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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
How about leaving home when you aren't working?
You can go places, do things, see people (assuming you know people worth seeing).
I'd rather work at home and enjoy life elsewhere, than work in some office and then come "home" and not want to do anything at all.
That's just me.
"Everything you know is wrong. (And stupid.)"
Moderation Totals: Wrong=2, Stupid=3, Total=5.
step 1: get laptop.
step 2: leave appartment
step 3: find interesting place
step 4: work
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
And you fancy yourself a geek sheeesh
Being in the same apartment to sleep, eat, AND work every day definitely leads to cabin fever.
:-)
Nothing beats living close to the beach. The five minute walk to it is what it takes me to relax. The rest of the time I spent there are just holidays.
Now if spring would start in nsw.au, I would be completly happy
bash$
get a girlfriend. When I work at home, my girlfriend is there with me and we have a blast. She's in nursing school so I get to spend most of the day with her.
--------
Free your mind.
I am in the exact same situation. I left my consulting job almost 2 years ago and my former employer has thrown work my way and I have picked up a lot on my own. Sometimes I get out, some weeks I don't. When I don't, I make it a point to go somewhere and talk to people. If that means going to the mall and talking to the chicks at stores or going to have a drink at the tavern, it has to be done. Cabin fever from this kinda living will lead to a lot of strange behaviour, so just go do something. Separating the areas does no good. I use my spare bedroom as an office. Just outside the door is where I will be when I am not working - it's not enough. The only solution is to get out. Good luck.
Not really helpful, but before I started working from home, someone told me this:
The best part of working from home is that you're always at home when you're at work. The worst part of working from home is that you're always at work when you're at home.
"The obvious mathematical breakthrough would be . . . an easy way to factor large prime numbers"
Bill Gates, 1995
You get the picture.
I make it a point to get out of the house. I hang out with my friends, I take walks, I ride my bike, etc. Sometimes it's something little, like getting a cup of coffee and walking over to look at the Hudson just to get half an hour out of the house. I also make it a point to hang out with my friends, and try to meet new people.
I am a believer of momentum and curves.
I rented a small office for that exact reason when I started out. Rent was $300/month, but it was nice for the following:
- work was work, and I could leave and go home. It forced me to actually work when I was in the office.
- human interaction is needed for my personality. Moreover, the office was downtown, which was good for human networking.
- the occasional customer would actually want to come and "see the operation". It didn't matter that the office was small, just that it existed.
davejenkins.com |
I've found that IRC makes it worse, not better - it just allows you to have even less real contact with people.
Work regular hours, and take a lunch break - always leave the house and take a full break, even if you're self employed so you don't really have working hours. It helps keep you sane. If you work longer, call it overtime and treat yourself for it.
foo mane padme hum
Try starting a hobby which will force you to leave the house a couple of times a week... maybe start going to the gym or take a class on some subject. Whatever leads you to spend time with a group of people outside of your house.
I myself have a couple of friends who all make sure each and every one ends up in the gym at least once a week. We have a random schedule, made up as the week evolves. Works for both the social aspects as well as the health benefits.
.: Max Romantschuk
I'm in the same boat as a freelancer who works from home. Working away from the desk would be counterproductive, as I'm addicted to a two-monitor setup.
I started taking a French class about a year ago at a local college, and it's been a great experience. It requires working and studying with other people, and offers me a chance to dress nicely in the morning and go out among the living, instead of going to full frump mode at the crack of noon.
Plus, I get to learn a language, which is nicely removed from technical work and provides a chance to stretch other parts of me noggin.
It'll force you to go outside (with the dog) on a regular basis and get some exercise.
Animals make a great icebreaker for conversation.
~dlb
If you find yourself starved for human companionship you should find it. Go have lunch with friends of yours that work somewhere near you. Find a starbucks with wireless access and work there from time to time. Go to your local library, but basically you should find a place where there are people around and work there. (BTW, a laptop is key for this).
If you can't find a place where there are people, then go back to the office from time to time. I usually went once a week or so, to schedule meetings and what not. The basic idea is that even though you're working from home you don't HAVE to be at HOME. Go somewhere and meet someone new. At the office you see the same faces over and over. In the real world there are so many people... too many people.... time to crawl back into my hole.
I've worked from home offices both in a small apartment by myself (some years ago), and (right now) in a large house with a family. To be honest, I've never had the 'cabin fever' syndrome - my issues are more to do with dealing with distractions. Having said that, the extra flexibility is great, I save myself around 90 minutes a day driving time, and I get to see my kids more.
For being housebound, I suppose some solutions might be:
I don't know if these sound a bit lame, but maybe they can help. :-)
There's various solutions to this - some people (as you pointed out) rent office space for the sole purpose of getting out of the house; some people have a rule that when they enter their home office nothing short of a fire should disturb them.
Then, there's a third option: buy yourself a Playstation2, order all your groceries via the Web, and pretend the outside world doesn't exist. It might not be healthy, but after the third month, you won't care.
..and I'm finally back in an office. I never realized how much I enjoyed having to go in to the office until I didn't have to for 2 years.
However, working from home is pretty sweet, too. You just have to make a point of enjoying things a normal office worker can't. For example: Get up late/early. Don't bathe unless you or your spouse can't stand your stench. Take 2 hour breaks to go mess around - or run errands while everyone is working(really makes me feel better).
As far as human interaction, I didn't have much problem with that. I just went to the local coffee shop or hung out with my slacker friends when I could. My big issue was the lack of fellow tech folks to learn from/chat with. Maybe online forums can help with this. When I do it again, I will make it a point to go to user group meetings, volunteer someplace, or get involved with some other activity I normally wouldn't be into just for the interaction component.
Otherwise, your setup is sweet.
crap_on_you
I have a job which allows me to telecommute 85% of the time, if not more.
When I lived in an appartment (and was married) I used to go into the office two or three times a week, only stay home if there was a lot of Phone Work, because if I'm going to be on the phone for 8 hours I'd rather be able to walk around, get a drink, play with the cats, etc.
