One thing that I was really looking forward to when I began working for myself is the idea of working from home and being location independent. I couldn’t wait to free myself from the morning and evening work commute, the traffic jams, the stress to be on time, over dressing to be in front of a computer all day. Working from home is one of those symbols that mean…
But here’s the thing, if you haven’t taken the plunge into location independent work you might be disappointed when you read this, but working from home can be both a blessing and a curse.
Other authors that have blogged about the topic usually list the pros and cons of working from home, but I have noticed that the same things that are considered pros of being location independent can quickly take a turn for the worst and become nasty cons. So I will post the ideas that I’ve faced so far in my experience, but it’s likely that you have or will face different experiences.
1.Work in your PJ’s
It’s so great because…
Yeah! No more ironing shirts! No more ugly uniform that makes you look like a tool. You can finally toss those tight shoes and say hello to flip flops! If you want to you can just wake up and go; all day, no stress.
Except…
It makes a mess out of you. There’s this mental effect that takes over you when you wake up and carry on your day on your PJ’s, only to go back to bed at the end of the day using the same clothes. It feels like you never got off of bed. You feel all drowsy and downer…as if you can’t get into WORK MODE at all. Also…it kinda smells.
That’s why you should…
Change your clothes!! But on some pants for the love of God! Take a bath, brush your teeth, use some deodorant; just make a clear switch between sleep mode and work mode. Trust me, you will deal with a lot of defeating thoughts, at least give your self a fighting chance and have something nice to look at the mirror.
2. Time with your family
It’s so great because…
Family is nice! You would usually get off work so late and you’d be so tired that you barely had the strength to kiss your loved ones. Now you can pick your kids at school and give your spouse random hugs and kisses. It’s so beautiful.
Except…
Family is a distraction! They ask for stuff and force you to stop what you’re doing to do something else. To be fair, you will not only get this from your family; friends are source of distraction and their favorite slogan seems to be: “Since you’re not working, can you…?” So every sorry ass errand can’t run because they are slaved in a cubicle, they expect you to run for them if you are not careful.
That’s why you should…
Set boundaries. Talk to your family about the times you will be available and the times where you need to work. Use your location independent freedom to set a more convenient schedule that helps you achieve work-life balance (if you want it, that is).
3. No commute to the office
It’s so great because…
No traffic! Stay home and enjoy your environment. Save gasoline and reduce accident risks. Also, save a lot on food and no more people taking your granola bar from the office fridge!
Except…
I can get lonely and sometimes claustrophobic. Sometimes you are in your house all day for many days in a row and you forget to leave the house. You know when you where in the office and going home was like an oasis. Well…there’s no where to go now, bub.
Also, you could experience something like this: One day I was working all day and a friend of mine called me almost at 2:00pm. When I answered the phone my voice sounded like I was just waking up and it was confirmed when my friend asked me “dude, did you just woke up?”. The truth was that I was up since 7 in the morning, but my wife left before I woke up so I haven’t talked all day. Working from home can be lonely sometimes, I tell you.
That’s why you should…
Here’s something that helps me to differentiate work and life (at least a little). I try to limit my work to just one room in my house. I call it the Arcka office. So when I’m “done for the day” I close my office door. During the weekends I go further and LOCK my office door. Does it work? Most of the time, yeah.
When I’m looking for a change of scenery I take my ipad with me and leave the house. I usually do this when I write or plan content. I usually go to a coffee shop or to the University where I teach and it helps a lot.
4. Own your time
It’s so great because…
IT’S YOUR TIME!! Need to go to a doctor’s appointment? Go! Do you want to schedule your meetings on just one day of the week? Do it! (actually, I usually do that) Want to take a 3 hour lunch break? Be my guest! Being the master of your time is something that not everybody has the chance to achieve!
Except…
You need to be a wise master. Time, like any other business asset is a valuable, yet super limited resource and needs to be managed with good skill. First of all, you learn that taking 3 hours lunch break is not necessarily a good idea. Also, procrastination is an easy trap to fall into.
Listen; just because you can watch a marathon of “Once Upon a Time” in the middle of the day, does not mean you should. Why? Because you have clients to respond to. And you need to deliver on whatever you promised otherwise you will lose a lot of clients and drown in anxiety and end up taking another job you will surely hate.
That’s why you should…
Learn time management! Also buy a day planner. I use both a digital calendar and a physical day planner; pen and paper helps my brain think better!
5. Wake up whenever you want
It’s so great because…
Again…you can be your own time lord. Did you go to bed late the night before? In a regular office job you’d have to wake up early anyways and get your butt to the office. Now, you can sleep a few more minutes or hours if you want to. Not a morning person? Wake up when your are more productive. Sleep more, stay fresh.
Except…
Your stupid body gets tired and depressed when you over sleep. Can you believe that crap? I learned that if I really want to enjoy my day I should wake up before 8:00am. Also, it’s good to get used to that because many clients still answer to a 8-5 schedule, so many of them will probably be able to meet you around that time (usually in the mornings).
Also keep in mind that if you work from home, believe me, you are taking your kids to school; so you are going to rise early anyways.
That’s why you should…
Get used to waking up earlier than 8:00am and enjoy your day!
Before I let you go…
Working from home or being location independent is a beautiful privilege. You can focus on being productive instead of chaining your self to a desk for an amount of hours pretending to do stuff.
This is a chance to be free.
However, and this might sound ironic, true freedom needs constraints to be fully enjoyable. Like how that sounds? Tweet: True freedom needs constraints to be fully enjoyable. @daniel_j_marin” target=”_blank”>I think you should tweet it. If you didn’t like it…Tweet: True freedom needs constraints to be fully enjoyable. @daniel_j_marin” target=”_blank”>tweet it anyways.