In sync by choice
Control.
Control over how I spend my time.
The most commonly mentioned benefit of working remotely and flexibly?*
But what do we mean by ‘control’? And why is it so desirable?
‘Control’ seems so definite. So absolute. Yet I’ve always bristled at the notion that any single thing – even the remote work I so strongly advocate for – can remedy all ills. I feel uncomfortable with the binary ‘office vs remote’, ‘traditional vs flex’, ‘synchronous vs asynchronous’ debates, even though my business sits firmly in the latter category for each. I feel uneasy about a blanket pronouncement that remote work = control = good, but I haven’t been able to articulate why.
That’s until I read Oliver Burkeman’s book ‘Four Thousand Weeks’ (which is, btw, both therapy and a feast for the grey matter). In it, Burkeman talks about the concept of “temporal sovereignty”: ultimate control over how one’s time is spent. He challenges our assumption that temporal sovereignty is the ultimate state of bliss.
After all, says Burkeman “your time can be too much your own”. What good is a two-week holiday if there’s no-one to share it with?**
From the failure of Stalin’s 5 day working weeks (where family members worked different shifts), to research by Dr Terry Hartig at Uppsala University, all indications suggest a strong link between happiness and disposable time that synchronizes with what the individual values most.
And so, it dawned on me that it’s this very thing our Free Range lawyers want: enough control to synchronise their time with what’s important to them. Morning walks. Midday runs. School pick-ups. Family dinners. Sport. Volunteering. Reading books, Making art. Cuppas with friends.
For others, office synchronicity is important. A favourite morning coffee. Lunchtime trip to the gym. Office banter. A drink after work.
Wherever the synchronicity boost comes from, participating in the shared rhythms of life is vital to happiness.
How wonderful to know that we don’t exist in two opposing tribes – office devotees vs the radically remote – but we’re all actually seeking the same thing: enough control to live in synch with the things that make life worthwhile.
* aside from avoiding the commute – of course!
** as parent to three teen/tweens, two weeks alone sounds joyful to me, but you get the point….
