From afar: working in 2020
A personal reflection on how remote work became the norm in 2020 — on focus, asynchronous collaboration, and keeping creativity alive at a distance.
A few months ago, remote work was still a nice extra for many people. Today, in the spring of 2020, it has suddenly become daily life for most of us. I've worked from Rosenheim with clients across Germany for years — and yet this moment feels different. It's as if the whole industry took the same leap overnight.
Focus is no accident
The beautiful thing about distance: no one taps me on the shoulder while I'm deep inside a shader or a layout. Deep work needs uninterrupted hours, and I find those more easily at home than in any open-plan office.
But focus doesn't happen on its own. I've learned to frame my day: clear blocks for creative work in the morning, coordination in the afternoon. Without that structure the day dissolves — and with it the energy for the genuinely creative tasks.
Distance forces clarity. Whatever isn't written down doesn't exist for the team.
Thinking asynchronously
The biggest shift isn't the tool, it's the mindset. Asynchronous collaboration means I don't answer every message instantly — instead I write things down so the other person still understands everything three hours later.
A good screenshot with two sentences of context saves half an hour of video call. A cleanly documented branch explains itself. This care in writing has sharpened my work overall — even where no one is reading along.
Creativity needs friction
What I miss is the accidental encounter. The quick sketch on a sheet of paper that someone slides across the table. Ideas often appear in the in-between, and that in-between is harder to create online.
I try to replace it deliberately: an open video call with no agenda, where we simply think out loud. A shared moodboard that grows over days. It isn't the same, but it works — if you take it seriously.
Whether this phase passes or stays, I don't know. But I notice it's making me a more disciplined and, at the same time, more considerate collaborator. Maybe that's the real lesson of 2020: that good work doesn't depend on place, but on the attention we give it and each other.