I Thought I Needed an Office—Until Remote Work Gave Me Something Better

I didn’t think I’d thrive working remotely—until it gave me the space to redefine my career.

When I first started working remotely, I wasn’t thinking about the future of work or how it would shape my career. I was just relieved.

The world was on fire (literally, in some places). Everything felt unstable. And somehow, I was one of the lucky ones who got to stay home, keep my job, and avoid the outside world like a hermit with Wi-Fi. It wasn’t fully remote—just a hybrid setup meant to thin out the office population. But even that felt like a privilege when so many people didn’t have the option to work from home.

Back in 2020, remote work wasn’t a bold career move—it was a privilege. While so many people had no choice but to show up in person, I was fortunate enough to be able to work from home part time. It wasn’t about flexibility or work-life balance—it was about staying safe, staying employed, and binge-watching Tiger King like it was an Olympic sport. Remote work wasn’t something I planned for; it was just the reality I found myself in.

At the time, I was working in Enrollment Management at my alma mater, juggling full-time work and grad school, and following what I thought was a clear career path. I was on track to build a career in traditional higher education—working my way up, earning the degrees, and checking the right boxes. I had a plan. Or at least, I thought I did.

I was the youngest manager on my team, eager to prove myself, bringing big ideas to the table, and doing everything I thought I was supposed to do. But in reality, I was moving through my career pretty passively—following the path laid out in front of me without really stopping to ask if it was what I wanted. I was chasing the next title, the next degree, the next promotion, without ever defining what success actually meant for me.

I Thought I Had a Plan

At the time, I was working in Enrollment Management at my alma mater, juggling full-time work and grad school, and following what I thought was a clear career path. I was on track to build a career in traditional higher education—working my way up, earning the degrees, and checking the right boxes. I had a plan. Or at least, I thought I did.

I was the youngest manager on my team, eager to prove myself, bringing big ideas to the table, and doing everything I thought I was supposed to do. But in reality, I was moving through my career pretty passively—following the path laid out in front of me without really stopping to ask if it was what I wanted. I was chasing the next title, the next degree, the next promotion, without ever defining what success actually meant for me.

At First, I Preferred My In-Office Days

When my job became hybrid, I actually preferred my in-office days. I wasn’t immediately sold on remote work.

I had never worked from home before, and honestly, it felt weird. Work had always been something I did somewhere else—an office, a campus, a space designed for productivity. But suddenly, I was expected to do my job from my living room, and it felt foreign.

And as an extrovert, it felt lonely.

I thrived on the casual, in-between moments of office life—chatting with coworkers in the breakroom, catching up between meetings, the quick ‘let me swing by your desk’ check-ins. Those little moments energized me, gave me a sense of connection. But at home? Those interactions were gone. No quick debriefs after meetings, no spontaneous idea-sharing, no stopping by someone’s desk just to vent for five minutes. Instead, everything had to be scheduled—sent as a message, booked as a call, turned into a calendar invite. The energy I once got from being around people was replaced with back-to-back Zoom meetings that felt... exhausting. Here are the essential skills that helped me thrive while working remotely.

Day-to-day activities that once felt routine—meetings, brainstorming sessions, even just answering emails—felt off when done from my couch. I missed the structure of physically going into an office, the way my brain automatically shifted into ‘work mode’ the moment I stepped into the building. At home? I didn’t have that switch. My commute was reduced to the 10 seconds it took to shuffle from my bed to my laptop, and suddenly, work and life started to blur in ways I wasn’t sure I liked.

But then, as the weeks stretched into months, something shifted.

Without the constant distractions of an office, I had more space to think. To plan. To figure out what I actually wanted instead of just reacting to whatever was thrown my way.

And even though I missed the energy of in-person interactions, I started to appreciate the quiet. The space to work without interruptions. The ability to structure my day in a way that worked best for me. The freedom to collaborate when I needed to without being pulled into every conversation happening around me.

The very thing I had resisted—working from home—was giving me something I hadn’t realized I needed: the ability to pause and be intentional about my career instead of just running on autopilot.

The Job That Changed Everything

Between my time in higher ed and where I am now, I was hired at a law school. The position itself wasn’t remote—at least, not on paper. But COVID changed everything.

For the first time, I was fully remote by necessity, not by choice. And as I adapted to this new way of working, something unexpected happened: I realized I thrived in it.

Then I moved—again. And instead of returning to the office, I was offered the opportunity to stay remote long-term.

That’s when it clicked.

This wasn’t just something I was doing because I had to. This was something I wanted to do.

Remote work wasn’t just convenient—it worked for my life. I could focus, collaborate, and grow in my career without needing to be physically in an office. It gave me structure without suffocation, flexibility without chaos. And it made me rethink everything I thought I knew about what my career had to look like.

Work Didn’t Change—But I Did

At first, it felt like the entire working world was shifting—companies were embracing remote work, rethinking flexibility, and actually talking about burnout in ways that weren’t just performative. Here’s a deeper dive into what remote work looks like in 2025. But looking back, I realize it wasn’t just work that was changing.

I was changing.

I had always treated my career like a checklist—get the degree, land the job, work hard, move up. But remote work gave me the space to step back and ask questions I had never really considered:

• What does career satisfaction actually look like for me?

• What are my personal and professional values, and do they align with the work I’m doing?

• Am I just going with the flow, or am I actively shaping my career in a way that works for me?

For the first time, I wasn’t just focused on getting to the next thing—I was focused on figuring out whether that next thing actually aligned with what I wanted. And that shift in thinking changed everything.

Because after years of following a path that I thought I should be on, I finally started to realize I have more agency over my career than I ever gave myself credit for.

Where I Am Now

Today, I work 100% remotely in operations and project management for a large non-profit organization. I’ve recently been promoted, and for the first time, I feel like I’m not just checking boxes—I’m actually shaping the kind of career that fits me.

Remote work gave me flexibility. But more than that, it gave me the space to redefine success for myself.

💭 What about you? How has remote work changed the way you see your career? Let’s talk.

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