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Ways to Beat the Telecommuting Blues?
hungryfrog writes "After a few years in a typical office environment, I began working from home full-time as an independent contractor (web programmer) a couple months ago. My former employer is throwing me enough jobs that finding work is not an issue. Many people would consider this a dream work situation, but I'm starting to have my doubts. I like the relative freedom it gives me, but I'm finding myself rather starved for human interaction. Being in the same apartment to sleep, eat, AND work every day definitely leads to cabin fever. Have other people experienced this? What have you done to deal with the situation? Does dividing working/living spaces help (my apartment's small, anyway...)? I know of a few folks who have actually rented office space just to get out of the house. Is the cost worth it?"
Yeah, it sure sucks scraping the ice off your keyboard in the morning so you can get to work. Give me a break.
2b2b2b415448300d
I worked from home for nearly 4 years. It took a while to get used to things, and I found I would go out for walks, the store, etc.. just to interact with people on occasion.
Or, you can do what Dilbert did, and hold staff meetings with your pets. At least his pets talk. Mine don't.
If you need web hosting, you could do worse than here
Just get in your car and drive 20 miles at 8:00 AM, this will stop the bitch'n.
A guy I know had to do that after business at home expanded, and his wife got annoyed at random programmers from the other side of the world raiding her fridge at midnight.
I, for one, would welcome these new cliche-hating overlords.
Could you imagine how funny it would be if we had a beowolf cluster of cliches all on these subjects?
Tired of cliches? What, are you new to Slashdot or something? Get a life, geek. In communist Russia they would have slashdotted your sex life for mod-Profitting from cliche-bashing like that. Readers, keep this Wolf at Bay.
Table-ized A.I.
Get up every day at 6am, iron a shirt, put on your suit. Walk half a mile to the bus stop, stand in cold for 20 minutes. Get a bus to somewhere miles away. Get off, stand in cold for 20 minutes again and get bus back. Walk half mile back to house. It should now be about 9am.
Decorate your 'office' with a stained carpet (preferably one made of carpet tiles,) a strip light that flickers and a vending machine which serves not-even-close-to-being-coffee.
Place a proxy between yourself and the web, pointlessly block any sites that may have useful information relevant to your job. Only allow yourself to unblock them after a week-long argument with yourself via email.
If you smoke, don't do it in the building. Stand outside (in the cold) and move at least 100 yards up the street, to avoid tarnishing your company's corporate image.
Have daily meetings, where the main topic should always be how to cut down on meetings so that actual work can be done.
At lunchtime, take another cold 20 minute walk to the local newsagent, who will be happy to supply you with a disturbingly cold sandwich from their fridge. The only one left will be egg.
Walk back to work, eating your sandwich and smoking at the same time, for efficiency and to hide the taste of the sandwich.
Every 10 minutes, pick up the phone and say 'Oh, you should have gone through to reception. Let me put you through... Oh, they're not answering. Can I take a message?' After this, scrawl something on a post-it note and wander around the 'office' for 10 minutes to simulate finding the message recipient's desk.
At the end of the day, leave the office and perform the bus trips again.
Rik
Can you write off your blow up doll as a business expense?
So just get yourself a silly sweater and take yourself out for a walk around the park. When they ask, make up a store about your weiner dog Fritz who died last week. You used to walk him around this very spot...
"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
--Dr.W.Edwards Deming
Hookers
I am an independant contractor as well. I often go out to do work on-site.
1) Slashdot, I kid you not, it is interaction
check...
2) Member of a Linux User Group
check...
3) Ice Hockey Ref
well.. no..
4) Excercise daily (jog, bike, skate, etc)
I try... see #5
5) Do something with the wife
hehe.. check
6) Do something with the dog
I'm not into that kind of thing.. also see #5
7) Take courses (painting, etc)
I'm a musician.. I'm thinking about taking up drawing as well. This is actually one of the main reasons I chose to avoid the standard 8-5 job. That and I hate corporate America.
"When I work at home, my girlfriend is there with me [...] She's in nursing school so I get to spend most of the day with her."
What, you're toughening her nipples up? Sounds like a great job!
"get a girlfriend."
Just don't tell your wife.
What?