Bozeman is truly an outdoor enthusiasts paradise – no matter your activity of choice you’re bound to find high quality adventures right near town. Mountain biking is no exception of course! There’s so much stellar mountain biking in the SW Montana Region that it would be impossible to cover even a fraction of it here – this article focuses on several of my favorite rides that are within 30 – 45 minutes driving of Bozeman.

Access, Advocacy, & Etiquette

All of the rides in this article are on public land surrounding Bozeman. This land belongs to all of us – be a good steward so bikers can enjoy these trails in the years to come. Clean up trash and dog waste, be courteous to others, and respect the local flora & fauna.

The Southwest Montana Mountain Biking Association (SWMMBA) is a non-profit organization that helps advocate for biking access, builds and maintains trails in SW Montana, hosts community events, and more. If you’re riding in or near Bozeman, consider supporting them with a one time or recurring donation.

Some trails are subject to usage timeshares – be sure to check these before heading out for your ride.

Don’t forget that bikers yield to hikers, and uphill traffic has the right of way. Montana is bear country, so always bring bear spray and ride in groups when possible!

There is a solid mountain biking guidebook for SW Montana – the Southern Montana Singletrack Guidebook can be found in outdoor stores around Bozeman.

Now, let’s get to riding!

Favorite Quick Rides (1-2 hrs)

Leverich Canyon – 5.1 miles, 1,265 ft ascent, 1 hr ride time

If you’re looking for the best quick ride near Bozeman, look no further. Only about 15 minutes outside of town, Leverich’s climb will have you working and the descent will have you coming back time and time again. The road can get a bit rough, a higher clearance vehicle is nice but not required.

South Cottonwood – 8 miles, 870 ft ascent, 1.5 hr ride time

South Cottonwood is a beautiful, moderate trail that follows the South Cottonwood Creek into the Gallatin range. This trail continues for quite a long ways into the mountains and you can definitely follow it for a longer ride, but I really enjoy riding it about 4 miles out. At 4 miles there’s a wonderful clearing on the creek to stop for a snack and maybe some meditation if that’s your thing. The trail also gets much more technical and rocky after mile 4, so if I’m just out for a shorter ride mile 4 is an ideal spot to turn around. This trail gets busy with hikers, it’s best to ride it at a low usage time.

Tripletree Loop – 5.5 miles, 975 ft ascent, 1 hr ride time

Oh, Tripletree! This is the trail I frequent most due to its close proximity to my house, fun terrain, and water access for my dogs. This one will keep you coming back for the same reasons – you can also link TT into Painted Hills for a really nice ride around Bozeman.

Sypes Canyon – 6.9 miles, 1816 ft ascent, 1 hr 45 min ride time

If you want a steep uphill battle and an incredibly fun downhill with great views mixed in, look no further. Sypes is definitely a challenging ride, with some sections that are probably hike a bike for all but the strongest riders. It’s a great workout though, and the views on the ridge are stellar. Then the best part – the downhill – makes it all worth it.

Moser / Buckskin Meadows – 5.7 miles, 940 ft climb, 1 hr ride time

Hyalite has tons of great riding, but the drive up the canyon makes a good amount of the riding available only on days when you have lots of time. For those days that you don’t, Moser to Buckskins Meadows is perfect. Beautiful rides through winding trails and grassy meadows make for a great day out on the steed.

Painted Hills / Town Trails – Rider’s choice

Right in the heart of Bozeman sits the Painted Hills trails. This trail system starts downtown and continues all the way to Tripletree – you can start pretty much anywhere you like on the trail system and take it as far as you want to! Painted Hills is great for those days that you don’t feel like driving.

Best Medium Rides (2-5 hrs)

Corbly Gulch – 9 miles, ~1500 ft ascent, ~2 hrs

This is by far my favorite trail in the Bozeman area. Wonderful uphill pedaling on smooth trails through a beautiful forest leads into one of the most enjoyable downhill rides I’ve done on a mountain bike. This trail has a little bit of everything and is a blast to ride again and again. The Trailforks track doesn’t include the washed out road you have to bike up to get to the the trailhead, and it continues on into a rocky section near the end. I usually stop at the last switchback to soak in the views – you’ll know where it is when you get there.

