I had to do something this week called a ‘commute’.

Having spent the last 6 years or so working pretty much remotely with travel problems caused by cats in the way or a trailing dressing gown robe, finding the need to head into a workplace for a set time for a day was unusual.

Firstly, commuting when school is in term is a very different beast; hordes of children taking up space on buses and avoiding the British queuing norms used to be normal. Now it’s annoying.

Packed tube trains with people sniffing and coughing made me happy I was wearing a mask, albeit with funny looks.

Changing at King’s Cross is usually a joy when I use it at weekends; on a workday I was conscious of being part of the queue, whether that be escalators, stairs, tunnels, or platforms.

Returning to the surface in the City and it was WAY quieter than I remember. Even on a day when more people work in the office – Tuesday – there were still vast gaps on the pavement where, twenty years ago, I recall being part of the spiralling lines of drones heading into offices.

The rush hour home started at four pm and seemed to carry on until six; people’s work hours seemed more segmented and fluid than the rigid times I’ve worked in the past.

I can confirm that I didn’t really enjoy it and was acutely aware I probably lost a few hours’ productivity. I did have the chance to catch up with an audiobook, which was both a distraction and a necessity to cope with the bombastic volume of the Victoria Line.

Commute – would not recommend unless necessary.

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#HybridWork #RemoteWork #FutureOfWork