OCT 14, 2019

Nine-to-five is how you survive, I ain’t tryna survive
I’m tryna live it to the limit and love it a lot
– Jay-Z

This is one of those lyrics I’d see quoted in AIM away messages growing up and I never really thought much about… until recently.

Since I’ve been working remotely, I have occasionally taken advantage of having more flexibility in my day to day schedule. Maybe I’d go for an afternoon run on a nice day to break things up. Or wrap my day up a little early to meet a friend. But honestly, I did this type of stuff when I worked in an office too.

But in the 7 weeks since our son was born, I’ve realized how amazing it is to have a lot of autonomy over your work schedule. I don’t think I can overstate the benefit.

Now maybe I go help with Buckley during the afternoon and catch up on work later while he sleeps. Or I start my day later to help with his morning fussin’. It is more fluid and flexible.

So this lyric means more to me now. I don’t want to just “survive.” I want to be deeply involved in raising my son (aka “love it a lot”) and turn User Interviews into a juggernaut (aka “live it to the limit”). Remote makes it possible for me to do both. I’m not limited by an arbitrary and strict 9 to 5 schedule each day. It is more fulfilling and I’m getting more done.

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