This spotlight illustrates how each remote worker finds freedom and productivity in their everyday life, in their unique way. Get inspired and see how you can improve your workspace, workflow, and work/life balance.



Name: Jake Peters

Pronouns: they/them/theirs

Current Job: CEO at HelpDocs

Current Location: Lisbon, Portugal

Current Computer: 15" MacBook Pro

Current mobile devices:  iPhone 11 Pro, iPad Pro

I did a few in-person jobs before/during college but right after I graduated I took some time with my partner to travel. I loved the freedom of being able to work online from anywhere. Over the years I've had some lapses of confidence in it (there's definitely drawbacks 😅 ) but every time I try working in an office I hate it!

12pm: wake up, filter coffee, clear anything urgent from Slack/Front, answer some customer support tickets, say hi to the team in Slack 👋

1pm: by now I'm fully caffeinated and working out a plan of what to do for the day. I'm not very organized so this is generally just pulling things from my increasingly long Apple note of tasks and ideas

1:30pm: coffee and a chat with my partner/cofounder Jarratt. If I'm lucky they'll make the coffee and I'll just bring the chat ☕️ If I remember I'll take my vitamins and stuff now too (fish oil, vitamin D, etc.). Usually, I forget 🙊

2pm: if I have any calls in the day (with candidates or my team) they'll be around now. I try to limit them to 2-3 per week tops. On no-call days I get stuck into work with sporadic coffee breaks. I try to pull creative tasks earlier in the day so this is when I'd start getting into those

5pm: last caffeinated coffee of the day. After this I'll switch to decaf and/or tea else I struggle to sleep. Then back to work for some less creative tasks as my attention starts to drop off

8pm: workout! I do 20-30mins of TRX strength circuits. Then a quick shower and an almond butter, oat & hydrolyzed collagen shake to keep my energy up

9pm: start thinking about dinner. Maybe have a decaf oat milk cappuccino (my evening drink of choice!)

10pm: eat and watch some Netflix

11pm: on a good day watch some more Netflix, make a couple Negronis, and chat for the rest of the evening. On a normal day catch up with the tasks I should have achieved but haven't 😬

4am: bed!

I've just overhauled my workspace! I went on an IKEA binge and bought a big wooden desk. More of a 2-meter dining table really. There's this big window in my living room so I put the desk in front of it and looks over a wonderful tree and the bustling street below. Apparently, the tree blooms purple in summer so I'm stoked for next year 😍

Sitting on top of the desk I have a monitor and a webcam so I don't get neck strain. Next to that I always have three litres of water so I remember to stay hydrated. Something I'd totally forget otherwise. Most important of all is my plants! I love being surrounded by greenery. I have an orchid that sits next to me and a few others dotted around. Luckily Lisbon's pretty sunny throughout the year so I get the sun through the window at sunset.

I also have my own coffee bar (I call it coffee palace 👑). Some would say a coffee bar isn't an essential part of a home office. I'd strongly disagree. Here I grind and brew tasty filter and Espresso-based drinks. It's more of a hobby space but it helps me keep caffeinated through the day ☕️ 🙆‍♀️

I don't most of the time! I usually reserve music for cooking time. When I do listen to music during work I tend to just go for everything I've favorited on Spotify. A delightfully embarrassing mix of teen pop and old-school rap.

There are loads of things that my life would be worse without but the top by far is my Gunnar computer vision glasses. They make my eyes feel about a hundred times better after a long day of staring at a screen.


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Connect with Jake:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jakeapeters
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakeapeters
Instagram: https://instagram.com/jakeapeters

Connect with HelpDocs:
Website: https://www.helpdocs.io
Twitter: https://twitter.com/helpdocs
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/helpdocs/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helpdocsio