Working From Home.

[dprelz]

For people who have worked at home: How long have you worked at home? Do you enjoy it as much as you used to when you first started? Do you get bored a lot during the day, and is it hard to get motivated sometimes?

 

I've been working alone (web development/marketing) since I was 19, I'm 24 now. I have a bachelors to fall back on so I could potentially get a 9-5 job if need be. I guess I want advice on how to make working at home more enjoyable!

[Pinkerton3]

Hi, I work from home too.

I find it difficult because of the distractions! The Tv, the phone, people coming by, etc. Having this kind of freedom makes is hard for someone that had been full time busy most of their professional life. I am still struggling with it, but I do have some tips that I have learned of.......

Make a schedule just like you are at a 9-5, breaks, lunch and all. (I find that the hardest to do )

Or you can customize a new schedule with longer breaks to run errands or whatever, however that can make your workday take longer....

Every night come up with a "6 Most important things to do" list for the next day, so you have a guide to your schedule, and cross things off throughout the day........Get a Tivo, Use it............Treat your business like a business and it will pay you like a business. I hope some of this helps!

[westernxer]

I work from home 1-2 days per week, and it's no different from working in the office. Working a ten-hour shift from my living room couch is the norm, but it beats the daily commute across the heart of Los Angeles, plus I can sleep a full eight hours.

 

It takes discipline to work from home... I treat it as if I were actually in the office, without the free coffee and doughnuts.

[Craig]

I guess I want advice on how to make working at home more enjoyable!

I guess you have to like what you are doing first. You can try breaking up your time by doing short chores around your place between the work. Personally, I like what I do so once I'm working I kind of get lost in my work.

[whichwayisup]

I work from home 1-2 days per week, and it's no different from working in the office. Working a ten-hour shift from my living room couch is the norm, but it beats the daily commute across the heart of Los Angeles, plus I can sleep a full eight hours.

 

It takes discipline to work from home... I treat it as if I were actually in the office, without the free coffee and doughnuts.

 

I have afew friends who work from home. My friends hubby does all his work and runs the business from the basement. Everyday he gets up, showers and puts on a suit...Then heads to the 'underground' as they call it!

 

I agree with Westy (welcome back, btw!) it takes discipline to work from home.

[michelangelo]

And have since october.

 

What you have to do is periodically show up the office, wherever it is. Plus, stay i email and phone contact with folks, especially your manager.

 

And always meet deadlines.

 

I love not commuting anymore!

[Curmudgeon]

The easiest way to make it more enjoyable is to get into the 9-5 slump in a windowless cubicle somewhere for about six months and working from home will seem like pure heaven in comparison.

[dprelz]

Yeah, I am sure this is better then working 9-5 because I've done that before. However, I can't lie, and sometimes I do miss the companionship and the feeling of community that an office can provide. Espicially when you're single, working at home can be very boring. Glad you guys are enjoying it though;)

[michelangelo]

trust me, it is so much better!

 

But i see your point. If you are single you eliminate your dating pool.

[luvtoto]

I used to work from home as a programmer. All I did was code on a computer all day.

 

The bad thing about working from home, at least for me, was never knowing when the day ended. I mean, everytime I had free time, I was downstairs working. My relationship at the time suffered. I became a work-aholic.

 

If there was a huge deadline to meet...my boss would call me begging me to *save* the team and work the weekend. I mean, how convenient.. I can just log on and not go into work.

 

I was taken advantage of.

 

Now, I appreciate clocking out at 5:00 and leaving my work at the office.

[michelangelo]

Hey, I've had to deal with that already--before I made the home the official place of work.

 

Lots of overtime sometimes and I'd either do it from home or not.

 

But now that I'm official here, i get to write off my work stuf and I get reimbursed for some of it.

 

A boss will take advantage no matter where are in the internet age.

[luvtoto]

Hey, I've had to deal with that already--before I made the home the official place of work.

 

Lots of overtime sometimes and I'd either do it from home or not.

 

But now that I'm official here, i get to write off my work stuf and I get reimbursed for some of it.

 

A boss will take advantage no matter where are in the internet age.

Yep. I was f'd up the butt with that company. My BF at the time was a computer tech. Beings I was the first employee *ever* to log in from home, my employer would call and ask his advice on how to get me connected to their server. He helped them.. for free!

[michelangelo]

I was traveling and they needed something from me. so I logged in from a starbucks wifi hotspot without even getting out of the car.

 

I was on an international conference call on my cell phone and doing a presentation via webex on my laptop.

 

Nobody even knew i wasn't in an office, home or otherwise.