When I moved into a house (almost 2 years ago), I set up an office in the basement. I barely go into the 'real' office now. I think I've only been in 20 times this year, and that was mostly to drop off expense reports (they need originals, yes I could mail them but what the hell).
Also, because of 'reorganizations', my work schedule became way more busy and erratic - quite often I have two hours in the morning and two in after-hours, so I may as well just stay home.
I get my human interaction because I have a dog, and I take her on a nice 2+ hour run every day. We go to the same park every day (scorching heat or sub-freezing). You get to meet quite a few people that way who for the most part have some common interests. I've made some good friends.
So, here's my advice.
If you _can_ seperate worksapce and living space, do it.
Go out for lunch, or for coffee, or something. Take breaks.
You probably have a laptop. You can head down to a coffeeshop or a Barnes and Noble or something and do some work there, in a different environment. Change the scenery.
I like to have music going when I work (at home). Maybe that'll help you too.
Get some outside activities! Go hang out at B&N. Have movie nights with friends. Get a dog (:
Good Luck!
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is kinky.
I've been working as a freelance web developer for about a year and a half. The first year was spent at home. The first couple months were great, but after a while I started going a bit stir crazy and it wasn't long until I was miserable. I was surprised to learn that I truly do need to be around other people once in a while. My worklife situation soon became intolerable, but I had no way out of it. I would sometimes go over a week without seeing ANYbody other than the food mart attendant across the street. I found myself going days without showering.
Eventually I realized I was slowing going mad, which I decided wasn't going to help my career. So I now share office space with a client. They're in a really cool part of town that's close enough for me to bike to. This lets me get out of the house as much as I want, plus I get some exercise, but I don't have to go to the office if something is better done at home. It's totally great. I feel so much better about work, not to mention myself.
You might get lucky if you have a good client with some extra office space. Whatever happens, try to get out of the house as much as possible. See other people often. Loneliness can really start to suck after a while.
"Molest me not with this pocket calculator stuff."
- Deep Thought
Just get in your car and drive 20 miles at 8:00 AM, this will stop the bitch'n.
I thought the biggest advantage of the deal was that you don't necessarily have to keep to office hours?
I mean, if working at home still amounts to just do your 8 hrs of time a day, then I would just as well take a regular job.
Do you get paid by the hour or paid for results? Because if you get paid for results, you can manage your own work and work when and where you want.
what i've learned telecommuting for as long as i have is that you need the human interaction. no matter what you may do to make it easier, it will never substitute for human interaction.
if you must, then yes, dividing your home and designating a particular space as a work area does help. i setup fold-up screens to divide my room in half for this purpose. it makes you feel like you're at work when you're in this space, and once you step out of it, you can forget about work and live your personal life. without this distinction, you'll feel worn out, constantly feeling as if you're at work.
however, if you spend a lot of time on the computer after hours, and you only have a desktop that you also use for work, it will defeat the purpose of dividing the room because you are no longer designating it was strictly a work place, i.e. you'll be in that space also playing on the computer, and you'll feel like you're always at work. if this is the case, consider getting a laptop so you can move it between spaces.
even with the separation of spaces, staying at home all day WILL wear you out. aside from the human interaction, being stuck in one place for too long will feel like a prison! you wouldn't believe how good i feel when i have to take my car into the shop, the few hours i get out of the house to do that is so incredibly refreshing! so do try to get out during your breaks, perhaps take a walk or have lunch outside.
now going back, human interaction... you need it. you really do. without it, you really are living in a box. if you don't have a companion or friends to hang out with during the week days, consider finding some activities that will give you the interaction you need, e.g. night classes, a local sport team, etc...
I've been in the same position for the last few months. Suggestions to get by:
- make sure you take a lunch break, rather than spending 2 minutes getting food and going straight back to work (this was the biggie for me). Find something on TV to watch; go for a walk; ride a bike; do anything, as long as you're away from where you've been working
- use IM to stay in touch with workmates. In particular, if you've got workmates working on the same projects as you, use IM to talk to them as you would in real life; use it multiple times per day, if that's what you'd normally do. Get them to mark themselves "busy" if they don't want interruptions. If they're constantly busy, schedule times to have "meetings" using IM
- try to get out of the house at least once or twice each day. It's very easy to get in the habit of never leaving the house, which leads to the feeling of walls closing in. Remember that you're only paid for e.g. 8 hours a day; in that light, down tools when your time is up and go do something else
- if you've got a partner, meet her/him for lunch at their work occasionally, and go out for dinner more often. Don't let your home life suffer; now that work is taking place at home, try to live some of your home life outside the house to compensate
- if you've got young kids, drop them off and/or pick them up from school. Yep, these will be forced interruptions to your day, but they'll get a kick out of it (at least for a while) and you'll be doing something other than sitting at a desk. Take them out after school for a milkshake or whatever
- hobbies and sports. Find or acquire ones that force you to get out of the house.
- try to find lots of small pieces of work to do, rather than taking on one big chunk that stretches out over days or weeks. It's important to be hitting work milestones fairly regularly, and getting bogged down in a seemingly-indefinite project really takes it out of you.
Overall, I've found the biggest problem is that I get so tied up in work stuff that I'll regularly put in 12-15 hour work days if I'm not careful. Where that differs from doing 12-15 hours in an office is that it tends to be full-on, really mentally draining work; I'm not taking a break to have a chat to someone in the office while e.g. some code compiles, but instead I'm working on another task till the compile finishes. This really fries your brain when you do it over weeks or months without a break.
Another aspect is the lack of schedules when you're working at home. In an office, you've got meetings, lunches etc. that occur at specific times and which break up the day somewhat; at home, the hours tend to fall in one big grey amorphous mass. I find that giving myself specific tasks and scheduling things to break up that mass really helps.
Most of us in my company have been working from home since we began back in 1995. We do Linux consulting and programming, for reference.
The freedom is great, as you mention, but if done wrong it can definitely lead to problems. None of us have children around the house, which I suspect can change things drastically. I've heard others say that if you have children, you pretty much HAVE to have an office and make it well known that you can't be bothered there except for an emergency.
