Time Zones and Distractions

I’m trying to determine if I’m more productive when I’m 5-8 hours ahead of most of the people I work with, or more productive on roughly the same schedule.

Pros for being in US:
More hours for overlap, making communication more efficient.
Nights are more free with less obligations.

Pros for being in the UK:
Less hours for overlap, making communication less distracting.
Mornings and early afternoon are more free with less obligations.

I think this brings up the bigger point, which is that certain types of work are better done in solitude, whereas other work is best done with minimum friction for overlap. When I have things I feel I have to do or want to work on (which is especially true at the beginning of a year), any noise that gets in the way makes me grumpy, regardless of how many hours I might spend in the gym to connect with my inner zen.

So, one day in, and I either need to block off more hours during the day without interruption, or wake up at 2am each day. Or I just need to accept that the first week of the year is always chaotic when everyone gets back to it, and revisit this next week. For now I’ll just let out the loudest yell of relief that the first Monday or the year is over!

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