Johnson Canyon – 12 miles, ~2000 ft ascent, 2.5 hrs

On the northern end of the Bridgers sits the Johnson Canyon trailhead. Tucked back into the mountains and less frequented than many of the other trails on this list, chances are you’ll have the area to yourself as you pedal away from the semi-remote trailhead. The uphill is awesome, with a wonderful side hill that puts wildflowers on full display in the summer. As you reach the end of the trail you have a choice – you can either bomb down for one last downhill and pedal back up the way you came, or continue on down North Cottonwood (hike a bike) and ride the road back to your car (15 miles, 2700 ft ascent).

Copper City – Rider’s Choice

It would practically be a crime to not mention Copper City in this article. Just 45 minutes out of Bozeman is the mountain biking haven of Copper City! 30 miles of single track through a variety of terrain makes this the perfect place to spend a whole day riding. While the arid environment of CC can lead to some very hot days in the summer, mornings are very pleasant at CC, and spring and fall pretty much always provide perfect conditions at CC. You can even get some good days in the shoulder season and in winter depending on snowfall.

Copper City is on BLM land, so there is some camping available in the area as well as a pit toilet at the trailhead.

Emerald Lake – 8.6 miles, 1900 ft ascent, 2.5 hrs

There isn’t a ton of riding in Hyalite mentioned in this article – getting up into Hyalite usually takes at least 45 minutes or more, so most of the riding is a little beyond the scope of this article. Emerald Lake, however, is right around 45 minutes from Bozeman and is an definitely worth the drive up the canyon! A steep, techy uphill leads to a beautiful system of lakes in a mountain basin. Nice place to eat a quick snack before bombing back downhill!

Garnet Mountain – 8.6 miles, 2800 ft ascent, 3 hrs

Talk about an uphill sufferfest – Garnet Mountain will have you questioning why you chose to bike here until you reach the top. Once there you’ll be rewarded with incredible views of the Madison and Bridger mountain ranges, and you get to hangout at a cool forest service fire lookout (that you can rent out!) for a bit. You’ll also take your break with the knowledge that the hard part is behind you, and now you get to enjoy the sweet, sweet reward of the 2800 foot descent.

Wheeler Gulch – 7.2 miles, 1700 ft ascent, 2 hrs

Starting off from South Cottonwood, about a mile in you’ll run into the Wheeler Gulch turnoff on the right. Deviating from the stream, you’ll head uphill through a lush forest and past several switchbacks to a nice viewpoint before descending one of the most fun downhills in the Bozeman area.

Epic Adventure Rides (5+ hrs)

Bangtail Divide – 23 miles, 4000 ft ascent, 3 – 5 hours

Bangtail is the premiere bike ride in the Bozeman area. Fun uphill, stellar downhill, and over 20 miles of singletrack in one ride all add up for an epic day that you’ll want to relive over and over again.

While these certainly are some of the most popular trails in the Bozeman area, it’s just scratching the surface of the mountain biking SW Montana has to offer. Beyond the borders of the Bozeman area you’ll find tons of epic trails with long rides abound. Don’t be afraid to explore the path less traveled and get on some of the trails not listed here – if you have suggestions for trails that you think should make the list please let us know. Happy trails!

There’s nothing quite like the crisp, clean air of the Northwoods on a beautiful day. Surrounded by trees, water, and friends, Minocqua in Northern Wisconsin is one of the most wonderful places to spend your time – summer or winter! There’s no shortage of activities to keep yourself busy and bodies of water to jump into when you get too hot, not to mention strong drinks to put a fire in your belly in the winter. Minocqua is one of my favorite places in the Midwest and indeed the United States – everywhere you turn there are folks having a good time no matter what the season. After spending lots of time in the Minocqua area here are some of my recommendations for things to do while you spend your time in this beautiful place.