Anyway, back to my story. We've found that having an office can really help. With more than one person working from home, we found it was required, otherwise it was too easy to get distracted by other people. If you're home alone, this may not help as much, but some people find that "going in to the office", even if it's just down the hall, helps you concentrate.
As far as the lack of human contact... I've found several things that help this. About 2 years ago we found a coffee shop that claimed to be wired. We ended up bringing an AP with a modem to dial in to get some net. About 8 months after we started going there about once a week, they put in a high speed line and their own AP. We now go 2 to 4 times a week and call it "our office away from the office".
The coffee shop is interesting because you can develop friends there, often with much more diversity than in your office, but in general people also leave you alone because they don't know you, or they came to do something as well. Even a few high-priced beverages cost far less than a dedicated office. For a change of scene, try a different coffee shop. You can hardly throw a stone without hitting a coffee shop with an AP in it these days.
Another thing we've done is started hanging out more with our identified communities. In our case, that's largely other geeks, but you get the idea. Going to more LUG meetings, including meetings that we probably wouldn't normally drive to after a day in the office.
Also, I started a meat-space group called Hacking Society 2 years ago and we now have several regular chapters. The idea is that we meet once a week in a regular place to work on various topics. The Boulder, Colorado chapter meets in a coffee shop, we meet in an office here. It's a good way to spend some time with a bunch of good folks. You should start a chapter in your area. ;-)
As far as the question of an office. We had office space at one point. It was a nice change of pace, going to the office, but we had really nice space. My office looked out down main-street in our town and everyone walked by. It was fantastic, but cost $1400/month. We made good use of it, but it was way too expensive. I've often thought of getting some part time office space, but it's never been a high priority for me.
Also, it should be noted that we have developed rather good communication skills. We have an IRC channel open for the company which we use for a lot of the "office chatter" stuff. We also heavily use e-mail. We have phones as well, but mostly that's used for client contact. We all prefer the electronic, less intrusive mechanisms.
We did have problems with one employee we hired who quit because she couldn't "stand sending e-mail or IRC messages to someone in the same room". The rest of us couldn't stand being interrupted in mid-thought because she came up to us, for something that could wait 5 minutes until we checked IRC or e-mail. That just didn't work out.
There are all kinds of different people, and the above works well for us, but obviously didn't work well for at least one of the people we hired. It's important to find out what works for you, but those are some of the things I've found.
Sean
I've been working as a freelance programmer/consultant for 4 years. To be fair, I have my wife and 5 kids at home.
I have an office, and I have a home-office. I switch between them. A few times per year I spend a week or two working at location with a client to improve relationships and help things work out when there's a big project afoot.
Also, have three (yes, THREE) phone lines:
1) Home phone. Only tell family and friends. Nobody you work with ever gets this number.
2) Work phone. On your biz card, on your website. Everybody you work with gets this number. Never answer it outside business hours. Never.
3) Cell phone. Mention on your work phone's voice mail with a "if this an emergency, call..." notice. If it's a doozy, people can call. Otherwise, they'll leave a message.
This has been one of the best ways I've yet found to separate home life from work life.
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
Note to moderators: could you PLEASE stop moderating the following comments to +5:
- Any joke based on the fact that geeks have no life and/or sex
- "You must be new to Slashdot."
- "Make profit!"
- "In communist Russia"
- Any joke based on the fact the article was slashdotted
Really, we can make up these same jokes in our heads. They're not funny, and they're NOT +5 Funny.
Host LAN Parties during free time. That's how I socialize (other than my girlfriend).
warning: This post is likely to contain gobs of dripping sarcasm. Consume at your own risk.
Maybe an idea to share the office space with other home workers? That way you can share costs, gossip, and share info if you're on the same field.
The good bits of a company, but without the bad (boss) bits.
I know that additional work doesn't sound all that appealing, but you'll have the advantage of not actaully needing the job, so your attitude can be more focused on doing a good job to help others rather than just collecting a paycheck. You'd be surprised at the enormous sense of satisfaction you can get from being helpful to your community.
I work from home and the best bit is that it let me get a life. I can highly recommend it.
My daughter is 20 months old today. I saw her first steps, her first word was "Dadadadadadada", when she gets excited about something I can be there to see what it is, when she falls over and bangs her knee I can sit with her till she's happy again.
I don't commute so that's an extra hour or so each day that I can do other things with. What could you do with that extra time?
I also work closely with several other people who also work from home. We stay in touch with instant messaging (we all touch type) and that really does help. Did I mention my wife is here as well and that is a great help (no, you can't have her. Get your own).
I wouldn't go back to the office (I'm resisting at all costs) but I do know what you mean about missing the contact. But I find when I do go in for meetings or whatever, it's so noisy and unproductive being there that I have to come home to get some work done.
Having said all that, it's not for everyone and I know at least one colleague who tried it, hated it and now happily goes to work each day. He wanted the separation of work and home lives and now he's got that.
I am a leaf on the wind
I have worked at home, (with my parents and brother, we had the same company), it can lead to your company life taking over your whole social life, and if things are rough, it can be like a living hell. There is a saying that working for a family run company can be like working in hell, this is true...as problems happen, people can get really pissed-off with each other...working at a company with "strangers" means that you have to be at least proffessional and civl to each other. I have also worked a my cousins firm...that was okay as they had their owm offices/warehouse/manufacturing, but they tended to expect more because I was "family" and expected a lot of free stuff like I was a partner in the firm without the equivalent reward (I did like working there, I just wish it had paid more). I do agree that working for your self means that you can get lazy and out-of-touch with the real world..you have to be diciplined (not me, I'm afraid) to keep it together...also, a big important thing about working at a company is that you get to bounce ideas off your co-workers, likewise, they can suggest ideas to you which is important (or point out how much your latest great brain-wave is nuts). This is important in any creative endevour like high-tech where ideas drive that industry. Another important item is that humans are social animals, most of us go stir-crazy in isolation...
After I got laid off from my last job, I started working for a firm in another state. There's no question of going in to the office without flying to the opposite side of the country.
Most importantly, set concrete work hours. It really doesn't matter what they are, so long as they're consistent. Don't get lazy and sleep in.
