The New Corner Office: How the Most Successful People Work from Home by Laura Vanderkam Summary

1. Plan your workweek in advance to prioritize high-impact professional tasks
2. Design mornings for deep work to leverage peak cognitive performance
3. Track time weekly to identify and eliminate low-value busywork
4. Replace lengthy meetings with asynchronous updates for efficiency gains
5. Build intentional daily rituals to separate work and personal life
6. Schedule dedicated deep work blocks for maximum focus retention
7. Increase focused work hours to achieve career breakthroughs and balance
8. Laura Vanderkam advocates morning routines for peak remote productivity
9. The New Corner Office redefines productivity beyond physical office presence
10. Implement time-blocking strategies to control workflow instead of reacting
11. Leverage weekend planning sessions to optimize upcoming week's priorities
12. Transform commute time into strategic thinking or skill development windows

About the Author of The New Corner Office

Laura Vanderkam, bestselling author of The New Corner Office: How The Most Successful People Work From Home, is a leading voice in time management and productivity. A Princeton graduate and former journalist, Vanderkam has built her career on reshaping narratives around work-life balance, drawing from her interviews with high achievers and her own experience raising five children while maintaining a prolific writing and speaking career. Her expertise spans genres like self-help, career development, and personal finance, with notable works including 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think and Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done—both explored in detail on this site.

Vanderkam regularly contributes to The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Fast Company, and her 2016 TED Talk, “How to Gain Control of Your Free Time,” has been viewed over 5 million times. She hosts the Before Breakfast podcast and co-hosts Best of Both Worlds, offering practical strategies for professionals navigating career and family.

Based near Philadelphia, she combines data-driven insights with relatable anecdotes, a approach that has made her work required reading in corporate training programs and academic curricula alike. The New Corner Office has been cited as a foundational text for remote-work optimization by Fortune 500 leaders.

FAQs About The New Corner Office

What is The New Corner Office by Laura Vanderkam about?

The New Corner Office by Laura Vanderkam is a guide to optimizing productivity and creativity in remote work environments. It emphasizes designing a work life around personal priorities, with strategies like intentional weekly planning, focusing on high-impact tasks, and leveraging mornings for deep work. The book combines time-management principles with actionable advice for building sustainable routines in flexible work settings.

Who should read The New Corner Office?

Remote workers, freelancers, and professionals transitioning to hybrid or home-based roles will benefit most. It’s also valuable for managers seeking productivity frameworks and fans of Vanderkam’s previous time-management books like 168 Hours or What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast.

What are the main ideas in The New Corner Office?

Key concepts include:

• Focus on high-value work: Prioritize tasks with the greatest career or business impact.
• Design your ideal schedule: Align work hours with energy peaks and personal commitments.
• Maximize mornings: Use early hours for strategic thinking before distractions arise.

How does Laura Vanderkam suggest planning the workweek?

Vanderkam advises blocking time for high-value tasks first, scheduling meetings in batches, and leaving buffer periods for unexpected tasks. She stresses that “what gets scheduled gets done”—structured planning prevents urgent but unimportant tasks from dominating.

What is the “high-value work” framework in the book?

High-value work refers to projects that align with long-term goals, such as client acquisition, skill development, or innovative initiatives. Vanderkam encourages delegating or automating low-value tasks (e.g., repetitive emails) to free up time for these priorities.

How does The New Corner Office address work-life balance?

The book advocates blending work and life intentionally rather than rigidly separating them. Examples include integrating exercise into breaks, scheduling family time, and creating “shut-down rituals” to mentally transition out of work mode.

What actionable tips does Vanderkam offer for remote workers?

• Start the day with 15 minutes of strategic planning.
• Use time-blocking to dedicate focus periods to priority tasks.
• Create a dedicated workspace to signal “work mode” mentally.

How does this book compare to Vanderkam’s earlier works?

While 168 Hours focuses on time-tracking and What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast emphasizes morning routines, The New Corner Office adapts these principles specifically for remote and hybrid work challenges. It also introduces new strategies for virtual collaboration and managing digital distractions.

What critiques exist about The New Corner Office?

Some readers note the advice may oversimplify challenges for those in rigid jobs or caregiving roles. Others suggest combining Vanderkam’s methods with task-management tools like Trello or Asana for better implementation.

Why is The New Corner Office relevant in 2025?

With remote work now a permanent fixture, the book’s frameworks help professionals navigate evolving workplace norms, AI-driven productivity tools, and the demand for flexible schedules. Its emphasis on intentionality aligns with trends toward personalized work structures.

How can teams apply ideas from this book?

Managers can adopt Vanderkam’s meeting strategies (shorter, agenda-driven calls) and encourage “focus hours” where teams mute notifications. Individuals might share time-blocking templates or high-value task lists to align priorities.

What quotes summarize The New Corner Office?

• “The key to working from home is designing a work life that fits the way you live”.
• “What gets scheduled first gets done first”.

These highlight the book’s core themes of intentionality and proactive planning.