Chris Garrett is a husband, father, professional blogger, internet marketing consultant, writer, coach, trainer and web geek.
Working at home has a great appeal and I wouldn’t change it, but it is not all roses. See if you recognize any of these pros and cons in your own work life?
Pro - Get to see much more of the family
This was the big clincher for me when I first got the opportunity to quit the job and work from home. Being able to see my daughter before school and pick her up at night has been wonderful. I missed so much before, not just because I would leave early and often finish after she had gone to bed, but also my work took me away too. Now I can pick my own schedule and plan to see much more of my daughter and the rest of my family.
Con - See family … whether I want to or not
The problem is now my work and home have been blended so that I am “available” even if I want to concentrate on something. My parents, aunties and uncles will drop in at all times of the day. Do I stay up in the office and be rude or break off and chit-chat? I love my family but I need to train them to understand just because I am HERE doesn’t mean I am FREE.
Pro - I make my own schedule
Not having a boss is fantastic. I am more productive and on my terms. Just the 2-3 hours of my day not spent on commuting have been a bonus, but also now if I feel like working out on the patio and getting some sun while I write I can. If I want to go to a school play, or hold my girls hand at the dentist, I just do. No permission, no booking in advance required.
Con - Everybody KNOWS I make my own schedule
It seems I have cleared my schedule once too many. Now nobody believes me when I say I have to work and really I should get on rather than put the shelf up, take rubbish for recycling, drive so-and-so somewhere … going out for a Starbucks one day becomes having no arguments against running errands the next.
Pro - If I want to surf, I can
Being on the go constantly is no good. To be productive we have to take breaks. I like to follow the latest stories on Digg, or read the occasional Dilbert or Penny Arcade comic. Something I could never get away with when I had a BOSS.
Con - I still get caught
I might not have a boss but I still get judgmental looks when people see my screen contains cartoon characters or they see a YouTube video. Thing is, it might be actual work! I’m a blogger, we have to keep abreast of this stuff! It’s not just my wife and her parents judging me, if my daughter hears something that sounds like fun she assumes it is play time.
Pro - If there is an emergency I am right there
In the past a work emergency would mean a long drive in the dark. Now I can just boot up.
Con - Emergencies breed
What constitutes an emergency can get out of hand. I had one client who thought nothing of having me on call 24-7. That had to stop. Not just for my sanity, but because how many times can you tell your kid that you are too busy to play before the whole idea of working from home is busted?
Summary
I would never go back to the commuting wage-slave days. Yes, all the above downsides are mostly my fault. I should make everyone aware somehow when I am working and when I can be interrupted.
Any of this familiar? How do you deal with it? Please do share your tips in the comments …?
Chris Garrett is a blogging and internet marketing consultant and lives in the UK with his wife, daughter and two overweight, treat-addicted cats. Chrisg.com is where Chris posts his thoughts and advice on the business of new media, blogging and online marketing.
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ROFLMAO = “See family … whether I want to or not”
YES!!!!!!!
You left off “Pro - Can play Half Life 2 at 3 in the afternoon and be guilt free.”
Honest article. Humor helps too
Being a teacher I do a lot of power point work at home too, along with research. I identified a lot with your article. It all comes down to personal boundary setting.
Aha, everything is a double-edged sword, I guess.
I have a flexible schedule too, but you have to let people know that: although your schedule is flexible, it’s not THAT flexible. You can’t be expected to drop whatever you are doing the moment someone wants you to do something. You tell them, if you let me know in advance, I’ll schedule other things around it.
Hey Chris,
Great article, so many of us who “work from home” go through all of these same things.
“I would never go back to the commuting wage-slave days.”
- Amen to that! Having briefly participated in the six figure slave labor racket, I have no interest in EVER doing it again.
I’ve known people who make a half million dollars a year salary and have no life to enjoy it. What good is all that printed paper if you don’t live your life?
As for home life, people by nature push boundaries. And if they see that you’re not really “busy”, i.e. you can always stop what you’re doing and play or whatever, then they’ll always do that.
Jennifer and I have a firm process around this - of course being full partners in our business does make it so much easier - no need to explain to your spouse why watching that cool YouTube video constitutes “work” and leads to revenue generation.
Every day we have our early morning walk around our beautiful neighborhood, have a light breakfast, and then “get to work”. Meaning a 4 or so hour productivity period where we (mostly) ignore distractions.
If you want an awesome process to help you get a LOT more done (being OCD and a chronic “idea guy” this really helped me) - try Simpleology. It’s a free program, and helps you figure out what you NEED to do every day.
For “needy” clients, the great thing about working from for yourself is you can fire them. Simple as that. You get to choose who you want to work with. And there are a lot of reasonable people out there who will work with you in the way that you choose to work. Again, it’s about setting those clear boundaries from the beginning.
With family and friends, a few gentle but unyielding reminders that “you’re at work now” - and staying in your office to finish what you’re doing - will help set a firmer structure there.
After all, would you rather do that, or go back to a job so they perceive you as being truly at work?
We uninstaller IM programs a year ago, they’re a huge distraction and productivity killer.
Phone is just as bad. My phone hasn’t made a ringing noise in years, it goes to voice mail. If it’s important, they’ll leave a message, and if it’s really important, I’ll take time to call back.
And for email, we usually answer within 24 hours. Most of us check email all the time, which is a very damaging habit (that we’re guilty of too). Fact is, that is a huge continuous context switch, and context switches kill productivity.
Sure, time sensitive stuff comes by email. We’ve gotten booked on several radio and TV shows where answering right away was key to landing that appearance. But if you’re like us and get 200+ emails a day, you can spend all your high brain power focused time answering emails, when most can be answered later in the day after you’ve “hit your targets”.
Your time is your most precious resource… don’t let others command it. Not a slave driving employer, and not a slave driving client.
Some of this stuff may sound a little harsh to some, but I think it’s necessary. It’s ok to push back a little and choose what you do with your time.
Have an awesome day!
Dan & Jennifer
Dan and Jennifer, thanks for the outstanding comment! You’ve made quite a few great points to support the pros/cons mentioned by Chris.
I don’t think it sounded harsh at all and was really spot on with how to make the most of your time.
Oh I’m so with you on the ‘people thinking that because you are at home you free to: have lunch, chat on the phone, knock off work early, etc. etc. etc….
Thanks all, it is nice to know I am not alone in these things. Special thanks for Dan and Jennifers advice!
Yes, this is why people should be stay at home parents, because they can do it blogging. I loved the article. Can’t say enough about how blogging has helped me manage to keep my grades up without having a “real” job.