Second, pick up a hobby that does not involve computers or technology in any way. I took up martial arts (Kali/Arnis and Kickboxing), which helped immensly. If I had a frustrating day at work, I would go to the gym and beat the shit out of the bags, pads, and Tae Kwan Do students.
Hobbies that require you to leave your house are best. You might enjoy basket weaving or knitting, but you'll still be at home. Pool is a very geeky sport, and a great way to get out and socialize.
Third, take breaks! Most states have laws about this; check yours. In general, they allow for a 5-15 minute break every 1-2 hours, plus a lunch hour.
In general, going stir crazy is your body's way of telling you to get off your ass and do something. Listen to your body.
Working in a cafe's OK but can be kind of distracting. I also found it helpfull to make sure I didn't spend all the morning in my bathrobe - get up, get dressed, read the paper, have coffee then start work.
(this doesn' t apply so much to the consulting situation ... but ...) Working at home you basicly get to avoid most office politics ... the downside - you tend to lose most office politics - unless you have a boss who will really go to bat for you. You also have to make sure you go out of your way to introduce yourself to your coworkers. At one job many people thought I was a consultant, while I had actually designed the main product they sold - I'd go and do trade shows just to get to meet them.
While it was great to do this - going back to a 'real' job was wonderfull I found I really didn't appreciate how important the social side of work
6:30am get up, have coffee, converse with my family.
7:00am bathe
7:15am Kiss my wife goodbye
7:16am Play music, code, babysit my kids
8:30am Take my kids to scool
9:00am code my ass off, work, make calls, drive in for a few hours sometimes, once in awhile, if not wokr and enjoy the view. show that my work was done or up-to-date, take mnt bike rides from my doorstep ( I live near some sweet riding areas), never adhear to a dress code, cook good chilli whilst I work, call my friends and meet them for lunch, get bored or "blocked" and then be able to complete my work at 3am when I can't sleep... The list goes on.
WTF man? have you no sense of creativity or no ability of time management? Now, I don't have such luxeries and still work from home and am a district manager. I don't mean to be a dick but with bitches like yours I'd pull you into a cubicle in an Orange County half-breath.
My point, realize the time you have, relish it, make the best of it and enjoy it whilst you have it. Stop whining. I still work from home and now I never see home. If you want to hear bitch stories E me. You're lucky enough to get out and make your own time. Sorry to be rude but you have the proverbial keys, pinkslip and Ferrari. I envy you. Enjoy it whilst you can and be creative with your time.
I stopped contracting about 18 months ago, and since then I've been working from home. Now my wife works full-time, and I work at home in the morning, look after the kids in the afternoon, and if I'm busy, work some more in the evening. I'm having a great life doing this, I get to spend loads of time with my kids (much more than most other dads), I decide when I take my own free time, and I can pick and choose my work.
Find funky gifts
For most of my career (I'm a programmer) I've been doing work on contract for other companies, off-premises. While it gave me an incredible amount of freedom, I found myself having exactly the same problems as you do. I'd be in my apartment, working on my laptop. Hell, some days I'd not even bother getting out of bed to work. Eventually, this sort of lifestyle, along with a natural predisposition, lead to on and off bouts of depression.
My solution? I found a shared office. I've had two different ones, but both were within a few miles from my home. I've found that being around productive people keeps me focused and motivated. The second one I've found I'm actually not paying for. They give me space in their suite in exchange for some technical help, advice, and the occasional small program. In addition, I get the advice and guidance of the owner of the company who's suite it is, who's a fantastic fellow.
Some days I don't go in, but it certainly helps keep me on track. I have my own workstation there that I use only for work. I can log in using Terminal Services from home. (TS is probably the one thing that Win32 has over my Mac. The equivalents on the Mac (VNC, Timbuktu, Apple Remote Desktop) are extremely slow. Why is that?
So, my advice? Try to find a company with an office from somebody you know, or a company you've dealt with. Either rent some space from them, or try to trade services.
Wow! A phone sex operator.
I, for one, would welcome these new cliche-hating overlords.
He he. Sure, the cliche quantities are limited, but the combinations of applications are virtually unlimited. What was that Trek saying again?....
Table-ized A.I.
I spend between 50-60% of my work week telecommuting, and the other 40-50% onsite at customer/partner datacenter locations that are mostly filled with computers, not people.
Since a lot of my work is on-call and queue based, I am able to take off in the middle of the afternoon during a slow time or if I feel like I'm getting frustrated. I still have to get the work done, but its on my time. Go grocery shopping. Go see a movie. Just... don't forget to do your work. lol
I have also set aside my second bedroom as an office. It seperates my work space from my living space, so when I'm in there, I'm at work. It helps you get in the groove when you need to. It also helps get rid of the "whenever I'm home I'm really at work" feeling when you are home but don't want to think about work.
Probably the worst thing I've done so far is go wireless. Now I find myself dragging my laptop to the sofa so I end up watching TV and working at the same time.
Since you mention you are an independant contractor, you may be able to write a portion of your rent off your taxes, which also helps you afford a larger place, giving more room for a seperate workspace. I think the rule is that it has to be a dedicated workspace. i.e., the spare bedroom turned office is ok, but laptop and filefolder flung on the dinner table is not. You'll want to talk with an accountant on that one.
Another good way to get out is to see if you can find an independant contractor group that meets in your area. There is one in my area that tries to have a lunch/dinner meeting every so often. If that isn't available, try a Linux or other Users Group. They are great to network with other people in the same boat as you, and talk with real live humans. Getting into a hobby that isn't computer related can also help you get in contact with humans and de-stress you from working on your computer all day.
A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over. -Benjamin Franklin
If you work from home it's not only the lack of personal relations, kids vs. driving dilemma and such. There are two possible career issues:
1. You may become a purely virtual character. For instance, if you lose this wonderful job you are having right now, or simply decide to go the other way - noone knows who you are, noone can give you reference, noone has ever seen you in person and if your first name ain't Linus, noone gives you credits just for the sake of it.
2. Professionals must meet, talk and argue. It helps them improving. E-mail is by no means substitute to it.
So I agree with the posts that advise to have home and work separated.