Go boating

If you’re lucky enough to have access to a boat while you’re in Minocqua, there’s no better way to spend a beautiful summer day than out on the water. You can boat from bar to bar on the chain of lakes, and you’ll be sure to make friends with other fellow boaters as you cruise from spot to spot. Be sure to boat responsibly – remember that the rules for operating a boat while under the influence are the same as operating a car. With lots of other people enjoying summer days out on the lake, traffic can be high. Designate a driver, then head out for a wonderful day in the sun.

Waterski, wakeboard, or a tube

Adding one of these great accessories to your day is a surefire way to enhance your Minocqua experience. You can rent these from one of the many watersport providers in the area. Chances are you’ll spot lots of other folks out on the water doing the same thing, including the infamous Min-Aqua Bats. Be sure to check out one of their shows while you’re in town!

Go for a hike

If you’ve had enough of the water for one trip, get out for a hike in one of the many trails in the area. One of my favorites close to town is the Raven trail system, but after doing some quick research you’ll learn that there are countless hiking options not far from Minocqua.

Take out a canoe or kayaks

Just couldn’t get enough of the watersports, could you? Canoes and kayaks are a great way to enjoy the majesty of the Northwoods without the roar of modern machinery or the crowds that the chain of lakes attracts. Get out on one of the many remote lakes in the area – lots of them don’t allow any sort of motorcraft, and you’re likely to have the place to yourself if you choose a lake that’s slightly off the beaten path.

Ride mountain bikes

Lots of the same trails in the area that make hiking so enjoyable are also great choices for mountain biking. With countless options to choose from in the area you are certain to stay entertained – one of my favorite options for mountain biking is the Win Man trails, only about 30 – 45 minutes outside of Minocqua.

If you need bikes you can easily rent them. We rented from Coontail Sports and had a great experience.

Watch wildlife

You may have noticed that many of the recommendations on this list take you out into nature – chances are, if you do enough of them, you’ll run into some sort of wildlife in the sparsely populated Northwoods. Moose, bears, coyotes, birds, rodents, and more all call this part of the country home. If you’re lucky you’ll get to share your experience with them – remember that this is their home, and you’re just visiting. Always give wildlife a wide berth and respect the fact they are wild animals. Human interactions can be very stressful for them, so enjoy the experience for a moment, then let them be on their way.

Get a fish fry

Now that we’ve been outside working up an appetite, it’s time to head into town for some food. You can’t go wrong with many of the restaurants in Minocqua for any meal, but one of my favorite meals is the weekly fish fries. Yacht Club and Boathouse both have great fish fries, and both are staple establishments that you have to visit at least once while you’re here.

Drink a bucket at the Thirsty Whale

After you’ve eaten your fill of fried, fish, it’s time to head out for a night on the town. The de-facto place to start (and often end) your night is the Thirsty Whale. Right on the lake, you can pull up with your boat, or easily walk to the Whale from in town. You’ll probably hate yourself for it in the morning, but you’ll definitely get pressured into ordering a bucket at some point during your time there. Drink your bucket, rip up the dance floor, play some shuffleboard, and enjoy your night in Minocqua post buckets.

Put a dollar up at the Little Brown Jug

The night isn’t over yet – indeed, many nights out in Minocqua don’t end until the sun rises. It’s time to head to the LBJ, dive bar of all dive bars, Order a PBR for about $2, tip your bartender $1, then pound your other dollar somewhere over someone else’s and join the plethora of drunks who have done the same at the LBJ.

Attend Beef-A-Rama

What better way to recover from a hangover than consuming far too much high quality meat? The annual Beef-A-Rama is an incredibly fun event, hosting vendors from all over Wisconsin promoting their wares, giving free samples, and – you guessed – cooking up some meets. Make sure to stick around for the beef eating contest and various events that accompany this day of beef and beer.

