What's it like working from home?
April 20, 2018 1:16 PM Subscribe
Just got a new job working from home and I'm super excited about it! I will have set hours (9a-6p, with an hour for lunch in there somewhere) so there is some imposed structure. Tell me what your experience is like working from home. What should I do to optimize this situation in terms of being productive personally, while taking advantage of the little bonuses that come from being home all day?
Landed myself a work from home job! Super stoked because it's a more positive company, less stress, and willing to give time off. I will be starting next month, and my tasks will focus on taking phone calls, scheduling appointments, and entering appointment/client info the computer. I will have a set schedule (9-6 most likely, with an hour for lunch) as work hours so those aren't flexible.
Equipment isn't set up yet, but I currently have a new Windows desktop, plus a Mac Air, and iPad/iPhone of my own so those will be available for use. I already have a dedicated office (with a nice office chair, but could be more organized overall...I share with the boyfriend) in the house that doesn't have a TV in it, so that won't be a distraction. From what I know so far, there will probably be some times throughout they day where the phone isn't ringing and I don't immediately have something work related happening in front of me. I'm definitely NOT planning on avoiding work I'm being paid to do...I just foresee some days being slower than others.
For those of you working from home, what's it like? What are your tips/tricks/hacks to make the most of the situation? How do you organize/handle non-work tasks...do you throw laundry in between calls? Do something specific on your lunch break (with staying home and probably eating leftovers or sandwiches I won't use the full hour for eating)? Do a few exercises? Keep things organized? Help me make the most of this...I'd like to hear your experiences!
Landed myself a work from home job! Super stoked because it's a more positive company, less stress, and willing to give time off. I will be starting next month, and my tasks will focus on taking phone calls, scheduling appointments, and entering appointment/client info the computer. I will have a set schedule (9-6 most likely, with an hour for lunch) as work hours so those aren't flexible.
Equipment isn't set up yet, but I currently have a new Windows desktop, plus a Mac Air, and iPad/iPhone of my own so those will be available for use. I already have a dedicated office (with a nice office chair, but could be more organized overall...I share with the boyfriend) in the house that doesn't have a TV in it, so that won't be a distraction. From what I know so far, there will probably be some times throughout they day where the phone isn't ringing and I don't immediately have something work related happening in front of me. I'm definitely NOT planning on avoiding work I'm being paid to do...I just foresee some days being slower than others.
For those of you working from home, what's it like? What are your tips/tricks/hacks to make the most of the situation? How do you organize/handle non-work tasks...do you throw laundry in between calls? Do something specific on your lunch break (with staying home and probably eating leftovers or sandwiches I won't use the full hour for eating)? Do a few exercises? Keep things organized? Help me make the most of this...I'd like to hear your experiences!
Getting dressed as if you were leaving the house and going into the office/lab/warehouse/whathaveyou.
posted by porpoise at 1:36 PM on April 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by porpoise at 1:36 PM on April 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
Really try hard to make exercise a priority. When you're working from home you don't move around very much. I did it for only a few months and when I went back to an office job discovered none of my clothes fit me anymore.
posted by something something at 1:47 PM on April 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by something something at 1:47 PM on April 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
I did it for two years and nearly lost my mind, because I could not separate work and home. What helped was getting up in the morning and going somewhere, like dropping off my daughter at preschool or going to the gym. It helped me to have a commute, for some reason.
posted by 4ster at 1:49 PM on April 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by 4ster at 1:49 PM on April 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
It's nice to break up the day by going to a coffee shop or coworking space. I don't do it every time, but if i'm getting to distracted by house stuff I bounce to another location.
posted by ananci at 1:49 PM on April 20, 2018
posted by ananci at 1:49 PM on April 20, 2018
I’ve telecommuted for 10 years. I have very few calls outside of scheduled meetings - so my work time is pretty flexible.
I mainly take advantage of this by keeping the laundry up (with breaks to hang things on the line when it is nice out) and walking my dogs every day. I also keep the floor robots running (Roomba and Braava mop) since they occasionally get stuck or gag on a cat toy.
I have pet beds in my office and lots of furry company.
On sunny days, I take my laptop and work on the deck.
I never wear office clothes. Heck, I hardly comb my hair. I consider these things to be major telecommute perks.
I make sure I have healthy pre-prepared meals so I don’t just end up with a jar of peanut butter and a spoon hanging out on my desk.
Congrats!
posted by hilaryjade at 1:50 PM on April 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
I mainly take advantage of this by keeping the laundry up (with breaks to hang things on the line when it is nice out) and walking my dogs every day. I also keep the floor robots running (Roomba and Braava mop) since they occasionally get stuck or gag on a cat toy.