I like my outfit, it's inexpensive, but cool -- April Ryan
I did work from home for the last two years:
Ciao, Valerio
despite my personal experience wasn't about the computer field, I had to spend two years at home working for appliance to one of the French "grande ecole". The work rythm was exhausting, and I couldn't afford to work at home.
My first logical reaction was to go study at one of the Paris public library. This is a great place for socializing, for people in there are all in the same state of mind, ie working hard, but willing to take some enjoyable breaks. So at some point you *have* to meet some people, because this is bound to happen. I met some of my best friends there.
Furthermore, there is such a crazy atmosphere created by all these people working, just like a huge bubble of thoughts and reflexions (the feeling also relies on the physical disposition of people inside the library : in my example, there were 3000 people in each room, with a 10 m tall ceiling, plenty of space and light, and 50 people tables : amazing). It gave me a tremendous incentive to study hard.
Obviously, the prerequesites is that the library be quite large, and quite enjoyable, and that you have a laptop (but this is affordable, compared to the alternative of renting a work place). If you live in a populated area, it should be OK.
I now remind this time as one of the most exciting period of my life.
You should give it a try : it's free, enticing to work, full of exciting people. And of course nothing prevents you from having a break for lunch with your friends, girlfriend, dog, real doll, water puppet :)
Regards,
Jdif
Let's overcome our weakness.
I have been telecomuting for 9 months now... I setup an audio/video webcam portal that I, and several other past and present co-workers will sign into and interact during the day, or throw out coding questions to each other with.
I have also hooked up with a local user group of developers (in my case ColdFusion), we meet once a month for our regular meetings, and will occasionally IM or go grab lunch.
Previous to my telecomutting I was working out of a client's office that was about 20 minutes from my company's office, I would try and meet my co-workers for lunch every other week at least. If I lived near my home office, I would still do the same.
I got myself a job at a local pub one or two nights a week. I find I get my fill of human interaction fairly quickly this way.
;-)
Of course, you need to find the right place with fun people, but, it gets you out, gets you talking, and earns you icecream money
Score:-1, Funny
I am in the exact same situation, and have been for 2.5 years now. I find that several things help quite a bit: 1) a mid-day walk to a local coffeeshop to get outside and get your fix at the same time; 2) keeping the television as far away from you as possible; 3) going to local networking association events to both meet other developers and find clients (meetup.com is a great way to find these). 4) KEEP IN TOUCH with your friends and make a point of going out with them. Schedule it if you must. 5) Whatever you do, don't work after 'quitting time'. I found that because the work was always in the next room, I always worked on it... until midnight... and never got a break, because there was no 'hometime'. As a result I snapped and buggered off to do volunteer development at an NGO in Croatia. Wheeeeeeeeeeeee. That's a long way from Toronto ;)
geeks are cats who dig a certain kind of cool
The psychologist Eric Berne called this a need for "social stroking." .. the need to interact with others on a daily basis, akin to apes having an inate need to groom each other. I've been telecommuting for 3 years and I have a number of devices that get over the problems of being and feeling isolated. Firstly, I shop for food daily, usually first thing. I get to see familiar faces and say hi. Secondly, I work on projects that do require me to interact with other ppl on a f2f basis from time to time. Other developers come over to work for days, and I go to them and we share space, help each other out and have a laugh. Thirdly, I have other things I do outside of work - for me it's sports coaching mainly. Lastly, I don't have a TV. Radical huh. But at least I don't veg in front of one and deprive myself of human interaction as I'd be tempted to do otherwise.
re-invent wheels
Make use of public spaces. You'll get that general thing of people being around.
Eat well. Don't graze.
Get dressed every morning. If you are at home, don't just start working in a dressing gown.
Try and get to do some work at the office. Like 1 day per week. It will help to retain focus.
Enjoy your freedom. Personally, I used to love being able to go shopping or take in a movie mid-afternoon and then work in the evening.
It has been nice: First working from the living room of our appartment. It was fun, because my wife was great (enjoying freshly cooked food), and our first son was just born. She would leave me with him to go shopping while he was asleep, saw him grow up, etc. I have been traveling 10-20% of the time, which helped it be more bareable. Also, you need a strong ability to focus and disconnect from your surroundings.
But it's amazing how quickly a small baby learns to find the reset button.
Then I managed to get a small office in the same building, and hired a Co-op to do a small project.
I was also working on a project with a team located 3.5 hours away (in the opposite direction). That was even better, and I enjoyed it... but I ended up leaving the job -- and joined a local start-up.
What I missed the most wasn't space or going out. It was daily team interaction, and having some fun with coworkers. I felt lonely in a way, during the day. Plus in terms of company integration (peers or bosses), it doesn't help to be away.
It was a great experience, but I am happy that it ended.
If I was to work independently or telecommute again, I would want to have a team to interact with, or at least an associate. It does bring a lot of synergy and interaction.
So maybe finding another consultant to work with would help. Then choosing an office location is just a secondary thing.
Or look for opportunities to work on your customer's site.
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.
Rome taught me patience and assiduous application to detail. Virtues which temper the boldness of great, general views.
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".
Tbee (or not?)
I've been working at home for years now and found that ice hockey is a great way to get out the stress of sitting at home working all day. There's something quite primitively satisfying about smashing someone else into the boards that goes a long way towards relieving the stress of the day.
;-)
Besides, in my work my brain and fingers get a lot of exercise but the rest of me needs something else.
I will also go out and ride my motorcycle through the hills around San Francisco or go hurl myself out of a perfectly good airplane. Other people have been known to ride a bicycle or go jogging. Swimming or soccer are also good choices. Even going for a walk is better than sitting at home in the same room you've been working in all day.
In other words, I don't care what you do, but try to get outside every now and then and do something physical. Watch out for that big bright thing in the sky, though; it's called the Sun.
I've been working from home most of the time for the last 3-4 years.
And i'm kind of sick of it. Its not good. Its very depressing. Its impossible to meet people. It is terribly lonely. Find an office to work in and get a job there instead.