Head out for a night of stargazing

Thanks to it being one of the most sparsely populated regions in the United States, the stargazing in Northern Wisconsin is unmatched. There are few better feelings than sitting underneath the Milky Way on a warm summer night, especially if you’re in a kayak or canoe. You can use Dark Site Finder or Dark Sky to locate a site that has premium stargazing and limited light pollution. If you want to take your stargazing to the camera check out our Beginner’s Guide to Landscape Astrophotography.

Go snowmobiling

Ah, winter in Minocqua. It’s cold and it snows a TON – which can be miserable if you don’t pick up a winter hobby or two to keep you occupied. Snowmobiling is a prime past time for locals of the area and for visitors alike. Travelers come from all over the world to take advantage of the world class snowmobiling that Minocqua has to offer. There are hundreds of miles of backwoods trails, and you can sled across the frozen lakes to head out for a drink or dinner at the end of the day.

Warning – Snowmobiling is an inherently dangerous activity. Always wear a protective helmet, warm clothes, and never operate a snowmobile under the influence of alcohol.

Head out for a cross country ski

The endless acres of the Northwoods lend themselves to incredibly immersive cross country skiing. There are dozens of trail systems in the Minocqua area, but one of my favorites is the Raven Trail system. The Raven offers a great option in a beautiful area, with enough variety to provide a full day or several days of exploration. Check out beautiful Hemlock Lake right up the road once you’re done with your XC skiing adventure!

Ride fat bikes

Fat biking is an incredible way to spend cold winter days, and Minocqua has a plethora of world class fat biking trails just a short drive outside of town. The wind on your face, pedals beneath your feet, snow beneath your tires – you don’t need much more than that on a beautiful winter day in Minocqua. I mentioned Win Man trails for mountain biking earlier – during the winter they transform into some of the best fat bike trails I have ever ridden. You can also check out the Raven trails if you’re looking for something closer to town.

Hit the slopes

If downhill sliding is your thing, there are tons of great skiing and snowboarding options not far from Minocqua. Just across the border in Michigan are the twin resorts of Blackjack and Indianhead, and not far from Minocqua is the local classic Mount Bohemia. With the lake effect coming off of mother Superior, these locations boast over 200 inches of snowfall each year. If you spend a few days skiing here you are almost guaranteed one or two solid powder days!

Go snowshoeing

Snow is a theme in Minocqua and in the Northwood – you absolutely need to find some way to enjoy the winters in this incredible place. Snowshoeing is probably the most accessible option to do so – all you need is a pair of baskets on your feet and you’re good to go! There are tons of options for snowshoeing around the area – many of the trail systems offer dedicated snowshoeing paths, but if you really want to get the value out of your snowshoes, head off trail into some deep snow for a full value experience.

Minocqua is truly a paradise – a playground all times of the year with activities and fun for everyone. Get out and experience some of the recommendations on this list, and you’ll have a smile as big as mine was!

Nestled in the Guatemalan highlands about an hour outside of Guatemala city is the charming town of Antigua. As you walk through the city stunning colonial architecture colors your view while gigantic, unreal looking volcanoes rise up all around the city. On a clear day you can look to the west and see Volcán de Fuego spewing lava and ash into the sky.

Antigua was built by the Spanish in 1543 to act as the capital of Guatemala. Here the Spanish consolidated their military, political, and economic power, creating the seat from which they would rule the region for over 200 years. However, as you enter the city, it’s clear that the true rulers of the area are not the Spanish, nor any other people, but the towering volcanoes that dominate the landscape.

Home to local Guatemalans, expats, and tourists, Antigua is a melting pot of cultures with no shortage of things to do. It’s a beautiful city to simply wander through, appreciating the antiquated building style, cobblestone streets, and local markets.

Lifestyle

5 – 10 Minute Read

Working remotely is a phenomenon that has blossomed with the advent of compact personal computers and globally accessible high speed internet. It comes in many shapes and forms and is sometimes described using catchy, glamorous buzzwords like digital nomad, WFH (work from home), asynchronous communication, and distributed teams. However there is one thing that is seems to be mentioned very infrequently about working remotely – it is still work.

