Telecommute/ working from home

I'm leaving my job after 11 years for a work from home position, doing the same thing. I'm excited about the change and flexibility.

For those that work from home daily, are there any cons? I will still have set hours, it's not like I can do my work whenever, it will be 10-7. I'm happy to be able to take my daughter to school, go to gym early, or make a dr appt.

What are some things you do to get in that working frame of mind? have an office at home, so I have the dedicated space. I just don't want to get sidetracked by being at home. Do you still get up, shower, get dressed in clothes, rather than sweats, just to make it more "work-like", lol?

Telecommute/ working from home

I can work from home here and there. On days I work from home I get up and get my DS off to school. I get back about 730ish and will sit down and check my personal email etc. I generally sign into work systems by 8....when I commute I don;t get to my desk til 830. I usally work steady til lunch. I will tend to shower etc around lunch time. I will run errands in the middle of the day and I have even been able to clean my house....it really depends on my workload for the day.

I sign off at just before 5 and then I go pick my my DS.

Telecommute/ working from home

DH and I are both self-employed. Definitely try to stick to a routine otherwise you will end up in pajamas until dinner time. Avoid distractions like TV & LIF (which I'm not doing right now. lol) Try to get out of the house every once in a while or you will go crazy!

Re: Telecommute/ working from home

Telecommute/ working from home

I used to work from home mainly and now I freelance. I would get up and shower and get dressed every day in either leggings or jeans. I'd take DS to school and come home and start working. I'd eat breakfast while checking email and then most times I'd throw in a load of laundry, and then go back to work. I'd take a break a few hours later to hang the laundry up and throw another one in to wash. I justified that as my time to walk away from the computer screen, get some exercise and walk around a bit. I'd be doing the same at the office, but this was an added benefit of getting house chores done too!

Re: Telecommute/ working from home

I used to be Full Time Work from Home and from experience I can tell you to get into a routine and one that requires you to get out of your PJs and dressed.

In the beginning I would get up, go to the gym, maybe stop at the grocery store if I needed something and then head home. I would log on, look at some email, make coffee and just get my work day started. If I had time I would shower if not I would take a quick around lunch time. Like a previous poster mentioned I would throw in a load of laundry or unload the dishwasher just to get up and walk away for a few minutes. I don't have a TV in my home office so I wasn't really distracted by anything. However, my work doesn't have time boundaries and quickly the routine stopped and I would be in PJs all day long, never leaving my office and my work day stretching 12+ hours. It became isolating and consuming. I gave it up and went back to an office and typically work from home once or twice a week.

It didn't work for me but I know people who love it and really make it work for them. Sticking with a routine I think is the most important part.

Re: Telecommute/ working from home

Just curious how are you working from when your DC gets off the bus and 7pm?

Telecommute/ working from home

I WFH. I get dressed every morning, not in anything special . Althethic wear most days. I just can't stand to be in pj's all day.

You asked about.cons...the biggest cons for me is lack of face to face interaction with people. It gets lonely. There are days that I don't leave the house or even go outside which is a strange thing. All of a sudden it's Wednesday and I realized I only went out once to get mail lol. On the weekends I never want to be home. I have to make my own meals or drIve to get food. No vending machine in my house lol. When your home is your office it's tough to transition from work mode to home mode. Since having kids I now have a hard stop once my kids are home but then usually finish up when they are in bed. Before kids, I'd sometimes lose track of time. Another con, people take advantage of you if you let them. I found relatives don't appreciate that working from home is still working. I cannot run an errand for you because "I'm home" (obviously in an emergency I would but things like that pop up).

My mornings are hectic. We're up around 630 to 730. I get the kids dressed and ready. Make breakfast and coffee and once my kids are out of the house, I go to my office and start.

Re: Telecommute/ working from home

Message edited 4/6/2017 9:49:14 AM.

Re: Telecommute/ working from home

Thanks for all the tips. Def need a routine. my husband will be able to pick her up at school at 4, which will be a big help.

Re: Telecommute/ working from home

I have worked from home for 11 years now and I love it! I get dressed every morning and put a little make up on...drop the kids to school then usually get right into work unless I decide to go for a quick walk. The upside is that I am always on call for my kids - can pick them up from school if they are sick etc...can pop into school to read to the class.. the down side is that I do tend to work into the evening to make up for any time lost during the day. I do a designated office but usually use that to store files and I work from my kitchen table.

The thing that I had to do early on was to not answer personal calls during the day that I knew would take a long time - ie my mom would call my home phone as she knew I was working from home etc...also its hard when we have guests come to stay for a few days as they want to hang out and I need to work so those days I would like to be able to get in a car and drive to an office.

Overall its awesome and I would not switch to working in an office in a million years.

Good luck

Message edited 4/6/2017 9:55:16 AM.

Re: Telecommute/ working from home

Can I ask what those of you do who WFH? I would love a WFH position but the only ones I come across are hourly that pay low.

Re: Telecommute/ working from home

I am an Exec. Assistant.

Telecommute/ working from home

My Dh works from home 2 days a week. He gets up and gets showered dressed (not as nice as when he goes to the office) and works from our home office most of the day.

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Re: Telecommute/ working from home

I work in IT, and I fix computers remotely in other states most of the time, so it doesn't matter if I work on a computer in another state from home, or from my office.

Having an office helps a lot in keeping "work" from "home".

Re: Telecommute/ working from home

I work from home ~2 days a week. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I work for a large global company and manage a technology platform. I work with people from all over, so most meetings are over the phone.

I've found my sweet spot to be 2 days from home. It reduces my commute time, gives me an hour to workout and helps me manage different work times (early/late meetings). More days in office stresses me and more days at home turns me into a lazy slob. Lol