_
\\/ are accustomed' - First Lensman
...get a life. Or at least find a geeky way to socialize with your peers. To that end, I'd suggest that you find and join a LUG or two. If you live in a decent-sized city, you can probably find at least five or six within easy travelling distance.
:)
During my telecommuting periods I generally haven't been starved for human contact, but I've been in a comparable situation during periods of unemployment...stuck in the apartment all day, sitting around at the computer working (on job applications, in my case)...and those periods tended to coincide with the times when I haven't had much of a life outside of my profession.
Going to LUG meetings helped keep me sane. Plus I met some cool fellow-geeks, helped a few newbies, and occasionally defended the honor of the One True OS (FreeBSD) against the onslaught of Linux nerds.
He works too from home, albeit a bigger one than yours, but takes looong holidays away in Camp David and in his Texas ranch to recuperate from the trauma..no, not that of working from home, but from actually have to work for the first time in his life..
What about power, though? Access points might be common enough, but cafes don't generally make power points available to the general public, and laptops don't really run for more than a few hours...
I suppose a spare battery would help, but even so, I personally don't see the attraction of trying to work in a public space like a cafe. Way too much distraction.
Rent a room in some other company's office. That way you have interaction with other people if you want it, and can close the door if you don't.
We've got such a room in a town 50 miles from our main office, and we've got a couple of people who will use it regularly. Don't ask me about the costs, I'm just the tech guy who linked it up.
The office would have to be close enough to home to make it worth while, and far enough away that you aren't going there every evening/weekend.
Oh, and a radio is good.
Do go out to a local cafe for lunch. It at least forces you to get dressed, as opposed the sitting around in your dressing gown all day.
need a free COBOL editor for Windows?
I've had jobs where I didn't integrate into the local culture. I'd always go read a book during lunch, and didn't go out afterwork with my coworkers. Ended up leaving in about 2 months.
;), so its important to develop a strong relationship with your office family.
Starving for human interaction is a problem not just from working home.
My next job was ultra moronic, but I made an effort to meet and great everybody around me. I grew quite attached to them, and I even looked forward to going to work. People spend 1/3 of our time working, 1/3 sleeping and 1/3 recreating
I also find computers to be a giant vacuum for my social skills(and my libido too) When I have to code heavy for weeks, I find myself uninterested in socializing, which in turn leadsd to me having boring conversations, which leads me to be even more uninterested in socializing. A cycle that feedbacks very quickly.(and my gf gets grumpy with me)
I guess what I'm trying to say is working in front of a computer is very destructive towards you social life, and working at home is also harmful there(Never doing it again) And the less human interaction I have, the less happy I am. Even though I hate talking to morons!, the simple action of talking about the weather, lunch and football in the end makes me much happier.
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
If you expect to be called a lot, then a library may not be for you.
Get a laptop/tablet and start making appearances at the office. Hob nob, suck up, scheme. You'll feel a lot better.
I started this about three years ago as Field apps for an FPGA company, most the time I work and play from my (small) flat. Granted, I do get to see some customers on a weekly basis but this can be limited. I make sure I go out for a walk every morning, and take at least an hour a day to visit friends nearby/go to the park/excercise/whatever. Try and go to the office of whoever you are working for once a week and work 'on site' where you can, and when you feel like it (this is the bonus part). The most important thing that I had difficulty was freedom overload, which lead to some late starts/late finishes, and I felt tied to the office as I could never escape. Set yourself firm targets for the day and when they are complete, finish. If you can hide the computer (my laptop goes in its bag in a cupboard now instead of screaming 'email!' at me all night) Yesterday, I had to get the London underground home early morning with the rest of the sheeple and it was a fucking nightmare. Made me remember/realise how lucky I am to be able to roll out of bed any time I like (within reason) and be at the office. I don't have to leave the flat for a smoke break and I can read /. as much as I like without my manager looking over my shoulder.
Screaming newborns do not make for a great working environments. And spouses sometime do not understand that "this is work time."
I'm trying out a 6-2 schedule so I can give her a break in the afternoon. My trouble is that if little one keeps me up till 2am, I'm not much use at the office. I lucked out. I've been there for a while, and everyone seems to understand.
Parenthood is not measured in success. It's measured in survival.
"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
--Dr.W.Edwards Deming
Hookers
Try to do projects with friends, or at least some kind of colleagues. Do one day at their place, on day at yours. Only working at home, constantly, although it seems like a dream initially, will really get you down and depressed, even before you notice it yourself. I love being able to work from home a lot of the time, but always sitting home really gets under your skin after a while.
Even when you are quite social and know many people, you won't meet new people easily if you sit at home most of the time, and although that also means you don't have to see people you rather dislike, or get stuck in traffic or whatever, you miss the kind of small 'adventures' like fights, near-accidents on the road, hot women wandering by, dissing the boss and mocking management at work, etc, anything that could give you some laughs or adrenaline.
I predict that when telecommuting gets even more popular, you will see local telecommuting offices where people get together to work, even though they work at different companies. In fact, there are already business spaces and some companies have 'satellite offices' where their employees can work during the traffic peak hours.
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.
I work from home (programming) a couple of days a week, my girlfriend works from home (programming) exclusively.
:- ;)
We recently moved to Bondi Beach (Sydney), which has mad a huge difference. Lots of cafes, strolls along the ocean paths, and of course a beautiful beach. Everything within walking distance. I now walk much more than I ever have before. I'm spending more in rent than ever before, but it's partly tax deductable, and much cheaper than a separate office.
My recommendations are
- Move someone beautiful (if you can).
- Get a girlfriend (if you don't have one and if you can
- Move somewhere with a community, where walking is fun and stimulating.
- Get a spare room if you can afford it. Friend come and stay at our beachside house.
That's what I did. I work from home. My home happens to be 4 blocks from beautifully blue Carribean waters. I live in a town called Playa del Carmen. It's a resort-type town with a good deal of tourism. My rent is $750/month (two bedroom, two floor house, so room for a roommate if I wanted). I have plenty of work, and the money goes a LOT further down here. Not to mention, there's plenty to do.
I don't get cabin fever here. If I need to get out, I can go to the beach, or I can go to a party (someone's ALWAYS having a party here), or I can go scuba diving, or kite boarding. I can go deep sea fishing. You name it. If you don't mind lots of heat (I love it), and you enjoy the beach, this place is definitely a cure for cabin fever for us telecommuters.
I've worked every possibility over the sun, including:
- 100% at the office.
- 100% at home (now)
- 1/2 days at the office.
- 2 days at the office, 3 at home.
- 3 days at the office, 2 at home.
Of all of those, by far the best choice was #4. 3 days at home let me be very productive and then I spent the other 2 days interacting. Specifically, the Tue/Thur in the office combination was the best. We'd talk about stuff one day, and I'd go home and blast away at it the next and then return the day after with whatever new problems/thoughts/ideas that arose. It was the most productive and just fine at a social level.The next site to slashdot will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and start slashdotting it early!
- Don't grunge out: I make sure I get up, take a shower, shave, get dressed and eat some breakfast at roughly the same time every day. I also make sure I am presentable enough to go out in public before I ever start working. If I know I am going to a client site I dress appropriately when I get up (and then eat breakfast very carefully)
- Keep to a schedule: I typically start my work day around 9:00 am, work until 11:30, eat lunch in another room, take a nap (one of the benefits of working from home - a strictly enforced Siesta Policy), work from 1:00 to 3:00, go out for coffee, work from 3:30 or 4:00 to 6:00 or 6:30 at the latest. I might work on the weekend or in the evening, but that is considered an exception to the rule and I make sure I feel guilty about that.
- Exercise: No, this doesn't have to be a marathon run, but try to walk a few miles every day. I quickly discovered that a brisk morning walk beats the hell out of coffee for clearing your head, gives you time to think (don't think too hard, though, as you tend to walk in front of cars), and may force you to purchase a slightly smaller-sized wardrobe
:-)
- Get Out: See the point above - and then get out of the house more than that. I walk to my coffee shop and, whenever I'm stumped, I get out of the house and walk around the block. Living in some sort of an urban environment makes this a lot easier, but even when I lived in the 'burbs I would go walk around the neighborhood for some head clearing.
- Talk to People: I don't have a formal office in the town where I work and most of my customer interaction is via telephone or email. I try to make sure that I get out to talk to people at the coffee shop, my favorite bar, my apartment complex office (amazon.com forces me to go there once a week at least) and various other places. I also have a number of outside groups that I interact with and keep a couple of IM sessions going at most times.
- Call People: Yes, IM is easy and most of us are constantly checking our email, but sometimes you just need to hear a friendly voice. I have a collection of customers and co-workers that I call and I'm amazed at what a short call to a customer every month or so will do to your relationship (call your SO a bit more often, though).
- Do Lunch: If you work for yourself (tax writeoff) or you have an expense account (even a small one) take customers out to lunch. You don't have to be extravagent (I rarely spend more than $20 on lunch for two) but you can have a great time. Your schedule is probably more flexible than theirs is and they want out of the office just like you want out of the house
:-)
- Visit a Cube Farm: Every so often I have to go to either a customer site or "corporate" and I make sure I spend a bit of time in a cube - this reminds me why I no longer work in that environment.
I wouldn't trade working from home for anything, but I do agree that it comes with its own set of problems...If you reply, do so only to what I explicitly wrote. If I didn't write it, don't assume or infer it.
My variety of getting out there is to go to local rock shows in small venues. They cost less than a movie, you get to meet all kinds of people into the same kind of music and the setting is different than any kind of home or office.
Another thing to do is WALK to a friends house. Part of the problem of working at home is not being able to focus your eyes on anything farther than a few meters away. I have friends who live 2 or 3 miles away that I walk to all the time so my eyes can focus on something far and I can breathe outdoor air for a while.
"Let him go, Ralph. He knows what he's doing." --Otto Mann (simpsons)
There are things you can do which keep your performance on track. Lots of houseplants is great. Increased oxygen supply is fantastic. Engineer your lifestyle to best integrate your entire life, eliminating the artificial polarization of work and non-work. Excercise is good, either outside or inside (ie a stationary bike during the winters). Look after your body, especially the rough bits that have to interact with the computer. Optimize your interactions with the box and eliminate potential problems for years to come. A good keyboard, chair, multi monitor setup and good audio help out. Rituals should come naturally. If dissatisfied, change slightly and approach your goal. Expecting to hit it right on the first time is counter productive (even counter biological). Don't forget to breathe. Eat well. Suppliment with good array of vitamins+minerals. Drink lots of water. Take time off liberally (your doing so much more with your time). Get yourself a zaurus or a laptop and go to a park for reading.
I'm thankful daily that I'm not in the dry, torturous, stupid communinal blather-pots others call places of work.
Andy
- i've been freelancing for many years, but have been full-time from the house since 1997 (kinda forced to, as a military pension only affords one the ability to eat dogfood casseroles)... - it took me about three years, but i finally got the 'stir crazies' (and developed severe apnea along the way)... - my solution was to start teaching Linux several nights a week at a local business college... - human interaction, a chance to get out of the house, sharpen personal communication skills, and make new friends among peers... - working from the house is fine... but not for everyone...
Come on people. Don't be ass holes. Telling the guy to "get a life", "get a girlfriend", or "get out more" isn't helpful. The guy already KNOWS he needs to do those things. The problem is, HOW do you do them? It's not like these are simple things you can just make happen because you want them to. I'm sure MANY guys on Slashdot know the frustration and hopelessness of wanting to a get a girlfriend while being too ugly/unpopular/geeky/shy/inexperienced to know where to begin or how to find success with it.
Try making helpful suggestions. The few suggestions I saw about "go to a bar", "walk your dog at the park", and "join a gym" were decent ones when it comes to getting out of the house, but they still aren't helpful when it comes to actually making real friends. Honestly, how many of your real friends did you meet while walking your dog, working out at the gym, or getting drunk at the local pub?
