to match your new environment. Long before public health concerns pushed many of us indoors, some of the most successful people fueled their careers with carefully perfected work-from-home routines. Drawing on those profiles and her own insights, productivity expert and mother of five Laura Vanderkam reveals how to turn "being cooped up" into the ultimate career advantage. Her hacks include:
• Manage by task, not time. Going to an office for 8 hours makes you feel like you've done something, even if you haven't. Remote workers should set 3-5 ambitious goals for each day and consider the work day done when these are crossed off.
• Get the rhythm right. A well-planned day features time for focused work, interactive work, and rejuvenating breaks. In place of a commute, a consciously chosen shut down ritual keeps work from continuing all night.
• Nurture connections. Wise remote workers can build broader and more effective networks than people sitting in the same cubicle five days a week.
Whether you're an introvert or an extrovert, a self-starter or someone who prefers detailed directions, you can do your clearest thinking and deepest work at home--and have more energy left over to achieve personal goals or fuel bigger professional ambitions. In fact, soon you might find it hard to imagine working any other way.
User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
I picked up
The New Corner Office during an Amazon flash sale after reading a review for it. What a helpful little powerhouse of a book! It’s short, but it gives a lot of good advice for navigating our Zoom-forward, post-epidemic world.
The three points that helped me the most:
1) Make a to-do list, not a wish list. Keep it short and manageable. Divide it into three sections: career, relationships, and self. This helped me see that I was doing a lot of tasks for everyone else, and not nearly enough for myself or for my own joy or replenishment.
2) Say yes to anything that excites you. (Did the universe just give me permission to pursue my real “dream” goals??!!) Skip anything unimportant that doesn’t float your boat. Not only does it drain you, but after a while you forget that it’s unimportant and that you didn’t even want to be doing it in the first place. Don’t waste your precious time.
3) Have one little adventure each day—something to make this day different from other days.
I found other helpful advice in here, too, but this is what spoke to me most. Really just a fantastic resource all around for the new work-from-home environment that a lot of us are in right now.
Rating: really liked it
This book would be great for those who are new to working from home and/or those who work from home as part of a team. I've working from home for myself for a few years now, so I didn't get a lot out of this. There were definitely a few tips I will try, such as planning my week on Fridays and working by task, not time. The other things that pertain to me I've already learned the hard way, like the importance of setting up a work space that is comfortable and pleasant.
There is a lot of material in this book for parents who work from home, which is probably useful but doesn't pertain to me. The same with how to manage a team while remote working. There were a few times in the book the author showed her privilege, like recommending the reader hire someone to do housecleaning, meal preparation, and childcare in order to be able to focus more when working at home. A lot of that felt unattainable for me in regard to what I'm trying to accomplish with my small business at home.
Overall, I'd say read this book if working from home is new to you or if you're struggling with it.
Rating: really liked it
In March 2020, many of us suddenly started working from home. Most companies and individuals were not prepared for this sudden shift. In Laura Vanderkam’s book, The New Corner Office she shares her considerable experience of working from home with a house full of children. She is known as a time management expert and her advice is practical: stop managing by hours, focus on tasks; schedule tasks based on your energy levels; use odd bits of time for personal well-being and think clearly about the purpose of meetings. Use Friday afternoons to plan the coming week and be realistic about your task list. As we transition to a world of more flexible working practices, The New Corner Office is a useful resource to plan our working from home lives.
Rating: really liked it
Reassuring little Hallmark card of a book for people stuck working by Zoom since COVID.
Rating: really liked it
I listened to this on audio. It was fast, timely and full of the wise advice I expect from Laura VanderKam. Highly recommend for anyone working from home.
Rating: really liked it
I like some of Vanderkam's ideas and metaphors. Not much new (although her last chapter did have several useful tips about setting up a home office) if you've read her other stuff, but worth a couple hours.
Rating: really liked it
Rethinking how to work from homeGreat guidance and practical tips make this a must-read for anyone working from home. Laura Vanderkam uses her years of experience to help new workers from home to be successful.
Rating: really liked it
I base most of my life off Laura Vanderkam's advice, so this was a nice little reminder of a lot of points at a time a lot of us need it.
Rating: really liked it
After a year of remote work i find thoae tactics a bit too basic. However, if you are juat getting started with working remote - go right ahead, it should be valuable read.
Rating: really liked it
Our district is starting the year with full time distance learning. I feel like I need to up my work-from-home game and this book was just the ticket. Great advise from someone who has worked from home successfully for years.
Rating: really liked it
Lots of really useful advice. Good to go over
Rating: really liked it
Lots of good advice. Nothing too different from various articles on the web, but it's nice to read on the topic in long form.
Rating: really liked it
Some useful tidbits.
Rating: really liked it
Working from home is a skill!
This book came at the right time during the pandemic where everyone goes into remote working mode. During the pandemic time, there are so many articles about work from home, but the new corner office is well written and helpful for someone who needs more motivation in remote working.
The topic itself is not a new thing, but Vanderkam gives a new perspective on how managing our time and working from home, not only for you but also everyone in organisational level with some takehome message like here:
Managing by task, rather time. Image you are working in three different time zone. Personally, it is not ideal for working based on time if your colleagues spread across three continents. Take it slow if you feel overwhelmed with your tasks.
Keep in schedule and the rhythm right. Get your three Most Important Things (MIT) a day before, and create rituals. When I get my coffee and this time means a serious business for me.
WFH for the team. Remote working is new for many people, including organisations - so don't feel hopeless. Practically most people are adapting to this new lifestyle. Again, this is not only about you but also your organisations.
Think ahead time. Always remember your career ambitions. Does not mean because of pandemic you must forget what kind things that make you tick! Make a plan!
Work-life balance is a must. Working from home for a few days is provenly benefited for people to keep productive (and sane!).
Of course, the most important is how to make a difference and impacts on your organisation and society. From whenever you're working.
Rating: really liked it
The valuable, on-topic content here was substantial enough for about two blog posts. Short ones. I'm not saying sections on "You can exercise now!" and "Buy some nice pens!" shouldn't be in there, but... they really don't count. And thinking about it, maybe they shouldn't be in there.
I'm sure there will be a new edition when the pandemic is over. If it were me, I'd rewrite the book almost completely.
I think part of the problem is wanting to address everybody, all these corporate and self employed people, all at once. It's hard to say things that apply to everyone. One of the things I liked a lot about Vanderkam's previous books is how she has so many examples of individual people, and how they did things, drilling down into the struggle, the specifics, the changes. There was some of that here, but not much... not enough to cover a wide range of different situations. The book didn't live up to the standard Vanderkam set with her previous books.