Since starting a remote job six months ago I have taken advice from other remote veterans and devised several of my own tactics that I use to stay on task during my workday. There is no doubt that the freedom and flexibility of remote work can lead to distraction and decreased productivity, but by utilizing the tips in this article you can develop a system to stay focused and get s%!t done.

Set (and keep) a schedule for yourself

This is probably the most important – and most difficult – tactic that I can share for maximizing productivity and focus while working remotely. When you need to commute you usually don’t have to worry about setting a schedule for yourself. It’s done for you. You wake up, go about your morning routine, and arrive at the office at a certain time, and get to it. When working remotely it can be incredibly easy to forego any type of schedule and go through the day tackling whatever comes up – but this can be dangerous if you have external appointments to keep or big projects that you are unable to get to. It can also lead to non-work related distractions like doing laundry, running errands, or even watching Netflix or playing video games.

Setting a schedule can also help you to focus on different types of work at times of the day. If you’re the type of person whose brain doesn’t function in the morning but comes alive at 11:00 pm, schedule low effort admin work for the morning and tasks requiring higher cognitive activity at night. Personally I am most focused in the mornings, so I schedule my writing and important projects for earlier in the morning and try to leave less important emails and admin tasks for the afternoon. If you are working on creative materials such as writing, design, art, music, making a business plan, or other tasks for which there are no blueprints or workflow processes, this is an even more critical tool. It forces you to spend that allotted time on that specific activity – and if this is your #1 priority you need to ensure that you have that time blocked out.

To get you started here is an example schedule that I set for myself. You can see that I even include items that aren’t related to work – those are equally important to schedule and account for. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you’ll work on that great idea you have had from 6:00 – 7:00 pm when you know your partner is going to want to eat dinner then or your friends are going to shoot you a text wanting to grab beers.

6:00 am – Wake up (still working on staying consistent here 🙂

6:00 – 7:30 am – Breakfast, coffee, reading, spend the morning w/Sarah

7:30 – 9:00 am – Clean up work area, Check task manager, review priorities, Write

I try not to compromise the underlined / bolded items. All of these are top priority and to me it’s important to ensure that I do them each day, and I know that if I don’t do them first thing in the morning they won’t get done!

9:00 am – Check email, support queue

9:00 am – 11:30 am – Respond to customers, connect with team, external phone calls, work on longer term projects

11:30 am – 1:30 pm – Exercise, lunch

1:30 pm – 4:00 pm – Complete work tasks, connect with team, external calls, work on projects

4:00 – 5:00 pm – Write, work on website, chill, misc. tasks

5:00 – 9:30 pm – Chill, watch shows, maybe write, hang with other people, dinner, other tasks, chores, exercise, wind down

9:30 – 10:30 pm – Get ready for bed, read

10:30 pm – Bedtime

As you can see my schedule is relatively well structured, but that doesn’t mean that some days don’t look a bit different. One of the great things about life is that the unexpected can and does happen – it’s also important to be flexible and account for things that might come up during the day!

That being said, it’s important to understand which distractions should be allowed and which shouldn’t.

Managing distractions

Spending most or all of your day at home can leave you susceptible to a bombardment of chores, social invitations, and random tasks that seemingly go from being unimportant to your top priority – this can happen because you have to be at home with them all day or simply due to the fact that you now have the choice to spend your time differently when you aren’t working in an office building. There will always be laundry that needs to be done, dishes that need to be washed, people going out late at night, and visitors stopping by your house.

It takes discipline and willpower to say no something that is staring you in the face. In her amazing book Growing Gills, author Jessica Abel calls these types of tasks “open loops” – these are basically tasks that will stay on your mind and waylay your focus unless you complete them. If you know that you won’t be able to say no to spending time on something the next day take care of it the night before. Save dinner leftovers so you don’t have to spend time cooking for lunch. Don’t go out to karaoke night at the bar when you have an important meeting or project to work on the next day. Tell your significant other or roommate that no, you can’t swing by the grocery while you’re at home today. The point of all of this is to spend your workday just as you would if you were in an office and not at home. Close any internet tabs that might be a distraction the night before and get to work, dammit!