I have pet beds in my office and lots of furry company.
On sunny days, I take my laptop and work on the deck.
I never wear office clothes. Heck, I hardly comb my hair. I consider these things to be major telecommute perks.
I make sure I have healthy pre-prepared meals so I don’t just end up with a jar of peanut butter and a spoon hanging out on my desk.
Congrats!
posted by hilaryjade at 1:50 PM on April 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
Also, something something could not be more correct. I trained for a marathon while working at home and never felt better.
posted by 4ster at 1:51 PM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by 4ster at 1:51 PM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
I only get to work from home 1x per week (my ideal would be 2-3 WFH days per week, though I still like being able to come to the office some days per week).
I agree that you have to make yourself move around; some days my fitbit registers depressingly few steps. I keep thinking I need to take advantage of being able to go out for a run for half an hour or so and not worry about looking a little sweaty back at the office, but sadly I haven't done that yet. If you can work something like that in as part of your routine I highly recommend it, though. Blood flow helps you work better too. I try to do a few things, like put laundry on and put clutter away here and there throughout the day. It at least gets me moving for a few minutes per hour and helps me focus more when I sit back down.
Make sure you have a really comfortable and organized workspace, and if possible shut it away from view during the off hours/days, if seeing it makes you stressed about work.
posted by JenMarie at 2:14 PM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
I agree that you have to make yourself move around; some days my fitbit registers depressingly few steps. I keep thinking I need to take advantage of being able to go out for a run for half an hour or so and not worry about looking a little sweaty back at the office, but sadly I haven't done that yet. If you can work something like that in as part of your routine I highly recommend it, though. Blood flow helps you work better too. I try to do a few things, like put laundry on and put clutter away here and there throughout the day. It at least gets me moving for a few minutes per hour and helps me focus more when I sit back down.
Make sure you have a really comfortable and organized workspace, and if possible shut it away from view during the off hours/days, if seeing it makes you stressed about work.
posted by JenMarie at 2:14 PM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
I've worked from home 3+ days per week for the past six years. The thing that was hardest for me initially was that if I had a tough day at "the office," I sometimes had a difficult time shaking it off, since my evening took place in the very same space where I'd just had my shitty day. So on those days, I started giving myself a fake homebound commute. I'd leave the apartment and run an errand, or even just take a walk around the block, to mark a formal separation between my workday at home and my evening at home.
posted by merriment at 2:15 PM on April 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by merriment at 2:15 PM on April 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
I asked this question when I started working from home full time and got a lot of good advice! Now my boyfriend and I live together and we both work from home full time which is....a lot.
The things that help the most for me are small routines in the day. I always get up and make us both coffee. He always brings me a bowl of oatmeal. We take a quick morning break to water the garden. I live on the west coast and work east coast hours, so I tend to power through lunch and just get off early, but taking time off for lunch is another nice break. And my end of the day ritual is a dog walk, which is a really nice transition to into my own life rather than Work Mode.
One of the other things that helps me is having some organizational structure to my workday. I like Kanban Flow, but there are lots of other similar systems. It can be easy to get off task or distracted when there is no external discipline, so having this helps me stay on task.
For the love of god, make sure you actually turn the computer OFF when you are done. I got into the habit of not doing that for a while then started up again and it has made a world of difference. It is really easy to just slip in to answer one more quick email and get sucked in.
posted by chatongriffes at 2:38 PM on April 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
The things that help the most for me are small routines in the day. I always get up and make us both coffee. He always brings me a bowl of oatmeal. We take a quick morning break to water the garden. I live on the west coast and work east coast hours, so I tend to power through lunch and just get off early, but taking time off for lunch is another nice break. And my end of the day ritual is a dog walk, which is a really nice transition to into my own life rather than Work Mode.
One of the other things that helps me is having some organizational structure to my workday. I like Kanban Flow, but there are lots of other similar systems. It can be easy to get off task or distracted when there is no external discipline, so having this helps me stay on task.
For the love of god, make sure you actually turn the computer OFF when you are done. I got into the habit of not doing that for a while then started up again and it has made a world of difference. It is really easy to just slip in to answer one more quick email and get sucked in.
posted by chatongriffes at 2:38 PM on April 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
Oh, and one other thing, try to take advantage of the flexibility where you can! You can run to the dentist on Tuesday and call it a lunch break. Take an afternoon exercise class! Far fewer people are out grocery shopping during weekdays!
