12 things about remote work we'll be adopting as we go back to the office. And 12 we won't.

2020 and 2021 saw a shift in the modern workplace like we've never seen.

Traditionally the domain of part-time workers and parents of young children, remote working was by no means a norm for most companies before the pandemic hit. 

But after almost two ~unprecedented~ years that sent millions of people out of the office and into bedrooms, living rooms, and kitchens around the world, it looks like there might just be an end in sight to compulsory remote work in Australia. 

Side note: Check out the things successful women do every day. Post continues below.

With NSW allowing employees a return to office without mandatory face masks as of Monday the 18th of October, and with Victoria not far behind, it's got us thinking: was working from home really all that bad?

Co-founder and CEO of professional messaging tool Slack, Stewart Butterfield, thinks not. 

According to his company's Future Forum research, most workers don't want to return to the office full-time. 

"We all thought [remote work] was impossible, [but] productivity remained high over the course of this year," he told Mamamia.

Despite this, for many of us a return to office life is an inevitable reality - love it or hate it.

So, we thought we'd take a look at the best things about working from home to take with our return, and a few things that we're looking forward to ridding ourselves of. 

Here's what 8 women in the Mamamia community had to say.

READ MORE: "Treat your inbox like a dryer." 5 work productivity hacks that actually... work.

Emma

Adopting: "While working from home I've been checking in with my manager via Slack every morning to chat through my workload. By opening up that communication first thing, I feel so much more on top of things and able to adapt when things change."

Letting go of: "I'm very much looking forward to letting go of working outside of my shift hours. There has been a tiny bit of me that thinks I can go a few hours overtime if I'm feeling unproductive through the day, and it always leaves me dragging work out to every hour of my day. No more. I'm very keen to work while in the office and switch off while I'm not."

Keen on more tech solutions to your productivity woes? Have a listen to Mamamia's podcast: 8 Minutes to Change Your Work Life. Post continues below.

Charlie

Adopting: "I got into a habit of walking early before work and found it sets me up for a really productive day. I'll keep this morning ritual beyond our work transition!"

Letting go of: "My lack of organisation at home. When I'm in the office, I use my diary every day to write my to-do list and tick things off as I go. But for some reason, while working from home I've barely used it and feel really all over the place - I'm assuming it has something to do with being out of routine. I'm over it."

Gemma

Adopting: "Because I’ve been working in the loungeroom, on a Friday night, I pack up my entire workstation and laptop and pop it in my spare room out of sight. It means I don’t use my work laptop at all for the whole weekend, whereas old me would happily jump between my work and home laptop when researching house plants on a Saturday, or watching TV on a Sunday. No more! Having a distinction between work and home on my digital devices has made a huge difference to me being able to relax on my days off."

Letting go of: "Instant messaging. If I am in the office, I plan on talking to the humans around me instead of just instant messaging them. This habit can stick even when you're not working from home, and remote work has taught me that when I am sitting next to my colleagues, I need to make the most of that!"

Shannen

Adopting: "I'll be enjoying my early(ish) wake-ups and walking to work again (at least from the bus stop!)"

Letting go of: "My horrible desk chair. Good riddance."

Tamara

Adopting: "I'll be setting more strict boundaries on ad-hoc communication during the workday, and focusing on blocks of deep work."

Letting go of: "I won't be doing washing, stacking the dishwasher and other chores. It messes with my ~workadian~ rhythms. I really think there should be a clear distinction between your professional life and your home life."

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Katie

Adopting: "I'll be keeping my lacklustre attempt to stand up and stretch every half an hour."

Letting go of: "I'll unfortunately probably have to say goodbye to wearing the same trackies five days a week."

Leah

Adopting: "I'll be making sure I have a micro-break every hour or so."

Letting go of: "I won't be snacking every hour and wearing ridiculous outfits because no one can see me at home."

Jess

Adopting: "When you're working from home, it can be tempting to just keep... working. I've been working on logging off/shutting down my computer by 5.30pm, and I find that I'm much more productive throughout the day when I have that hard 'deadline' to the day. I want to try and stick to this when I'm in the office too!"

Letting go of: "I want to stop using my lunch break to do boring chores like laundry."

Lily

Adopting: "Being more careful with my time and prioritising who to answer first - in the office lots of people tend to come and up and grab me 'for a quick chat' or ask a 'quick question' but at home I've been able to put boundaries around when I answer people and judge how urgent it is."

Letting go of: "Being on slack and emails after hours. If it's urgent - text me, otherwise its been really important for me to be able to fully switch off."

Nicolle

Adopting: "Taking a *full* lunch break."

Letting go of: "Dehydration... GET ME BACK TO FILTERED WATER."

READ MORE: I tried 5 different productivity hacks for working from home. Here's what actually worked.

Keryn

Adopting: "A better work/life balance, switching off after hours, and taking a lunch break."
Letting go of: "The career ladder."

Emily

Adopting: "Stretching and walking around for one minute every 40 minutes."

Letting go of: "Three lunches a day. RIP."

Feature Image: Getty.

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