One alteration on this concept is to build tasks into your routine. I know that I can’t focus if my workspace is messy, so I spend about 15 minutes each morning before getting to work cleaning up clutter, wiping down surfaces, and putting things away. This closes that loop and leaves me free to sit down and focus on the task at hand.

Reduce decision fatigue

Wikipedia defines decision fatigue as “the deteriorating quality of decisions made by an individual after a long session of decision making”. When we wake up in the morning we face the opportunity of making a hundred different choices before we even get out of bed. The majority of these decisions are made subconsciously, but when you actively think about them they start to build up. What should I have for breakfast this morning? Is there anything I need to take care of before I leave? What time do I need to leave, anyways? Do I have my lunch ready for the day? What should I wear?

Most of these are minor decisions, but as a remote worker if you let yourself stay open to all of the different things you could potentially do there is no doubt that you will find it difficult to focus on what you actually need to get done. All of these different skills tie together with each other, and this one is no different. When you have a set schedule, a set routine, this reduces your decision fatigue. All of those questions that you can potentially ask yourself in the morning are answered and present themselves as statements rather than questions and don’t leave you open to a decision. Not only that, but each event that passes or task you complete signals you to move onto the next task you need to tackle. Wake up at 6:00 am, got it. Significant other leaves for work, that’s my trigger – clean up my work area, review priorities for the day, get to work on writing. 9:00 am – that’s my cue to stop writing and check my email…and this goes on throughout the day until 5:00 pm when I close my computer. Almost as important as deciding what you will do at these times is identifying what you won’t do – notice that I don’t check my email first thing in the morning. I know that if I do this I will get derailed by something or someone else and will need to decide between that email and my highest priority, which is working on my writing. When we make that decision once it’s no big deal, but when we have to make it again and again and again throughout the day our willpower is drained and we give into the task of least resistance.

Use a task manager and prioritize activities

For many of us who work remotely, especially those who are working in a creative space, there can be little (if any) direction given on what to do and when you need to do it. Picture this scenario…you sit down to start working on a project that you have been putting off for far too long, when you check your email and see that a customer emailed you fervently with an URGENT(!!!!) issue. Sound familiar? Each day it’s important to review what you hope to get done and determine which tasks (and interruptions) will be lucky enough to get your attention that day.

One great way to ensure you are focusing your energy on the right activities is using a task manager. This can be anything from a piece of paper to a Google Doc to an application or program that you use. I like to do my longer term goals (Monthly, quarterly, yearly) within a Google Doc so I can easily make updates and record history and progress, and weekly / daily goals in Microsoft ToDo. Whatever system you use it’s important to make it work for you and your working style.

Now..about that URGENT customer email you just received. As I mentioned above making too many decisions, using too much willpower during the day can lead you to cave in to distractions that should be put off until later. We need a way to easily decide which tasks are going to get our attention, when. One framework that I love is the Eisenhower Decision Matrix. This decision making framework divides all activities into four different quadrants (in the image above) and urges you to group everything you do into one of these quadrants with the intent to make it easy to choose which activity you are going to focus your time on at that moment. There are tons of different ways to prioritize and structure action; having a decision framework that you can quickly and easily reference with very low effort can save you time and willpower while allowing you to focus on the things that are important to you (Quadrant 2!).

Have a dedicated work area

Before I started working remotely I would romanticize about having my work space be wherever I wanted it to be – on the beach, in airports, in coffee shops. I have spent time working in all of these places, and my favorite place to work is still my desk at home. Here I have everything I need – coffee, snacks, comfort, and a mostly distraction free workplace. It took me some time to warm up to this idea; after all I had just left my cube so I can work in crazy locations, right? This was a big learning experience for me, and I have come to realize that a dedicated workspace, even a simple one, is critical to focusing on what needs to be done.

