The New Corner Office

The New Corner Office Plot Summary

Introduction

Working from home has transformed from a rare perk to an essential workplace strategy. The shift to remote work has created unprecedented opportunities for professionals to reimagine their careers while achieving greater balance and productivity. However, this new frontier brings unique challenges that require intentional approaches to master. Remote work isn't simply about relocating your laptop to your dining room table. It's about fundamentally rethinking how you structure your day, maintain connections with colleagues, and advance your career without the familiar framework of an office environment. When approached strategically, remote work offers extraordinary freedom to design a professional life aligned with your personal priorities and peak productivity patterns. This freedom brings responsibility—to establish boundaries, create routines, and develop habits that sustain both wellbeing and ambition in this new corner office.

Chapter 1: Design Your Ideal Home Office Environment

Creating an effective home workspace is about more than finding a flat surface for your laptop. It's about designing an environment that supports focus, creativity, and professional presence. The physical space you choose directly impacts your productivity and wellbeing when working remotely. Meredith Monday Schwartz discovered this when she transformed Here Comes the Guide, a California company helping couples find wedding venues, into a fully remote operation. After getting a puppy in 2008, she worked from home temporarily and had a revelation: "I was getting so much more done," she says, even while managing the puppy and her three children. She appreciated the ability to focus and work at her preferred rhythm without a time-consuming commute. This experience convinced her that her employees might also be happier and more productive at home. Through a gradual transition that Schwartz calls a "long march," the company evolved from one work-from-home day per week to two, then allowed employees who moved away to stay employed. By November 2016, she turned out the lights in the Berkeley offices permanently. The team now gets together twice yearly for retreats, with daily operations conducted virtually. This transformation required rethinking how work was measured—focusing on tasks and results rather than time spent at a desk. When designing your own home office environment, prioritize natural light near a window. Clean any clutter blocking your view and consider improving what you see outside—perhaps by planting flowers or positioning potted plants on a balcony. Investing in a proper desk at the correct ergonomic height and a comfortable chair is essential, especially if you'll be working remotely long-term. Pay attention to your body's signals—if your shoulders feel hunched or your neck is tight, adjust your setup until you've resolved these issues. Consider the ambient conditions of your workspace as well. One of remote work's major advantages is controlling your environment's temperature, lighting, and sound. Use a space heater or fan if needed, invest in noise-canceling headphones if your home is loud, and select colors and scents that help you feel productive and engaged. Remember that you can occasionally change your workspace to stimulate different thinking—perhaps working from a library, coffee shop, or even a different spot in your home like a comfortable armchair or back porch. Your workspace should reflect your professional identity while supporting your physical comfort and mental focus. When thoughtfully designed, your home office becomes more than just a place to work—it becomes a space that energizes your best professional performance.

Chapter 2: Create Boundaries Between Work and Life

Working where you live creates a unique challenge: defining when work ends and personal life begins. Without the physical separation of an office building and commute, the boundaries between professional and personal time can easily blur, potentially leading to burnout or a sense that you're always "on call." Matt Altmix, who runs a photography business from his Atlanta home and cohosts the How to Money podcast, addresses this challenge through strict time boundaries. He normally bikes his oldest children to school in the morning, spends a few minutes reading, meditating, or praying, and begins work precisely at 9:00 A.M. He then ends his workday at exactly 4:30 P.M. "If I'm doing creative brainstorming up until it's time to quit, it's tough to disengage my brain to be present with the family," he explains. "I know if I'm grappling with anything really stressful, right up until 4:30, I'll carry that stress with me into my personal life, and it's just not fair to my family." To reinforce this boundary, Altmix uses both mental and physical cues. He tracks his time with an app called Clockify and, at 4:30 P.M., deliberately clicks to change activities. "It signals to my brain that, OK, we're shifting gears now." He's discussed these boundaries extensively with his wife Kate, who cares for their four children during the day. "Kate knows I'm unavailable during this time to help with the kids," he says, with both agreeing that as the sole breadwinner, it's important for him to focus without interruptions. The clear stopping time "also gives her some reassurance, some peace of mind knowing that at 4:30 she can completely count on me to be there." Creating effective boundaries starts with physical cues that signal transitions between work and personal time. Consider implementing a "fake commute"—a short walk around the block, a quick errand, or even walking a dog—to mentally shift between modes. Some remote workers create specific playlists for work time or use particular coffee mugs that stay at their desk. The key is consistency in these rituals. Communication is equally important in establishing boundaries. Clearly express your working hours to colleagues, clients, and family members. Educate household members about your availability—perhaps using a visual signal like a closed door or a "stop sign" to indicate when interruptions should be minimized. For parents of young children, transparency about when you're accessible helps manage expectations on both sides. Remember that boundaries work both ways—they protect your personal time from work encroachment but also preserve focused work time from personal distractions. When you establish and honor these separations, you create space to be fully present in whatever role you're occupying at the moment, allowing for deeper engagement and satisfaction in both your professional and personal life.

