I’m with you. Remote work very much depends on the people you are remote working with!
And I do feel like you write in that same Eat, Pray, Love memoir style. It’s not really self-development, it’s figuring life out as you go and letting us in on it while you do.
I really enjoyed how you described this experience (copy and pasted below). Realizing that writing could be your "creative thing" is such a light-bulb moment! I would love to read a more in-depth piece about this specific experience. I bet a lot of people who are also searching for their "thing" would resonate.
"For months, I spent my free time racking my brain trying to find my “thing”. It didn’t have to be a full-on career change. I felt the urge to do something creative, but I didn’t know where to focus that energy. So I started writing to work out my frustrations on the page. And then, with some encouragement from my wife, I realized that writing itself could be my creative thing."
Lyle, thank you for this piece! As seemingly everyone, I've so wanted but so struggled to write a book for years now and the memoir v autobiography hurdle you so warm huggy illuminate has been a biggie for me. Your words enveloped and reinvigorated me especially how you describe "Big Magic" as that's how I see my eventual book. Off to add it to my reading list.
(An aside, I initially came to your article cause of the main topic which is one that fascinates me. I've been work from home self employed for 18 years and absolutely adore not interacting with people in an office'y way; which is 😂 seeing that my business is a people business and focused on helping adults connect to others, opportunities, and themselves. It's interesting to hear from the other side so to speak and hear why they enjoy something I loathe. "Loneliness" also caught my eye as that's actually why I started my business. Less due to professional isolation and more social -- how do I make friends?!?!? -- but the crossover is there. Adulthood can be a depressing silo and it doesn't have to be. Folks sharing their experiences like you have helps with that. We realize we're not alone. So, thanks again! Looking forward to reading more of you.)
This was great, Lyle. Gotta say, I have NEVER been able to finish Eat, Pray, Love but I do admire Gilbert (loved her novel The Signature of All Things). I'm glad she inspired you to do what you are doing because I enjoy reading your work and catching a glimpse of your ongoing journey as a writer and a storyteller.
Good piece! I started working from home around 2010. When the pandemic began, I thought nothing would change. But what I didn't quite appreciate at that time was that my WFH routine often meant working from coffeeshops and meeting up with other freelancer friends, plus occasional in-person meetings. In other words, I had community, or at the very least, social opportunities, that were built into my WFH routine. For me, the challenge of the past year-plus has been finding a meaningful way to continue those engagements AND meet new people. No idea what the future of work, remote or otherwise, will be. But I do plan to be a lot more intentional with my time, especially when it comes to social / community stuff.
That’s super interesting. I’m curious if you noticed any change during the pandemic when everyone else also went remote. Like did your interactions with people online (in chats, zooms, or whatever) feel different?
I noticed quite a few changes. For context, I ghostwrite op-eds for tech execs. I've been doing that since around 2013. I don't know when I began using Zoom, but I know we were using Zoom long before the pandemic. For the PR agencies i work with, Zoom was mostly seen as a cheaper way to do conference calls. So we were voice-only on Zoom for years. In the pandemic we switched to video, which was odd because interactions that were voice-only for years were suddenly video. One benefit of the switch to video is that calls became shorter; it's just a lot easier to get everyone on the same page when you have visual cues. So the gig actually got better in that sense. But the bigger change was that I sort of felt seen a way that I never thought I would. What I mean by that is that I think pre-pandemic everyone assumed WFH meant you weren't really working. Obviously, that's not true, but a lot of the shitty assumptions people made about remote work seemed to either go away or become jokes that were making fun of everyone working from home, as opposed to a small segment of the population.
That’s so interesting about the switch from calls to video. At our company we never really did that. But then we had a Zoom call with a potential partner and both me and our CEO had quarantine beards and another guy had grown his hair out and we all cracked up. Strange times we’ve been living in lately.
I’m with you. Remote work very much depends on the people you are remote working with!
And I do feel like you write in that same Eat, Pray, Love memoir style. It’s not really self-development, it’s figuring life out as you go and letting us in on it while you do.
Which is what I love about your writing, I might add.
Thank you, Elle! Full disclosure: I’ve never read Eat, Pray, Love 😬
What! I mean, it is the greatest of all time.