Another perk of having a dedicated work area functions at a subconscious level. To understand it we can take a non-remote working location as an example. You walk in from your morning commute, put your lunch in the fridge, hang up your coat, and sit down at your desk. You flip on your computer and launch into work mode. Something we don’t always sense happening is at work – based on the actions you just went through your brain knows that when you sit down at your desk it’s time time get down to business. This is something called a Location Based Prompt (another reference to an awesome Art of Manliness article) – it’s basically the idea that when we are spending time in a specific location (usually one that we have spent lots of time in before) our minds know what type of activities we usually take on in that space, and it helps us get into the state of mind that we need at that moment. Wow…we really are just extremely smart animals, aren’t we?

Don’t try to convince anyone you’re working – just get to work

If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a million times…

“Just stay out for one more! You don’t even have to get up and go to work in the morning.”

“Come diving tomorrow! It’s not like you have anywhere to be.”

“Will you be at home at 8 am tomorrow so I can come by and take care of that thing I’ve been asking you about?”

Now don’t get me wrong – I’m all for having a good time and enjoying life. But sometimes in life we also have to put our responsibilities and things we should do over what we want to do. The thing that all of these statements have in common are that they are made by someone who assumes that since you are at home during the day, you don’t have anything to do while you are there. The danger of this mentality is not so much in the fact that it can get to be a bit annoying at times, but that you will start to believe it. This can be a slippery slope leading to late nights, cutting out on your work when it’s not finished, and overall focusing on the entirely wrong things. Don’t worry about what others think about your daily routine – you know what you have to do and what it takes to get it done.

Take time for breaks (and exercise)

Many a time I have found myself staring blankly into my computer screen wondering what the hell I am even working on at this specific moment in time. I’ve got my email pulled up, Lightroom is open and the picture I was working on is half done, I’m midway through reading an article about how we can create new universes by colliding particles in a lab (very practical information for someone in my field) – I have reached a standstill, overwhelmed by the amount of possible things I could be focusing on right now. This is an example of a perfect time to stand up, look away from the computer screen, and take a break.

When you work at home your distractions from your peers are lessened, which is great on one hand – it allows you more time focused on the task at hand. However some of the natural distractions in an office are quite nice; your coworker asking about your weekend, grabbing lunch with a friend, coffee breaks. These are things that you don’t get when you work out of the office. It is important to replace these breaks that you would naturally get during the workday with your own regularly scheduled as well as spontaneous breaks. These can be things like going for a walk, grabbing a snack, reading a book, sweeping the floor – anything to take your mind off of the million tabs you have open and help your brain focus on what you are going to tackle next.

On the same note, I find it to be very helpful to break my day up with an exercise and lunch break. After staring at a screen all morning there is nothing better to refresh the body and soul than a workout of your choice and a healthy lunch (not eaten at your desk or computer!) to follow it up.

Reflect, review, revise

I’ve tried many different variations of the items above – some of these started as an idea that either wasn’t possible or wasn’t a priority at the time to something that was critical to my focus and productivity (dedicated workspace). Other items are strategies I had used in the past, but they were more concrete and structured with much less flexibility (setting a schedule for myself). Over time the only way to learn what works best for you is to experiment, try new things, and stick with what works.

Go against all of this advice from time to time – and forgive yourself after

Each of these tips are not meant to be rules, but guidelines. I understand that many times not all of these make sense. In fact, I encourage you to fly in the face of these guidelines at some point during your remote career. Work on the beach with a margarita in your hand. Stay out too late with friends one night. Take a morning to go for a hike, or a bike ride. The beauty of being able to work from anywhere is exactly that, and every now and then it is good to relish in that freedom and do what makes you happy. Life is meant to be grabbed by the hilt and enjoyed; the world is meant to be explored in real life, not behind a computer screen. Always keep that with you and remember that many times an amazing day with those you love can make you more proud of the time you have spent here on earth than a million of your most productive work days.