Automattic is a distributed company, meaning we have no offices per se, and therefore no set office hours. My team is spread across four time zones, and while we schedule team chats each week, I otherwise don’t generally have set time commitments. This means that I can wake up when I am so inclined to do so, and work as late as I’d like. In other words, I set my own hours based on my needs, work commitments, and non-work obligations.
This flexibility is one of the many characteristics of working at Automattic that strongly attracted me to a position with the company. It’s also one of the most challenging “benefits” to adapt to. As I Tweeted earlier (though without the word mentality that belonged at the end):
One of my biggest challenges since starting at @automattic is getting out of the "It's X o'clock and I've only done Y so far today."
— Erick Hitter (@ethitter) September 4, 2012
I have no doubt that I’ll eventually adapt to this aspect of my new job, but right now, shedding the sense that I haven’t accomplished enough in my day simply based on the current time of day is proving rather difficult.