The Pluses...and Minuses of Working from Home

I am self-employed and work from a home office.

The Pluses
Edwina and Eddie can stop by and visit any time.
I can work when I want to without worry about it as long as I get the work done.
Edwina and Eddie can stop by any time and visit.


The Minuses
The refigerator is too close.
Requires lots of self-discipline.
Edwina and Eddie can stop by any time and visit.

Edwina has been sitting on my desk... on the paper I need to finish a project. Occasionally she moves to my lap. I know if I ask her to move she will give me a look of such pain and suffering.....

I always think if I worked at home my laundry would be caught up on for the first time ever!

One of the most important pluses is that there is NO rush hour traffic (except maybe to the litter box) :D :D :D

I work at home too..............a load of laundry is in the dryer right now ------- I have eaten three miniature Heath bars I sure don't need ---------- I have thoroughly cleaned the litter boxes ------ taken in the trash cans (trash day) ---------- have let Annie, Rascal and Emma in and out of the house about three times each.

Fed them some Pounce treats - let them back out!!

Made a list of THINGS I MUST DO TODAY - haven't gotten any of them done yet.

And I wonder why I am still at work in the evening.................

I have a feeling I'd be the same way as Gini if I worked from home. :D

However, the #1 biggest plus - like ETS says - is NO rush hour traffic! That is a big enough plus to negate quite a few negatives, because trust me, mini heath bars are fantastic in the car too. ;)

I work from home. Hubby is home from work sick... so today was a goof off day for me. I cleaned the bathroom, we had McDonalds for lunch. Took a nap... feels more like a Saturday than a Thursday!

Try working from home with twice the office help! I have Pouncer that is OBSESSED with the disc drive. He now knows how to get it to slide in and out of it own :rolleyes: Abby wants in my lap ALL the time. Allen plops on any folder I have open. Harry demands food be hand delivered all day.

lol, you're very hilarous -- I admire your humppurr of senses! :)

no, never thought (knew) to say that but our minuses and pluses are about the same when I have online courses! don't forget I have THIRTEEN beggy hunters :D

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Requires lots of self-discipline

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I'd say for me that is the biggest challenge/con. It can get very hard at times to stay focused, there are so many things I need to do, so many things I want to do, and when you're not being monitored or pressured at all it can be way too easy to shove work to the back burner. I can't tell you how many times my "just taking a 10 minute break" turns into 30 or 60 minutes of being distracted doing something else. I've also learned to try to keep break-taking to a minimum for two reasons: 1, they almost always end up turning into a longer break than I intended, and 2, it's even harder for me to sit back down and get focused on work when I walk away from it for awhile.

I envy those of you that work at home. Although it would take lots of discipline. I would just want to cuddle with Duke and watch tv all day. Do you each make a schedule that you need to follow every day? I think I'd have to do that in order to accomplish anything.

Seriously, I wake up each morning and review in my mind what I absolutely have to accomplish that day............and then try to stick to it.

Doesn't always work - but most of the time it does.

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Originally posted by dukedogsmom
Do you each make a schedule that you need to follow every day? I think I'd have to do that in order to accomplish anything.

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Pretty much what I do is I get up, have my morning cup of coffee and relax for about 30-40 minutes before starting in on work. I try to work straight till lunch time, then take a 30-60 minute lunch break depending on how far along I am with work. I keep a count on how many reports I've done so I can keep focusing on my progress there and keep working to get the average number in that I generally do in a day.

Afternoons are hardest though, after I break for lunch and eat. It's SO hard to come back and focus again. By then, I just want to go outside with the pups, or read my book awhile, or do projects around the house, or read and post up on the boards. I really have to fight those urges and it's taken awhile for me to really build up my self-discipline. I fail VERY frequently in my determination not to take an afternoon break, so I often end up having to work later because I just can't resist. :o I also have to really work to avoid surfing or browsing boards before I'm done working or I'll get distracted reading and looking at everything as well as wanting to respond.

The self discipline involved, at least for me, has taken time to really develop. When I first started doing this, I often faltered and didn't get near as much done as I needed to. I do think it's a skill that doesn't happen overnight.

OMG, I would so love to work from home! I actually have done so a few times (when my boss was out of town) and I was surprised that I didn't get distracted at all...and in fact, got a lot done!

I'd give up this 1.5 hour commute (both ways=3 hours! :eek: ) any day! :rolleyes:
*sigh*

There's no way I could work from home. I get too distracted too easily. Hmmmmm....12Noon - the news is on......3pm - Y&R is on....play with the kitties....do laundry, etc etc. I just don't have the mindset to do it.

That being said, I'd give anything to have no commute.

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Originally posted by wolflady
OMG, I would so love to work from home! I actually have done so a few times (when my boss was out of town) and I was surprised that I didn't get distracted at all...and in fact, got a lot done!

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Actually, I wouldn't judge distractability by doing it every so often. When I first started I had no problem. It's after it becomes the norm in your life that it gets harder to stay on task, at least it was for me :D. I started out the first couple months doing well, then slumping, then fighting it off and on, and got better at keeping to a schedule after doing it for quite awhile. I still have my days though :p

I would say the things I treasure most about working from home are, in order 1) Having my pets around me all day 2) No commute.

And now I better get back to work, I'm not supposed to be here LOL.

Whenever I have those days that I would much rather work in the garden, plant some plants, do some laundry, run errands during the week instead of the weekend..........instead of feeling guilty - I have asked myself this question.

Why do you work at home? There are a lot of answers to this, but one of them is so that I have freedom to make those decisions to put aside work once in a while and do what I want.

The days that I would much rather curl up and take a long nap are the days that I have to fight.

I wouldn't ever go back to the tradtional office. Yes there are days where I goof off more than work (umm... today is one of those days ;) ) But I seriously knock out ten times the work when I do work than I did in the office. I didn't have the distraction of STUPID phone calls, don't have to listen to the guy on the other side of my cubical arguing with his wife, or talking to his friends about what a $@*%# his wife is. If I get bored, I don't wander around looking for someone to chat with, I toss in a load of laundry, photograph the cats, make the 30th cup of tea, etc. I don't have bored people wandering up to chat with me! ;) There are days I sleep til 9:30. Then again there are days I'm working til 11:30 at night. I love that my schedule is loose enough to fit when I feel productive.

Also, if something goes wrong, I can't blame anybody but myself, and nobody else can blame me. That single point is what I love best! I worked in an office where it was a game of who could pass the blame best. And the extension of that game was "cover your butt" I don't have to worry about that now.

Ihave certain hard and fast rules. I make the bed as soon as I get out of it..... no temptation that way. I never....and I do mean never...turn the tv on. (This isn't really difficult as I rarely watch tv....:rolleyes: ) and I get dressed...shower, makeup the works.

That helps when...on occasion I have to run and see a client.

And last night I had to work until nine to get a project done.

But then again....Edwina is again sitting on my desk as I type this....

Sarah, I have found that I miss my animals a lot since I moved out of my house into an office. :( If I don't have a lunch appointment, I am home, every day, to see them for a bit.

I worked at home for 5 years, and loved it the first 3 years. But when we moved, and I got married, the new setup was not as good for me. I think it was because more things did distract me, and not just the pets. For the first time, I worried about what was for dinner, had to leave to pick up Helen from school, whereas she could walk before, and worst of all, my office was in an extra bedroom across from our bedroom! At least before, it was in a room at the other end of the house.

My new situation is definitely better for me at this point in my life, but I still have the flexibility to do what I need to, personally, during the day. But I sure do miss a cat in my lap and a dog at my feet! And my customers miss the constant chatter of my birds, believe it or not! :D