Chapter 3: Build a Daily Routine That Works

A productive remote workday isn't accidental—it emerges from a thoughtful routine that aligns with your natural energy patterns and work requirements. Without the external structure of an office environment, creating your own daily rhythm becomes essential for sustained productivity and well-being. Anne Bogel, founder of the popular What Should I Read Next? podcast and the Modern Mrs. Darcy website, succinctly captures this principle: "This is the constant goal: To do work that requires deep thought when I have energy and when I don't have distractions." Research shows that most people experience peak energy around 8:00 A.M., making mornings ideal for challenging work. By 2:30 P.M., energy typically dips—suggesting this might be better for administrative tasks or meetings rather than creative thinking. For Bogel, understanding her own productivity patterns led to a focused approach to daily planning. She keeps her to-do lists intentionally short, targeting three main priorities each day plus one major ongoing project. "I view it as a Ferris wheel with three things at the top of the Ferris wheel," she explains. This approach forces prioritization and creates realistic expectations for daily accomplishment. The Ferris wheel analogy addresses a common complaint about short to-do lists: "I have more than three to five things going on in my life!" Of course you do, but you choose a few things each day, keep spinning the Ferris wheel, and eventually get to everything. Designing an effective daily routine starts with identifying your most productive hours and reserving them for your most important work. Track your energy levels throughout the day and note when you feel most focused and creative. Then protect these golden hours by scheduling meetings and administrative tasks during your natural energy dips. For managers, this might mean tackling important planning work early in the morning, before team members begin asking questions. Incorporate intentional breaks into your schedule to manage energy throughout the day. Unlike office environments where breaks might be frowned upon, remote work allows you to design truly rejuvenating pauses. Make a list of short break options that boost your energy—perhaps physical activity, fresh air, chatting with a friend, reading something relaxing, or enjoying a healthy snack. Plan these breaks to coincide with your energy troughs, creating a rhythm of focused work followed by renewal. End your workday with a clear closing ritual. Review what you've accomplished, prepare your to-do list for tomorrow, or simply shut down your computer. This signals to your brain that work has concluded, allowing you to transition fully into personal time. Even if you plan to work again later in the evening, taking a moment to pause and power down creates a healthier relationship with work and prevents the feeling of being perpetually "on."

