Work from home

[airedale]

I've been offered the opportunity to work from home, trial period of 3/5 days a week with long term view of 5/5 days. My company has set me up with a virtual desktop which works really well and grants me access to everything I use in the office. It'd enable me to work more flexibly, get more ride time and see more family.

Any of you here do work in a similar situation? How do you find it?

I'm not the most disciplined individual and with a young family around there'd be plenty of distraction.

Any tips for how to get yourself into office mode out of the office?

[quickag]

Make rules. Stick to them. Make sure your family understands to the extent their age allows. Have your OWN area. Work in your underwear. Best feeling ever.

[airedale]

Work in your underwear. Best feeling ever.

Gold. Webcam on or off? I've threatened my boss with this in case he wanted to check up on me!

Other ideas are good too. We're in a small space so own work area might be hard.

[boundgear]

Have a work space to walk away from. Even if it's in the same room. mentally make it the office even if it's only one part of one room when sitting in one direction.
Remember to eat and leave the house. Have lunch dates with people.
Make a music list of good music that doesn't distract too much.
Depending on your business, remember to talk to people instead of just emailing. Conversations about work make work smarter sometimes.
The amount of work you can get done at home is intoxicating for some people at first, so don't forget to be honest about the # of hours your working. Don't work 40 hours in 3 days and then make that the new normal.

You'll never want to give up commuting in slippers and a robe.

[Tom]

Just don't do what I did once. I went for a long run before starting work, was a little late and it was very hot so I showered quickly and went straight upstairs. I dialed into my conference call. I thought it was just going to be the tech staff. When the voice mail system asked me to announce, I said "This is <my name here>.... and I'm naked."

It wasn't just the tech staff. Some of the managers had no sense of humor whatsoever.

[Brandon White]

I've done it for 2 years now. I love it. I love being able to see the family by stepping out of my office.

However - set the rules - make sure they know they can't abuse the privilege. Enjoy the freedom and the opportunity to eat all day long. Lunch time rides are also a fun feature.

[Human Epic Jolt]

Any tips for how to get yourself into office mode out of the office?

outsource.

[SteveP]

i do it. its great.
dont mistake though
its still work and the door needs to be shut.

requires real discipline.

[Human Epic Jolt]

one could easily modify this. add VPN etc...

[airedale]

outsource.

Now referred to as 'bestshore' right?

References to discipline are killing it for me. I build databases and do data mine, so have a lot of time on my hands while queries ate running.

That's where I find myself spending more time on here...

[Human Epic Jolt]

have more than one project on the go at once. use that in-between-time to do something else like booking holiday days, answering interoffice chat mail.

shit man... the list is endless.

it's not as hard as stevep makes out.
ok. it is.

sherlock holmes plays violin---

[airedale]

outsource.

Now referred to as 'bestshore' right?

References to discipline are killing it for me. I build databases and do data mine, so have a lot of time on my hands while queries ate running. The option of more family is great though.

Tom - great story. I'll be sure to keep that in mind.
That's where I find myself spending more time on here...

[Til Dropp]

You can easily end up working 24/7 but I wouldn't have it any other way.

[echelon_john]

If you have kids, a door that locks is key unless you want to be busted in on during phone calls. My office has a door I can close when I'm on the phone, and a window my daughter can look in through to check if I'm on the phone before she comes in. I've threatened to install an 'On Air' light-up sign, and still may.

Working at home is great for flexibility, productivity and riding--IF you can be disciplined about it. It will be an adjustment for you and your fam for sure, but hopefully you'll love it. Just don't forget to leave the house. Seriously.

[Nierman]

Ride to work. Get up at your usual time and plan a loop that commutes you back to your house at the time you used to have to be at the office. Adds structure to both the ride and the workday.

[suspectdevice]

I can't do it.
Even when I've had dedicated offices in my house.
Then again I'm not very good at working in my office at the shop either.