I really enjoyed how you described this experience (copy and pasted below). Realizing that writing could be your "creative thing" is such a light-bulb moment! I would love to read a more in-depth piece about this specific experience. I bet a lot of people who are also searching for their "thing" would resonate.
"For months, I spent my free time racking my brain trying to find my “thing”. It didn’t have to be a full-on career change. I felt the urge to do something creative, but I didn’t know where to focus that energy. So I started writing to work out my frustrations on the page. And then, with some encouragement from my wife, I realized that writing itself could be my creative thing."
Thanks, Cole!
I wrote about this more in-depth previously here: https://lyle.substack.com/p/this-thanksgiving-im-thankful-for
Amazing 🙌 You're way ahead of me 😂
Lyle, thank you for this piece! As seemingly everyone, I've so wanted but so struggled to write a book for years now and the memoir v autobiography hurdle you so warm huggy illuminate has been a biggie for me. Your words enveloped and reinvigorated me especially how you describe "Big Magic" as that's how I see my eventual book. Off to add it to my reading list.
(An aside, I initially came to your article cause of the main topic which is one that fascinates me. I've been work from home self employed for 18 years and absolutely adore not interacting with people in an office'y way; which is 😂 seeing that my business is a people business and focused on helping adults connect to others, opportunities, and themselves. It's interesting to hear from the other side so to speak and hear why they enjoy something I loathe. "Loneliness" also caught my eye as that's actually why I started my business. Less due to professional isolation and more social -- how do I make friends?!?!? -- but the crossover is there. Adulthood can be a depressing silo and it doesn't have to be. Folks sharing their experiences like you have helps with that. We realize we're not alone. So, thanks again! Looking forward to reading more of you.)
Thanks so much for the lovely comment, Saya! I think you're going to love Big Magic. I wish you the best of luck with your book idea. Keep going!
This was great, Lyle. Gotta say, I have NEVER been able to finish Eat, Pray, Love but I do admire Gilbert (loved her novel The Signature of All Things). I'm glad she inspired you to do what you are doing because I enjoy reading your work and catching a glimpse of your ongoing journey as a writer and a storyteller.
Thank you, Elizabeth! I enjoy your work too. By the way, my wife read your novel and she enjoyed it. I’ve got it in my “to be read” stack ready to go.
Good piece! I started working from home around 2010. When the pandemic began, I thought nothing would change. But what I didn't quite appreciate at that time was that my WFH routine often meant working from coffeeshops and meeting up with other freelancer friends, plus occasional in-person meetings. In other words, I had community, or at the very least, social opportunities, that were built into my WFH routine. For me, the challenge of the past year-plus has been finding a meaningful way to continue those engagements AND meet new people. No idea what the future of work, remote or otherwise, will be. But I do plan to be a lot more intentional with my time, especially when it comes to social / community stuff.
That’s super interesting. I’m curious if you noticed any change during the pandemic when everyone else also went remote. Like did your interactions with people online (in chats, zooms, or whatever) feel different?
I noticed quite a few changes. For context, I ghostwrite op-eds for tech execs. I've been doing that since around 2013. I don't know when I began using Zoom, but I know we were using Zoom long before the pandemic. For the PR agencies i work with, Zoom was mostly seen as a cheaper way to do conference calls. So we were voice-only on Zoom for years. In the pandemic we switched to video, which was odd because interactions that were voice-only for years were suddenly video. One benefit of the switch to video is that calls became shorter; it's just a lot easier to get everyone on the same page when you have visual cues. So the gig actually got better in that sense. But the bigger change was that I sort of felt seen a way that I never thought I would. What I mean by that is that I think pre-pandemic everyone assumed WFH meant you weren't really working. Obviously, that's not true, but a lot of the shitty assumptions people made about remote work seemed to either go away or become jokes that were making fun of everyone working from home, as opposed to a small segment of the population.
That’s so interesting about the switch from calls to video. At our company we never really did that. But then we had a Zoom call with a potential partner and both me and our CEO had quarantine beards and another guy had grown his hair out and we all cracked up. Strange times we’ve been living in lately.
Love your writings. You’re open and honest and it comes straight from your heart!
Thank you! ♥️