Chapter 4: Stay Connected with Your Team

Working remotely doesn't mean working in isolation. Building and maintaining strong connections with colleagues, clients, and your broader professional network requires more intentionality when you're not sharing physical space, but can ultimately lead to more meaningful relationships. Amy Laski, founder of Felicity, an all-virtual PR firm based in Toronto, has developed specific strategies to foster connection among her remote team. One key approach is what she calls a "just call commitment"—an agreement that team members can make and take unscheduled phone calls during certain hours, similar to an open-door policy in a physical office. "It sounds simplistic," Laski says, "but it is a small thing that makes a big difference, accomplishing in a two-minute phone call what would otherwise take several email exchanges" or a scheduled meeting that disrupts deep work. Laski also recognizes the importance of occasional in-person gatherings. Felicity holds an annual one-day Urban Retreat that "sets the stage for team interactions year-round as people are literally putting a face to a name." These events don't require expensive destinations—since most team members are around Toronto, they do local activities like taking over a cooking school, tackling a ropes course, or visiting a transit-repair center turned artists' colony. "I know I'll have the greatest engagement at our retreat if I make the timing—starting after 9:00 A.M. and finishing by 4:00 P.M.—ish—and the format conducive to the team's lifestyles," Laski explains. "We keep commutes to a minimum so we can maximize the use of our time together." To maintain robust connections in a remote environment, start by deliberately re-creating the "water cooler" virtually. Schedule regular video calls rather than audio-only conferences, as seeing faces creates a stronger sense of connection. Begin these calls with a few minutes of planned chitchat, with the meeting facilitator asking everyone a social question in turn to ensure all voices are heard. For larger teams, create structured opportunities for social engagement like virtual book clubs focused on industry topics or home office tours where team members can showcase their workspaces and introduce willing family members. Expand your network beyond immediate colleagues by scheduling one lunch or coffee meeting weekly with someone worth knowing better—either in person or virtually. Send a daily note to someone in your extended network: perhaps congratulating an acquaintance mentioned in an industry newsletter or reaching out to a former client. Without the time constraints of a daily commute, you can more easily build these broader connections that enhance both your current work and future opportunities. For managers leading remote teams, be especially mindful during onboarding. Arran Stewart of Job.com recommends a first-day virtual meet-and-greet where new team members can say hello to everyone, putting faces to the names they'll see in their inbox. During this session, have everyone add the new person to relevant meeting invites for the coming week. As a supervisor, call new team members multiple times on their first day—not just to check in, but to demonstrate that reaching out is welcomed and encouraged.

Chapter 5: Manage Your Energy, Not Just Your Time

Working remotely offers a remarkable opportunity to align your work schedule with your natural energy patterns, leading to greater productivity and well-being. Unlike traditional office environments with rigid hours, remote work allows you to harness your unique energy rhythms for maximum effectiveness. Dominic Benford, an astrophysicist working for NASA, discovered this advantage when the organization went virtual during the pandemic. "We converted all sorts of meetings to virtual—but we figured out within two weeks that we had way too many meetings," he says. "We were adding hour-long calendar meetings that were basically just tag-ups." His team began requiring meeting agendas in advance and recognized that structures built for in-person collaboration didn't translate well to virtual settings. Scientific review panels that previously involved ten-hour days in conference rooms weren't sustainable remotely, especially with participants across multiple time zones. "A full day's work in this kind of mode is maybe five hours," Benford notes, but since people weren't flying in, the work could be spread over days that would have been lost to travel and jet lag. Though the transition was challenging, "I suspect that a lot of people will find that this is preferable." Managing energy effectively begins with understanding your personal energy patterns. Track when you naturally feel most alert, creative, or focused, and schedule your most demanding work during these peak periods. For many people, this means tackling complex projects in the morning, but night owls might reserve their best thinking for evening hours. James Hickey, managing director at Spearhead Capital, has developed a rhythm that works for him: "three hours in the morning, takes a longer break, logs three hours in the afternoon, takes another break, and then does two hours after dinner." Physical movement is crucial for maintaining energy throughout the day. Without the natural activity that comes with commuting and moving around an office, remote workers need to deliberately incorporate movement into their routines. Pamela Hernandez, a trainer who works with remote clients, suggests keeping resistance bands and dumbbells visible in your workspace. These visual cues encourage brief movement breaks—perhaps doing bicep curls before joining a call or holding a plank pose while a document prints. Aim to log some movement by 3:00 P.M. daily, using small chunks of time for strength training or walking. Nutrition also impacts energy levels significantly. Working from home allows for healthier eating habits—preparing lunch from leftovers or simple ingredients rather than relying on restaurant meals. Consider keeping washed lettuce, pre-cooked proteins, nuts, and cut vegetables ready to combine for quick, nutritious lunches. These thoughtful food choices provide sustained energy without the afternoon crash often associated with heavy restaurant meals. Remember that managing energy isn't just about maximizing productivity—it's about creating a sustainable pace that prevents burnout. Remote workers report higher happiness levels and take fewer sick days, partly because they can better control their work environment and energy management. By focusing on when and how you work best, rather than simply working longer hours, you create conditions for both greater achievement and greater well-being.