Perhaps it's my age. Perhaps it's my socio-economic class, likely it's my mental illness(es), but I get the most effective work out of myself in coffee shops, on buses and/or in other public places. I NEED distractions- lot's of them to be able to function as a productive member of society.

It's impossible for me to sit at a desk and talk on the phone- I need to walk around. I get lots of work done while driving.
I have two couches in the shop and a dark, empty room for sensory deprivation. I have tons of blocks and action figures to play with to try to cope with all of the work I expect myself to get done.
Getting away from the desk still seems like an impossible dream most days even with all of that stuff that is intended to pull me away from it.

I've been self-employed for 7 years now(holy shit!) and I'm still trying to find ways to make myself be as productive as I feel I need to be. The biggest thing that has helped to begin enjoying work again the last few weeks has been lowering my expectations of myself.
I used to beat myself up if I didn't work 16 hour days yet I had a task list that never seemed to get shorter.
Now I give myself a 12 hour window that I'm allowed to work in, 7am-7pm.

I actually get a lot more stuff done now and I'm happier with the quality of the work knowing that there is a set time that I must absolutely be done by.



Finishing the day feeling like you want to work more is a much better idea than finishing the day completely fried.
Who knew?

[dhoff]

I have been doing this almost exclusively since mid 2001. I can honestly say that I have mastered the skills necessary to make it work, FOR ME. It is different for everyone and I agree with much of what has been said about making rules and sticking to them. I have been through the process of doing this with no one in the house and with many in the house. I have learned how to manage my distractions and my commitments so that I end up with the life I choose. I had to learn for myself. There weren't that many of us back 10 years ago.

I woud be happy to discuss in detail. PM me.

[caleb]

I've been at it for five years. I spend a little time in my office two days a week and get almost nothing done. I "make an appearance" and have whatever meetings need to be had. My real work gets done at home.

Like others have said, you need a dedicated space away from distractions, the dirty dishes, and the TV.

It's not for everyone, but I'd really struggle to spend 40 hours a week in an office away from home in the future.

[airedale]

Lots of good stuff here. Thanks.

I'm gonna need to work on my focus. Easily distracted - but that happens in the office for me too. Coffee number six for the day, sure I need a walk.

Are you guys that are doing this consulting or do you work for a company? If the latter are you already tapping the glass ceiling? I sort of get worried that I'll soon be forgotten in terms of options for promotion etc.

Dhoff pm inbound.

[mainemike]

i've been wrkng at home since last august and i love it. i don't miss the commute and i like the freedom esp in the am. i'm generally up at 4:30-5 am which provides tons of time for a swim at the pool a ride and sometimes both, before work. i'm easily distracted by any number of things and that can be a problem. i also miss the social interaction of colleagues but when i do i recall that they also drove me nuts. i have a dedicated office which helps a lot. one key factor that is hard to ignore: i don't have that unwritten communication/rapport that is essential when 3 of us are making important biz decisions-profit/contract terms/new biz related. it counts. one of the guys w/whom i must confer is tough to reach and doesn't really read emails. its very frustrating as often, time is of the essence. also, he is a bit moody-so day to day i don't really know who i'm gonna get. my role is relationship oriented internally and externally and requires compromise and trust, and not having that close relationship w/a vital decision maker has been an obstacle. another obstacle is my relationship w/some of the operational and IT staff. in my old gig i knew them all very well, they respected me, and understood that when i asked them to go above and beyond it was for the good of the company and personally appreciated. each knew that i would make it up to them in a way unique to them. i don't have that now. i find myself being overly civil/formal/polite etc....when something out of the ordinary needs to be done and its a pain in the ass and slows things down. i think yer thoughts on promotions and being around are spot on, come up w/a plan to counter that. enjoy it though. you will surprise yerself. i work for a pretty good size company, but no one has my role and its me and the 2 principals so unless i go straight off the reservation, i'm more or less safe. good luck and have fun! people always think its a dream to work from home, but when yer faced w/it, it can be a bit daunting.