Context: Not OP, but I've been remote for ~7 years, with varying different types of home working environments. My latest position offers me the ability to come into the office, and work from home, depending on what I'm wanting.
I've found working from home without a dedicated, private space to be more harmful than helpful. I've worked everywhere from couches to shared office desks. My wife and I used to have an office together, though we don't work together. At times she'd be browsing reddit, gaming, eating, whatever. I found that to be very distracting. People coming and going was an interruption.
With that said, we've recently moved and bought a house. Much larger than I wanted in the past, but it has two dedicated offices for us. I've found that to be massively beneficial. I now prefer working at home. I can close the door to isolate myself from distractions.
A small note to all this. I do play computer games on my off time, in my office. For some this can be a distraction, as this office space isn't strictly for working. For myself I've not found it to be a problem at all. I switch between my work machine and my gaming machine, so perhaps that's related - I don't have entertainment staring at me.
Coupled with my work location, is my work hours and how that affects my mindset. I can choose my hours with my employer, so I choose very very early. This means the first thing I do when I wake is grab coffee, and work. Clean, focused, not distracted. No entertainment before work. I've found that once I do something entertaining, it seems to pester at me. Productivity after entertainment seems more difficult for me, especially for mental tasks. Work seems less interesting, I wander more, etc.
Anyway, these are just some of my thoughts on the matter. Your milage may vary.
>I've found working from home without a dedicated, private space to be more harmful than helpful.
Absolutely! Requires a who different level of discipline. Not just for working, but also not working. At home I have trouble turning it off, at dinner I’d be inclined to go check on this or that.
I just started working remote - I have a separate office, but it's not 100% for work (I have a 3D printer and other fun distractions in the room). I was a bit concerned at first with having a clear separation and that it being a "work" space would ruin it's appeal during off hours, or I'd be tempted to play when I should be working. I found that not to be a concern by only doing work on my work computer and only doing everything else (except personal email and light browsing) on my personal computer. I have a docking station and plug in one or the other to set my context. This seems to work well, but only time will tell if it's sustainable for me.
I've found working from home without a dedicated, private space to be more harmful than helpful. I've worked everywhere from couches to shared office desks. My wife and I used to have an office together, though we don't work together. At times she'd be browsing reddit, gaming, eating, whatever. I found that to be very distracting. People coming and going was an interruption.
With that said, we've recently moved and bought a house. Much larger than I wanted in the past, but it has two dedicated offices for us. I've found that to be massively beneficial. I now prefer working at home. I can close the door to isolate myself from distractions.
A small note to all this. I do play computer games on my off time, in my office. For some this can be a distraction, as this office space isn't strictly for working. For myself I've not found it to be a problem at all. I switch between my work machine and my gaming machine, so perhaps that's related - I don't have entertainment staring at me.
Coupled with my work location, is my work hours and how that affects my mindset. I can choose my hours with my employer, so I choose very very early. This means the first thing I do when I wake is grab coffee, and work. Clean, focused, not distracted. No entertainment before work. I've found that once I do something entertaining, it seems to pester at me. Productivity after entertainment seems more difficult for me, especially for mental tasks. Work seems less interesting, I wander more, etc.
Anyway, these are just some of my thoughts on the matter. Your milage may vary.