Fatih Arslan's Workspace — Issue #265

› What is your favorite item in your workspace?

This is a tricky question to answer, and I have so many things that I love to use daily. If I have to pick one, it's probably my Eames Lounge Chair, which I wanted forever and could finally obtain last year.

› How do you spark creativity?

I love to read new things. It's primarily various subreddits customized to my interests, people I follow outside my work environment (such as designers or photographers), and books. Being exposed to all this information is a trigger for creating new things. But creativity also isn't something you can find somewhere. Just like happiness, it's not a mood you cannot pursue forever. Creativity only happens if you can cope with boringness. Embrace boring things, and occasionally you'll find certain things you enjoy working on.

› How do you manage work-life balance?

I don't use any alarms, and I've been working remotely for the past 11 years. I only worked on-site for a few years but worked from home before. It was fantastic. Working from home has a lot of benefits, but you also need to draw your boundaries. Luckily, living in various places throughout the planet, I built my own home and settled in my home country Turkey. I also built my own office/lounge area with a private/dedicated garden. This means that I only work when I'm in this room. My room is always available for my kids, so it's never closed. With time they also have learned how to approach and not bother me when I'm working intensely. I'm a little bit lucky to have kids that somehow listen to me :)

› What do you think is the main benefit of remote work?

As a Parent, seeing my kids grow and being able to grow with them is the best thing about working from home.