5 Years of Remote Work Taught Me to Stop Watching the Clock
Source: Dev.to
Introduction
I used to believe I had to work 8 hours straight to be productive. After five years of remote work as a software engineer, I realized that’s not how our brains work. Letting go of that idea helped me get more done and feel less exhausted.
Why the 8‑Hour Mindset Fails
- Factory vs. knowledge work – In a factory, 8 hours of machine operation equals 8 hours of output. In coding, you can sit for 8 hours and produce almost nothing if you can’t focus, while 2 hours in the zone can be worth a week of unfocused work.
- Mental fatigue – Writing code with a tired brain leads to more bugs and later rework.
What Works for Me
Natural Wake‑Up
I let myself wake up naturally. If I’m sleep‑deprived, my morning is essentially useless, so I prioritize enough sleep to be sharp when I start.
Short Naps
When I feel foggy in the afternoon, I take a 15‑minute nap. A quick nap resets my brain, and problems that seemed opaque suddenly make sense.
Physical Breaks
If I’m stuck on a design problem or a bug, I step away and take a shower. Not actively thinking allows the brain’s default mode network to keep processing information in the background.
Fragmented Work Sessions
With a child at home, uninterrupted 8‑hour blocks don’t exist for me. I work for an hour, stop, work another hour, and so on. As long as the work gets done, the structure doesn’t matter.
Aligning Work with Peak Focus
The first 2–4 hours after waking are when my brain is sharpest, so I tackle the hardest tasks—complex logic, tricky bugs—then. Afternoons are reserved for code reviews, emails, and lighter tasks. This varies per person; some hit their stride at night. The key is to identify when you focus best and schedule your hardest work for that window.
Company Examples
- GitLab – Over 2,000 employees across 60+ countries work without a physical office or set hours. They rely on async communication and have no expectation of instant replies.
- 37signals (Basecamp) – Remote since day one and authors of Remote. They run 4‑day weeks in the summer.
Both companies worry less about people slacking off and more about overworking. Freedom can make it easy to never stop.
Takeaways
- Engineer productivity ≠ hours at the desk.
- Sleep enough; nap if needed.
- Take regular breaks.
- Identify your peak focus periods and schedule hard work then.
- “Time at desk” is a factory‑era metric; we can do better.
If any of this resonates, try loosening the “8‑hour” mindset—you might be surprised.
I write more about engineering careers and ways of working here: