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?"

Comments

Don't underestimate the problem

[OpenSourced]

As I've been in the same situation for years, I believe that can give a bit of my experience.

First and foremost, lack of human interaction IS a problem, and a big disadvantage of working home. You are ahead of
the game, by having recognized it as such. But you seem a bit apologetic about the whole issue,
and some joking answers can perhaps increase that point of view. Don't ever. Humans are a
social bunch and prolongued lack of society is as damaging to the mind as prolongued lack of
water to the body. You need to get yourself society. Period.

The suggestions so far are good. Get out, see friends, walk a dog and talk to other dog-owners,
go to a date agency, whatever. Just do it regularly, as a routine. Other good idea is having
someone live with you, if possible. Even if she (or he) works out, in my experience the simple fact of her returning home in the
evening marks the day differently and changes the structure of working home.
If a romantic relationship is involved, so much the better,
but don't restrict you to that. You can change your living place to a shared place, for example.
(If you share with students, the social problem will probably change in the other direction :)
The extreme of this solution is having kids. Those will generate an inmediate desire of locking
yourself in your working room and banish all desire of human interaction for literally years.
Long-term solution, I call that.

Also if possible you can try to change the nature of your work, and insist in doing customer-
oriented work. And don't consider the hours spent in the waiting room like lost. You can
always talk with the secretary. That can apply to your situation or not, I don't know, but
I know it makes a difference.

In any case, when working home remember the importance of structure in your life. Other
peoples' presence adds structure to our lives, and that's also lost when you work home alone.
So don't lose your structure. Have a routine, and follow it to the letter. Wake up at the
same hour (it can be late, but always the same, that avoids all-nighters that are the root
of many evils). Then go out after waking up. Going out is important. It doesn't matter if
you go to buy bread, but go always out. That forces you to get a shower and get dressed, and
avoids the dangers of working in your pajamas. Then work for some hours, have another break,
etc. It's not only society what is lost when you leave the office. It's structure too, don't
let that happen to you. Renting and office out of your home helps with this structure problem,
but of course do little with the main one, the lack of society.

Good luck and my best wishes.

Find other home workers

[tbee]

You work 8 hours, usually almost in one stretch, and other people usually are also working in that time frame, so making short visits is difficult. In effect it's hard to have little social breaks during these 8 hours.

Being in a similar situation I'm solving it in two ways. For one I found other people who also work at home, and sometimes we try and work in the same place; usually first working at home for 2 hours (missing the rushhour) and then hopping over for a few hours.

Another solution is that I have some contacts (companies, usually a friend of mine is working there) I use to do some private work for, and they have no problem with me sitting at one of their unused desks.

And - if possible - I (after the rushhour wait-out) I drive to a client to work. They'll see something is being done and I get to sniff some office. This is the least preferable situation, because you're at "the clients".

Re:TELEcommuting blues ?

[lars-o-matic]

...whereas I had to look it up.

explanation here

*Now* I feel the familiar warm, geeky goodness.