The remote-work quesadilla test

An experimental approach to better remote work.

Before you head back to the office, try a new Mexican restaurant.

That’s what I want to say to everyone who tells me that they’re planning to return to the office full time, or at least most of the time—because remote work hasn’t worked for them.

It’s a decision that reminds me of the challenges of traveling with my kids. Whenever we’re in the U.S., my husband and I want to find the best Mexican food. But the kids always protest, because the very first time we took them to a Mexican restaurant—a mediocre spot in small-town Washington, well over a decade ago—they tried a plain cheese quesadilla, and didn’t like it.

On the strength of that one meal, at that one restaurant, the kids decided they don’t like Mexican food.

Add an avocado.

If your experience of remote work has unfolded only over the past two years, I’m here to tell you: Pandemic-era working from home is the mediocre plain-cheese quesadilla of remote work.

Make even one small change to your plate—add an avocado, say—and your whole experience could be quite different.

You have even grander options, of course. At this very moment, a metaphorical buffet of gourmet restaurants is opening all around you. So before you give up on remote work and race back to the office, consider trying some new approaches that could change your perspective on remote work, and lead you to pursue a different type of balance between office and remote.

There are many ways I bring joy and variety into my own life as a remote worker, and which I am starting to explore again. While I can’t advise on whether, when and how to manage the additional Covid risk that comes from venturing beyond the front door, I can share some options for improving your remote-work experience once you do.

Here are my favorites: