DIARY OF A WORK-AT-HOME-AHOLIC
Hello, my name is Jill and I'm a work-at-home-aholic.
All my life, I've worked in offices or restaurants or other
places far from home. Now, for the first time, I am
telecommuting. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it. Here is
my diary:
Week one: Bliss. Peace. Self-contained, self-sufficient. I have
all I need right here in my home. I never again have to run for
the 6:30 a.m. bus. I never have to return to the cube farm. This
is the day I've been dreaming of. Did I mention the quiet? No
interruptions. The cat is beside me and the only sounds in the
room are purring and keyboard tapping. Sigh.
Week two: What is happening? Why won't anybody help me? Am I
invisible? My PC crashes every hour. The techno- wizards back at
the office keep ignoring my panic-stricken e-mails. I've scoured
the web for an answer. I've gone on the message boards and
picked the brains of complete strangers. And still the crashing
continues. The cat cannot help. The mailman cannot help. The
noisy guy in the apartment upstairs cannot help. I am ALL alone.
Week three: Today, for the first time, I fell victim to
work-at-home sloth. Wrote all day in my bra and fat-day sweat
pants. Didn't wash my hair. Brushed teeth at 5 pm. Who cares?
I'm self-contained. Self-sufficient. Nearly invisible.
Week four: Just found out the boss gave the new guy at the
office a few of my responsibilities. Great! It takes some work
off my plate. Kind of odd, though. Did the supervisor forget
that that was my area? Didn't he like the way I was doing it? Is
everybody in the office talking about me, criticizing me, now
that I'm not there?
They're jealous, that's what it is. They probably think I'm
sleeping in, getting my nails done, watching the soaps on
company time. They say being alone too much can make you
paranoid. But I'm not, really I'm not. Say... you haven't heard
any rumors, have you?
Week five: The annual office party was last night. I found out
about it this morning. Out of sight, out of mind, as they say.
It's okay. I don't like steak and lobster and dancing anyway.
Week six: Telecommuting has its ups and downs, but it has
convinced me to go it alone... to sever the ties with bi-weekly
paychecks, daily headaches and humiliations. It's given me the
hankering to start my own home-based business. And, yes, I am
terrified. But like the book says - feel the fear and do it
anyway.
However, first I have to find the guts to hand in this letter of
resignation and do it with grace and class. Without
recriminations or fear. Wish me luck.