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Many people are curious about work-life balance, especially in remote-first environments. It came up constantly during my time as Head of Community and Support at StreamElements, both with candidates I interviewed and with colleagues across the company.
My experience might not apply to everyone. I was single and child-free, and my most productive hours often fell in the evenings. StreamElements was also genuinely remote-first, which gave me real flexibility over how I structured my day.
Flexibility and trade-offs
StreamElements’ standard hours were 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM, which is later than many people prefer. To better align with my North American colleagues, I usually worked closer to 12:00 PM to 9:00 PM. That flexibility made one change possible: daily workouts. Starting my day at 6:45 AM, I could attend a 7:30 AM CrossFit class and be home, showered, and at my desk by 9:30 AM.
Remote work doesn’t mean you stop thinking about work outside of hours, though. The boundary between work and home is genuinely hard to maintain. Your mind wanders to work-related things even when you’re not actively working. That’s not unique to remote jobs, but the physical separation of an office helps more than people tend to admit.
Embracing the asynchronous
In Israel, the workweek runs Sunday to Thursday. That meant my weekends fell when colleagues in other time zones were still working, and vice versa. Occasionally this created communication gaps, but it also meant my Sundays were free of meetings – a low-pressure day where I could work at my own pace and still have room for other things. My overseas colleagues got the same on Fridays.
Protecting personal time
To keep work-life balance actual rather than theoretical, I put my personal commitments directly into my work calendar. I had a regular TTRPG game on Mondays. I blocked it off and only let genuinely urgent meetings override it. Scheduling everything – including non-work commitments – is the only way I’ve found to avoid over-committing and watching personal time quietly disappear.
Making room for a Master’s degree
My interest in game design led me to pursue a Master’s degree in the field while working full-time. My managers at StreamElements trusted me to manage my workload while dedicating one day a week to my studies. During the pandemic, remote work made this easier, but even when classes were in person, I made up the time by working longer on other days. In an environment focused on results rather than hours, this worked. What mattered was whether I was delivering, not whether I was at a desk for eight hours straight.
Self-discipline is what makes or breaks it
Managing your own schedule and workload effectively is the non-negotiable skill for remote work. Without it, the flexibility becomes a liability. But if you can actually do it, the arrangement is genuinely better – more room to build a life around work, rather than the other way around.