If current trends continue, it seems pretty clear that for many people around the world, freelance work is the wave of the future. Some estimate that by 2020, 50 percent of the workforce in America will be freelancers (although freelancing might not be their full-time, or their only, job).

Due to changes in technology, economics, and how we view work and careers, we live in a transitional time when it comes to labor, but whether you’re a freelancer or you work for a company like Buffer where all employees are remote, its important to consider the benefits of working remotely, as well as to explore the various tools that are making working remotely easier.

The Benefits of Working Remotely

Forbes reports that remote workers are happier, feel more valued, and feel they are more productive. The report does not go into detail about why these workers are happier or more productive, but anyone who has worked in an office environment can think of an almost endless list of things that hinder progress and leave a worker feeling dejected. There are office politics. There’s the time wasted gossiping, or having unnecessary meetings.

And then there’s the commute. Commuting times are increasing throughout the country and, not only are commutes expensive for a worker, they, according to Psychology Today, can, “cause bad moods when arriving at work and coming home, increased lateness and missed work, and worsened cognitive performance.” Worse, they take time away from family and friends, increase stress, and decrease the amount of time a worker has for things like exercise, hobbies, or other activities.

Working remotely, by contrast, saves a worker a ton of time—all you have to do is roll out of bed and open up your laptop. You don’t even have to leave your bed if you don’t want to. You don’t even have to change out of your pajamas, unless you’re a freelancer who is going to Skype with a new client. Or a remote worker who has a video meeting with her boss.

Technology is Making Remote Work Easier

One potential pitfall for remote or freelance work is a lack of communication. In a traditional office setting, if you need something from a coworker or supervisor, you can just poke your head into their office and ask for it. Fortunately, there are endless tools and apps for communicating with teams or with clients remotely. There’s Slack, Google Hangouts, and many other tools for both text and video conferencing.

There’s also technology that helps a freelance worker automate many of their tasks, schedule emails or social media posts in advance, or work from anywhere in the world.

As technology continues to advance, and WiFi signals continue to be available at nearly every cafe, or public library, or sometimes in entire cities, the need for face-to-face meetings can be easily replaced, just as snail mail is not nearly as efficient as email.

Working Remotely is Fun

Okay, maybe it’s not as fun as going to see your favorite band, or out to a great restaurant, or whatever it is you like to do with your free time, but its more fun than putting on uncomfortable clothes, fighting through traffic, and sitting in a cubicle.

When you work remotely, you can do things your way. Maybe that means blasting your favorite album (or using Coffitivity) while you work, or taking a break to cook a delicious breakfast, or stopping every 45 minutes to do some push-ups or play the piano or drink your fourteenth cup of coffee. No one will think you are crazy for any of this, because you are free to do what you need to do to be productive.

And, if you’re a freelancer, when your work ends, it ends. There’s no need to sit around looking busy when you aren’t busy. If you’re finished all the work you need to do in a day in three hours, you don’t need to waste another five or six in the office just because everyone has to be there from 9-to-5.

Of course, as a freelancer, you also have to drum up more work for yourself, so you can’t slack off or you’ll find yourself without enough clients to pay the bills.

Cost of Living

Working remotely has another benefit: You can choose where you live. Your clients might be in Manhattan or San Francisco, but, if you don’t want to be, you don’t have to (and you don’t have to pay the exorbitant rents there, either). That means you can control your cost of living. When all you need is an internet connection to get your work done, you can live almost anywhere. Check out this list of the cheapest cities to work remotely in—you might be surprised at how little you need to make to cover your housing costs and basic living expenses in some of the biggest cities in the world.

Control Your Own Destiny

By working remotely, especially as a freelancer, you have the ability to generate numerous streams of income. If you have 20 clients, it doesn’t hurt so badly when you lose one—you still have money coming in from the other 19, but if you’re employed traditionally, if you lose your job, you lose all of your income.

Not only is working as a freelancer a way to control how many sources of income you have, you can also have different types of income. You can design websites in the morning, write copy in the afternoon, and go out gigging with your cover band at night. And all of those things can make you money.

If you work remotely for a company, you, of course, don’t want to “double dip.” You shouldn’t be working on personal projects or on your side business while you’re on the company’s time. But, by working remotely, depending on the type of job you have, you can still increase the amount of time you have for your personal projects by cutting out commutes, or finishing your projects as efficiently as possible.

The fact is, remote work is here to stay and more and more companies and individuals are taking the leap. If you’re sick of the traditional office environment, maybe it’s time to start your own freelance business, or look for a job that allows for remote work. Who knows where you will end up?

By John Arthur

“John Arthur is a writer and musician. His band is called The Deafening Colors.”