Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on FlexJobs.com.
If you’ve been researching flexible work options, you know there are plenty of reasons to love working remotely.
There are the obvious benefits of working remotely everyone always talks about — things like taking a few minutes to relax and journal each morning instead of being stuck in traffic, being able to hug your children each day when they get home from school, and shifting some of that saved time to your hobbies.
You might even take up gardening during your lunch break or join a class to master photography.
In addition to the obvious perks, working remotely can make your life easier in subtle yet fun ways.
So, if you’re still on the fence about moving to a remote job, we’ve rounded up some benefits you may not have considered. Here are fun, unexpected benefits of working remotely.
1. Porch Pirates Are No Longer a Worry
Your packages will not sit lonely on the porch throughout the day.
Working from home, you rarely have to worry about missing deliveries. You can track them to your home and meet the delivery driver at the door.
2. You Can Take Advantage of Nice Weather
Is the weather breathtakingly beautiful outside? Take advantage of it! With remote work, you have the flexibility to take your office outdoors and enjoy a break in nature.
After lunch, simply scoop up your laptop and head out to your balcony or the city park. All that fresh air might inspire your best work yet.
3. The Coffee Pot Is All Yours
How much does it throw off your morning routine when there’s no hot coffee to spring you into action?
When you work from home, there’s no waiting in line to use the Keurig or getting frustrated that a co-worker took the last bit of coffee — and didn’t bother to brew a new pot! Honestly, who does that?
4. Your Productivity Won’t Get Constant Interruptions
You don’t have to deal with visitors every few minutes in your home office.
You know the ones. Those visits over the cubicle wall when chatty co-workers derail your focus.
This will be even more impactful if you’re one of the more than 8 million adults combatting ADHD.
5. Midweek Grocery Shopping Is Glorious
While most shoppers fight cart rage on Sunday afternoons, you’ll sit calmly at home.
Instead of a morning commute, you can go grocery shopping in the middle of the week. And it will be fantastically mellow!
6. Your Under-Desk Treadmill Might Get More Use
Have you ever tried to plop down a treadmill or do some mid-meeting lunges in the office? Undoubtedly, you’d get some strange looks.
But within the privacy of your home office, you can pop on your headphones and get some steps in while catching up on the team news. Still, it’s probably best to turn your webcam off.
7. Appliance Repairs No Longer Use Up Vacation Time
Working in an office, you have to take personal time to let the tech in when the appliances go out at home. But when you work remotely, there are no significant changes to your work schedule when you have to be around for repairs.
8. You Save Money on After-School Childcare
You don’t have to hire an after-school sitter if your children are not quite old enough to be left alone without burning down the house.
Just set some boundaries for your office and be mindful of any strange sounds or smells coming from the other end of the house.
9. Work Shoes Get a Whole Lot Comfier
We always recommend keeping a morning routine for improved mental health.
But that doesn’t mean that your feet still need to get squeezed into professional dress shoes. Working remotely, you can wear the comfiest shoes — or house slippers — possible.
10. Your Schedule Can Include Routine Power Naps
Even if your co-workers wouldn’t draw on your face during a lunchtime snooze, it’s nearly impossible to successfully catch some Zzzs in an office. But working from home, you can easily enjoy the health benefits of a lunchtime power nap.
11. You Can Enjoy Midday Lunch Dates
Do you have loved ones that work from home as well? Every day can be a chance to catch up over lunch. In today’s hectic world, that is a tremendous gift.
On the other hand, if you’re a busy parent without a minute to yourself, a solo midday lunch break with only yourself for company might be blissful. Either way, you get to level up your lunchtime.
12. You’ll Win the Best Pet Parent of the Year Award
Your pet will love not having to sit alone throughout the day. They can nap at your feet, go outside at their convenience, and walk randomly across your keyboard when they feel the whim.
What better pet parenting could you imagine?
13. Say Goodbye to Elevator Music
You get complete control of your office, including its music, temperature, and ambiance.
Do you love houseplants? Bring nature inside with as many varieties as you can squeeze in.
Does disco keep you energized in the afternoon? Turn it up and bust a move for a few minutes during your afternoon break.
No one’s around to argue with or judge you.
14. No One’s Stressing Over Your Allergies
If you see impending doom when the flowers start to bloom every spring, you probably suffer from seasonal allergies. By May, you’re usually ready to stick a post-it note on your forehead that says, “I’m not contagious!”
But working remotely, there are no more sideways glances and frantic explosions of Lysol every time you sneeze.
