Is working from home all it's cracked up to be?
I've worked from home for the last 27 years so I guess I am
entitled to make some observations about how it works.
There are some critical issues that you would need to consider -
1. Discipline. Working from home means working - not staying.
And the temptations for walking away from the work can be
compelling. Kids come home with great news so that's a good
reason. A movie on TV I want to see - well that's pretty
compelling. How about when I'm not in the mood. You know - the
words aren't flowing, the mind feels like porridge, there's
no-one to see me. It's easy to simply find an excuse and justify
it with a catch-up clause. I'll work later when everyone has
gone to bed. I'll get up early. Yeah.
I work from home because I like the flexibility. I can take a
break to listen to my kids - they are both away at university
now - but I watched them grow up - and I got the chance to grow
up with them. I can goof off if I feel like it - but you have to
face the facts that the work has to get done. If you take time
out for some other activity - you have to put it back. I smile
when I read about all the guys who work in their pajamas at home
- seemingly for the odd moment in between drinking coffee and
goofing off. About how easy it all is. Garbage. If they are
successful I'm pretty sure the reason why they are in their
pajamas is because they haven't slept for 3 days and don't have
time to change. I know there have been days when I've got to
writing at 3am and been so busy that I'm still there as
suppertime - dressed for bed. It's just been too busy to change.
2. Flexibility. Working from home allows enormous flexibility -
often the cause of so many home business failures. I like to
work a lot. If I worked in an office away from home I'd be
frustrated. See - working from home allows me to go to my office
when ever I want. I can watch my wife in the kitchen, listen to
the TV in the den, stroll through to grab a cup of coffee and
watch my wife painting - (you can see her stuff at
http://www.veebauer.com). I can get up at night and go to work
if something is buzzing in my brain. I can go to work at 3am and
no one minds because I'm home when everyone else gets up. I can
work late if I want and that's ok. But you will notice the word
WORK a lot in my story. It's vital to make the flexibility work
for you and help you increase your output - not tempt you away
from the work to be done. 3. Organization. I can't tell you how
many times I've tried to take over the rest of the home as
office space. It usually starts on the dining room table - I may
need to spread out some work so I can organize it. Then some
goes through to the TV room because I'm going to proof read or
catch up trading or sketch an outline while the commercials play
on the screen. Then I leave all that behind when I go back to my
office to do something there. It's very easy to get buried when
you work from home. So you either have to have a spouse who will
shove you back in your hole occasionally - with all your stuff,
or you end up lost. You have to stay organized - ( My wife wants
to know how come I can't follow my own advice ...hmm)
4. Focus. You have to keep the faith. In spite of the
distractions it is essential to keep the focus on output. You
must be able to measure what you have done and how much closer
to the end result you are. Sometimes it's easy to get confused
between effort and results. We are taught to work hard and we
will be rewarded. Perhaps one of the biggest lies told. Results
come from the right work being done properly - not from effort.
Don't get me wrong. Effort is necessary - but it doesn't stand
alone. That means that busy work is to avoided at all times -
and busy work is that stuff that needs to be done but doesn't
move us towards the end result. It's often a convenient
distraction from doing important stuff because it's easy, risk
free and routine and maybe makes us feel good. Do that when the
real work is finished. When the end result is closer than it
was.
5. Loneliness. Working from home can easily create a feeling of
being isolated. Guys go to work - talk about the game,
customers, the boss, the secretary, the news and so one. Don't
let them fool you that's its all work. There is a feeling of
community in a public work environment. You don't have that at
home. You are usually alone. Working. Alone. Worrying. Alone.
You must be prepared for dealing with that.
And there are solutions. Maybe alone is ok for you. I think it's
great. I can get on with stuff and no-one is poking his head
into my office wanting to gab about something. But then my wife
and kids think I'm a bit strange anyway and it's safer for the
public if I don't go out. You can also maintain contact with
others through the phone of visits if you feel the need to
share. That's what the telephone is for -
Conclusion
Working from home is a life style - not really a work style. I
don't commute in rush hour traffic, don't ever get home late for
supper, see a lot of my family. I don't have to pay office and
parking rentals and I get to be my own boss - and I'd never
change it.