Why I Remote

I stepped out the door this morning into a cool fog. It was 6:37 am. The house was quiet behind me, so I pulled the door shut gently. The sun was just beginning to illumine the sleepy little valley where I choose to live. The ridge to the east was hidden from view by the mist. Diffused purples, pinks, and oranges settled down onto the hay field that is due for its next cutting. A whitetail buck and his doe paused on the unmarked pavement up ahead before disappearing into a sea of timothy grass. As I transitioned from a walk to a run I startled the neighbor’s Black Angus calves that were born this spring and they took off in a miniature stampede to a safe distance.

I like it here. Maybe I’m an anomaly in this industry, maybe there’s thousands of you just like me. I love the country life, and remote work makes it an option for me and my family.

By the time I made it home, the house was astir. My seven and five year old, still in their pajamas, ran to the door to meet me. “Guess what I saw this morning?” I asked.

“A Bear!” shouted my son.

“A Rattlesnake?” asked his older sister…

My wife handed over the 3 month old baby while I recounted my adventures with the deer, the cows, and the bullfrogs I heard by the pond. Then it’s off to change clothes, make beds, and start making breakfast. This is a beautiful and crazy time in our house. Helping my kids take ownership of chores, singing together as we go through our morning routine, and lightening the burdens in these morning hours for my wife of 13 years. Very few cars pass outside our window, there’s not much traffic in Haywood Valley, but I know they’re making the drive to the nearest town to clock-in. I’ve already logged an hour and half of work before the rest of the county was awake or preparing for their morning commute. I’ve connected with Teammates around the globe and moved pieces forward that support our mission. So, as we sit down at the table together and express our gratitude for today’s blessings it’s clear to me… This is why I remote.

After breakfast is cleared, I step into my office. I call it an office, but it’s really a 9×11 foot office, laundry room, and a pantry where we store home-canned blueberries and applesauce from our little orchard. If you’ve interviewed with me, you probably never guessed that the wood-paneling lining the walls behind me represented so much more than an office space. As I work through my schedule I connect with team members and hopefuls from all over the world, each with a story and experience all their own. Each adding value and each remarkably talented. Some of you I now call my Teammates.

It’s special, rubbing shoulders with extraordinary people makes each of us better, and with a talent pool as big as the globe, the opportunity for growth is equally as large. I want to work with and learn from the best… This is why I remote.

Whether you live out in the woods like me, or a concrete jungle, or maybe somewhere in between, working remotely makes it a reality without spending a dozen hours commuting each week. There’s scores of reasons to work remotely. Some of you want it so you can travel to tropical places and sit beachside and soak up the sun with your laptop. Others want the freedom to immerse themselves in other cultures, create new experiences and search for meaning. Some are caring for sick loved ones. Still others want something very different.

For me, the remote experience lets me grow as an individual and a professional, surrounded by a team of incredible people. It allows me to invest irreplaceable time into my family, to make the most of moments that many miss, to live in a way that we connect at our own pace. A pace that lets us spend our summer mornings picking blueberries, canning applesauce, or watching a foggy Georgia sunrise. This is why I remote.  

How about you? Have you worked remotely? Want to give it a try?

I’d love to hear why.