Most workers worldwide waste two hours a day on average commuting to their office… just to do work they could easily do from home. Are you one of them? Isn’t it ridiculous that with all the technology available, companies still force people to go into the office every single day, only to work in front of a computer and attend meetings?

It’s not the office that gets the work done: it’s people. And to perform effectively, they usually need long stretches of “focused time,” also called “the flow,” – not fancy, open-space, loft-like offices. In many cases, the idea that work = office is painfully false.

This book is my guide to getting it all done from a distance. After more than 13 years of leading a team completely remotely and close to 20 years working from home myself, I believe I have valuable experience to share, and I know people need guidance on this topic now more than ever.

Additionally, I’m a productivity fanatic. After all, I’m building Nozbe and Nozbe Teams, apps that help people and teams get incredible things done, even (or especially!) when these people do not share the same geographical space.

Virus or not, the culture of work is changing. We have remarkably advanced technology. We have a new generation of people who understand this technology. We have the goods.

Now, all we need is to ditch the idea of a physical office being a requirement for businesses rather than a tool. By shifting this ideology, we can get people to work the way they want and choose a lifestyle they desire.

So why not give it a shot?

The one thing

Before you start reading, I want to ask that if this book leaves you with just one takeaway, let it be this:

Work is not a place to go; it’s a thing you do.

After each chapter in this book, you’ll receive one key takeaway. One thing, one thought, one tip or one tweak you can implement immediately. I hope you’ll be able to realize these takeaways in your daily life.

The book has four sections

There’s an intro, two main parts and an outro:

The introduction is where you will learn why I decided to work completely remotely with my team from the very beginning and why I believe this is the future of teamwork.

In part one, you will learn how to work more effectively as a team, whether you have an office or not. This section includes a few modern working practices that you can implement to improve your team’s overall productivity today.

In part two, you’ll learn how to work with a team that is entirely distributed. I will illustrate how to work at home, have a nomadic lifestyle, hire remotely and lead a team whose members don’t see each other every day. This part is both for remote workers (or people who occasionally work from home) and for managers and bosses.

The outro is where I finalize my thoughts and summarize this book. It is also a space for me to thank everyone who helped me get it to the finish line.

OK, let’s start!