Hello! I am Charlotte Wade-Thomas, a Senior Consultant at Tyto, and this is my location-agnostic life. In this series, we want to highlight the freedom our model enables and how we navigate any challenges it presents.
What’s your morning routine?
I usually get up quite early, at around 6.30am and take my dog out. I then spend about an hour getting my girls up and off to school. I try to be at my desk by 8.40am so I can have a coffee in peace, check for relevant news stories and plan the day before any early meetings.
How do you organise your day?
I block out time in my Outlook calendar to help me plan my day. I try to keep time in the morning free for writing tasks or work that needs more concentration and, where possible, keep my afternoons for meetings.
When are you the most productive?
In the morning, without a doubt.
What is your favourite workplace?
My home office, as it’s nice and quiet. It’s also suitably far away from the kitchen so I’m not tempted to make too many coffees.
What’s your favourite thing about working remotely?
There are so many things I like about remote working that it’s hard to pin it down to one but working at the quiet of my own desk without background office noise or the blast of cold air from air conditioning units (which invariably I always seemed to find myself sitting under!) is a huge bonus. After years of wasting three hours of my day commuting into London (and waiting for delayed trains), I also love the freedom that remote working offers. I can do the school run and still get to the Monday morning 9am meeting on time. It gives me back time to go for a run, do the chores or just to have time for lunch with my husband. I don’t have to take annual leave just to get to sports day and can take my work with me when the schools break up so we get to see family in Italy and Somerset without using up annual leave.
What do you miss about working in an office?
I do miss seeing colleagues. Although now that life is returning to normal, I’m only a train journey into London and there are always plenty of opportunities to meet up with the London team both to work together and go for an after-work drink. The office is great but personally I’ve never found it particularly conducive to getting work done. When I worked in an office, I used to find myself saving up tasks that needed a lot of concentration for my sporadic but sacred WFH days!
Also, when I do get to go into the city now, it’s a real treat and I get to appreciate the culture and vibe of London that makes it so unique. When you are obliged to trudge in everyday, you tend to lose that feeling.
What’s your secret weapon?
My dog, Esme. Much as she can be a bit noisy on calls if she spots a cat or a squirrel in the garden or if I get a delivery, she is the perfect office companion. Her lunchtime walks are pretty much non-negotiable which is great (despite the UK weather) as it helps me focus and try to get my tasks done before we go out. And if I’m stuck on something, like coming up with a new angle on a topic or articulating a tricky comment piece, just getting out of the house and taking my thoughts to the woods on our mandatory walks seems to help me clear my thoughts.