I'm actually trying to figure out how to ask my boss for 1-2 remote days a week since my job can be done anywhere with internet access. Did the math and I'm losing 3+ hours of my day as it relates to commute, and it's really wearing me down mentally not being able to do things I enjoy. The commute zaps all remaining energy I have left.

But I'm only 1 month into the role, and my workload has been limited because I get things done quickly. As a result my boss has just started throwing me busy work, and based on talks about it, I can tell he sees my value down the road, but feels I'm a burden at the moment.

I psyched myself up to talk to him about this morning, but when I walked into his office I saw he was in full-blown workaholic mode so I brought up a different reason for being in his office and decided I'd try again after lunch. Instead, I just skipped lunch so I could leave an hour early. My boss is pretty lax, but again, I'm new and he already feels I'm a burden at the moment as we ramp up to a point when my skillset will be in heavy demand for the projects we'd be working on.

But two remote days a week would likely make me more productive (due to my time as a freelancer) and it would improve my work/life balance significantly. I'm trying to think of how to approach this in a way that doesn't come off as me just trying to make life easier for me--even though I think he'd understand.