The real problem here is a deeper one. As a society, there are only a few limited numbers of ways to meet people, and for the most part they require you to be good-looking and outgoing, and into mainstream-ish things. If you're not particularly good-looking and you're not particularly outgoing, or you like more unusual types of activities, you're stuck, and it's pure hell trying to find friends, let alone a significant other. Society needs new methods to accomodate these people.
Moderator hint: a comment is neither "Flamebait" nor "Troll" if it is true.
I did this all summer, and still do it evenings and weekends (attending university at the moment), and I found that perhaps the best advice I can give anyone is to get out of the house at least once a day. I cannot stress this enough. If I let one day go by where I don't get out of the house I tend to start really feeling sick, unmotivated, like I'm going to crack. Also, specifically allocate times to start/end work. Crunching code late into the evening works every once in a while but one should not make a habit of it if you're going to have to get up in the morning and crunch more code.
$0.02.
When life gives you lemons, you CLONE those lemons, and make SUPER-LEMONS. -- Dr. Cinnamon Scudworth, Ph.D
1. Find a wifi hotspot at a coffee shop. Work one or two days a week from the coffee shop and mingle with the other customers. Hint: Find one near a college campus so there will be nice college chicks to chat with rather than grumpy old businessmen.
2. Get a cell phone which can connect to the laptop to provide internet anywhere. My Sanyo 4900 (sprint service) has a usb cable which lets the cell phone act as a 128k internet connection. It's well supported by Linux.
3. Go to the gym each day for an hour immediately after work. You will get in shape quickly. In addition, this change of environment each day between "work" and "home life" will be a welcome change and will logically seperate your evening from your work day.
4. Get a wireless router and work from your balcony, front porch, front lawn, etc. on the nice-weather days. Take time to say hello and chat with your neighbors and to joggers.
I'd rather be a conservative nutjob than a liberal with no nuts and no job.
I pretty much live, work, and sleep all in the same room, sometimes I don't even go outside for a week. But I don't get cabin fever. The several days a month I spend hundreds of miles away from here for recreational purposes and hanging with friends are enough for me.
Maybe it's just me, but while I'm not shy or particularly anti-social, I can only stand to be the hyper-socialite for a few days a month. The rest of the time has to be me-time.
mogorific carpentry experiments
I've been doing it for over two years now, and I have found several problems and a few remedies:
1. "She's not really working." I get this from everybody from family members to the UPS guy (who expects me to take in packages from everyone on the street). You just have to keep on hitting them all until they apologize.
2. Office space. Not a problem now, but it was. We live in a house, and my first "office" was the upstairs hallway. I claimed the bedroom of the first kid who moved out. If you have a small apartment, by all means set aside an area! Otherwise, any balance between work and your actual life will erode until you can't tell the difference.
3) Human interaction, etc. This was a problem with multiple facets for me--until it began actually affecting my health. I'd find myself still in pj's when the rest of the family arrived home from work, and the numerous pounds I put on during the first year only exacerbated things. Get out of the apartment. Take a walk, go to the bar, grab a sandwich somewhere. Do a major outing at least once a week. (If you happen to be religious, it could be religious services--otherwise, a movie, a museum, Office depot for supplies, anyplace.) This doesn't seem to be important, but it is.
Why am I sitting here working on a holiday and still in my pajamas?
Anne
DUCT TAPE: The Election Supervisors' Secret Weapon
I can't recomment it enough. In a handicap league, you can be a terrible bowler and still be competitive. And, who knows, you might be good, or at least get better. I started in February and my (2 person) team won the summer season. Money and friendship, that'll keep your spirits up. Not to mention beer, if you are so inclined.
Just find a coffee shop with wireless and work from there all day. That's what I've done in the past.
Plus, if you wanna get crazy, you can go to a different one each day.
Just find a big comfy sofa, put your legs up on the coffee table, and get to work.
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I loved the telecommuting for the first two years. Unfortunately the cabin fever set in about the time that my assignments really started to suck. I would joke with my friends "I get paid to find misplaced semi-colons in an (xml) haystack". I did take advantage of the flexability -- go to Yoga class during the day, invite friends out to lunch etc. But it didn't matter -- I was going crazy in this quiet quiet house. What's worse is knowing there are thousands of people who would want my job and confirm I'm crazy for wanting to leave (still paid pre-2001 wages). Well crazy or not, I'm leaving at the end of the year. Actually changing careers since a IT Generalist has harder time staying up-to-date and employed these days. I'm going into healthcare, and plan on looking for opportunities to bring Open Source into healthcare as my IT hobby. Imagine that -- IT has a hobby again!!! Security ain't everything. It's more fun to be alive. Build some bridges while you are employed, and get out of there. good luck.
Support your local Independent candidate. Better yet, make new friends and run for public office.
Obviously, everybody is different, and will react differently to the benefits and pressures of long-term work at home. Some people couldn't handle it at all -- you definitely have issues separating work and nonwork activities. The snotty comments in this thread notwithstanding, it really is a serious issue, like the decision to go into business on your own. Some people simply cannot do it, and it's hard to decide which group you're in until you try it.
If you have decent work motivation, then I'd say it's great for up to a couple of years. You get a lot done, and you waste less time on nonproductive crap that can fill a day at an office.
Nevertheless, though I don't mind work at home, each time I've moved into an office I've been delighted by the separation and focus that result. It always energizes me, and it's a good time to institute big changes in how you organize, plan, and document your work. (Think "New Year's Resolutions.")
As you point out, life other than work can get lost in the home office situation. For most people, I expect that having an office is ultimately a good thing, and is worth the cost if you're billing enough. I have always found that, as long as I was busy, the office has paid for itself.
If you're on the borderline, or just must make it work, here are some suggestions that worked for me:
-- We all have enough strength to endure the misfortunes of other people. La Rochefoucauld
Sounds like you could use a bike, good sir. Since I traded in my bus pas for a bicycle, I'm finding I'm getting to most places almost as fast (or faster), and don't need to worry about checking the schedules, etc., etc.
It's also nice because it forces you to take smallish loads from the grocery store...which means you have to go more often and can keep perishables in stock.
And I damn well agree with checking out the small local shows. There's fewer silly kids there as well.