Chapter 6: Maintain Professional Growth Remotely

Career advancement doesn't require a physical office presence. Remote work offers unique opportunities to develop professionally while maintaining flexibility, but requires intentional strategies to ensure continued growth and visibility. Dorie Clark, author of Stand Out, emphasizes this point: "Building a strong professional reputation is the best way to protect, and advance, your career. When you're recognized by others as an authority in your field, clients and employers want to work with you, specifically—and if you do lose your job, you're equipped to bounce back." Becoming a thought leader in your field creates leverage that allows you greater control over your work schedule and location, as people seek you out rather than you needing to seek them. To develop this professional reputation, start by identifying your unique strengths or "professional superpower." Ask people you've worked with over the years how they see you—when are you at your best? What seems easy to you that is difficult for others? When multiple people mention the same qualities, pay attention. Perhaps you have an unusual ability to explain complex concepts clearly, solve technical problems creatively, or anticipate market trends before others. These distinctive strengths become the foundation of your professional brand. Once you've identified your expertise, look for opportunities to share it more broadly. Give lunchtime presentations to colleagues through professional networks, write articles for industry publications, or create content for LinkedIn. If you're frequently explaining certain processes to colleagues, consider filming short how-to videos that can be shared within your organization. Start collecting email addresses and consider launching a newsletter featuring curated industry content, book recommendations, or interviews with other experts. These activities establish you as a valuable resource in your field, regardless of your physical location. Take advantage of remote work's flexibility to expand your professional growth through "speculative projects"—experiments that might lead to new opportunities. What happens if you write a series of articles for a popular website, track your time for a year, or memorize a hundred poems? What if you send a short note daily to someone from your contact list? Such activities generate responses and connections that can open unexpected doors. As Dominic Benford of NASA discovered, when he began showcasing a different tie knot each day during video calls, this simple practice became a conversation starter and reinforced his professional identity. Create structures for receiving feedback and accountability. Join or start a mastermind group of professionals in similar career stages who can provide insights on challenges you're facing. Find an accountability partner who checks in regularly to help you stay focused on larger career goals. These connections provide the external perspective necessary for continued growth, especially when working remotely. Remember to say yes to opportunities that genuinely excite you, even if you're not immediately sure how to accomplish them. Equally important is saying no to activities that don't advance your professional goals or align with your strengths. When someone asks you to do something, don't just check if you're free—consider what else you might do with that time. Could you use those hours for a project that's more aligned with your professional trajectory? Having this clarity about your priorities enables you to make strategic choices about how you invest your professional energy.

Summary

Remote work represents a fundamental shift in how we approach our careers—not simply a change of location, but a reimagining of professional possibility. Throughout these strategies for success in your new corner office, one principle remains constant: managing by task, not time, creates sustainable progress and genuine satisfaction. As Meredith Monday Schwartz wisely observes, "I'm constantly asking, 'What is the result we're looking for here?' Man, I ask that question a million times a day. It's my North Star." The transition to remote work offers an unprecedented opportunity to design a professional life aligned with your natural rhythms, strengths, and priorities. Start by creating a comfortable workspace that energizes your best thinking. Establish clear boundaries between work and personal time through consistent rituals and communication. Build daily routines that match your most important work to your peak energy periods. Nurture meaningful connections with colleagues through both virtual and occasional in-person engagement. Manage your energy through movement, nutrition, and intentional breaks. And continue your professional growth by developing expertise that makes you valuable regardless of location. Take one step today—perhaps designing your ideal weekly schedule or identifying your unique professional strengths—and begin experiencing the freedom and fulfillment that thoughtful remote work can provide.

About Author

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Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam is the author of several time management and productivity books, including:The New Corner OfficeOff the ClockI Know How She Does ItWhat the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast168 HoursLaura is also the author of a time management fable, Juliet’s School of Possibilities and another novel, The Cortlandt Boys, which is available as an ebook.Her 2016 TED talk, "How to Gain Control of Your Free Time," has been viewed more than 5 million times. She regularly appears in publications including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and Fortune. She is the host of two weekly podcasts, Before Breakfast and The New Corner Office and she is the co-host, with Sarah Hart-Unger, of the weekly podcast Best of Both Worlds. She lives outside Philadelphia with her husband and five children, and blogs at LauraVanderkam.com.

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