And on a bigger scale, if you can work from anywhere, do it! We took a "working vacation" to Nashville to visit some friends. We worked like normal during the day, but got to check things out in the evening. I would highly recommend a similar trip if you get the chance!
posted by chatongriffes at 2:42 PM on April 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
And on a bigger scale, if you can work from anywhere, do it! We took a "working vacation" to Nashville to visit some friends. We worked like normal during the day, but got to check things out in the evening. I would highly recommend a similar trip if you get the chance!
posted by chatongriffes at 2:42 PM on April 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
Separate computers are important for me. When I'm done working I close my laptop and set it aside, and turn on my personal desktop box, which doesn't have any of my work accounts enabled by default. Also, turn off notifications on your phone for at least email, so you aren't tempted to look at work email when you are on the couch at 9 PM. Also, if you'll be home alone all day find the local freelancer/WFH community and get out to an occasional meetup or lunch just to get out of the house.
posted by COD at 2:42 PM on April 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by COD at 2:42 PM on April 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
I consider myself at minimum 20% more efficient working from home than in an office with all the social/proximity disruptions, so I do not feel guilty for doing an occasional bit of domestic or garden work. But I *also* can't count on being able to do those things for sure if I get busy, and damn if the entire world doesn't think "work from home" = "does not have a real job" so sometimes you have to politely tell people to go fuck themselves but you can do it in lounge pants with no shoes on so there's that.
I do have to leave my office when the day is done; I find it very unpleasant to have to stay in here for any real reason. I've made it as nice as I can, which mostly means there's a ton of dog beds and fish tanks along with multiple monitors, lighting precisely how I like it, and other stuff that would probably draw jealous comments if I had them in an office. But I need to leave when I'm done.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:59 PM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
I do have to leave my office when the day is done; I find it very unpleasant to have to stay in here for any real reason. I've made it as nice as I can, which mostly means there's a ton of dog beds and fish tanks along with multiple monitors, lighting precisely how I like it, and other stuff that would probably draw jealous comments if I had them in an office. But I need to leave when I'm done.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:59 PM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
I get dressed in the morning, including a bra. The bra mentally shifts me from lazy day at home to this is work. Then I take it off at finishing time. This may not be as significant for you.
posted by kitten magic at 3:40 PM on April 20, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by kitten magic at 3:40 PM on April 20, 2018 [5 favorites]
Home office setup, ie do not work from the couch. Get dressed for work, even if it's "work from home" attire; PJs and bathrobe are not okay but yoga pants are. It's OK to throw in a load of laundry or shift to the dryer when you take a pee break.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:21 PM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by DarlingBri at 4:21 PM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
I've done this for 16+ years. I have THOUGHTS.
posted by uberchet at 4:29 PM on April 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
- Do I like it?
- SO MUCH. At this point, I don't think I could go back to an office. I do kinda miss co-workers around Christmas for some reason, but I wouldn't trade the flexibility for lame office decorations and white elephant gifts.
- "ZOMG I could never work at home!"
- I hear this from folks, but it's really never been a problem for me. I think that's because I came to it immediately after a few years of heavy travel, so I was used to working in weird places.
- About balance
- I have a partner, and I stay in sync with her. When she leaves to catch the bus, I start working. When she gets home, I stop, unless it's crunch mode. This works out pretty well.
- About exercise
- This WAS a problem, until about 6 years ago when I rediscovered cycling. Now it's not. I'm not sure if this is REALLY a work-from-home related issue or not, but that I DO work at home makes it much easier for me to duck out early on the days there's a 6:00 group ride or whatever.
- Have a dedicated space if you can.
- I work out of our spare bedroom, which is primarily my office and secondarily, occasionally, is used a guest room. I have a nice setup in here -- great external keyboard, nice big monitor, space for the extra computers I need for my job, and a Steelcase chair I got for next to nothing after Enron crashed. (Benefit of living in Houston!) I don't think working at home would be nearly as palatable if I didn't have this space, even if it was just a corner somewhere.
- Do I get dressed for the office?
- Oh, fuck no. I wear dumpy clothes unless I'm gonna leave the house. I do get up and shower and whatnot with my wife, though, before putting on shorts and a t-shirt or whatever. I have to change if we have after-work plans, but wearing ironable stuff to sit around and have cats in my lap or whatever just seems silly.
- Do I have separate computers?
- No. This is probably a legacy of always working for small, entrepreneurial firms with lots of hours and lots of travel, so you just inevitably have work and life mixed on one machine. We're small, so there's no work IT snooping on my work laptop, but I do most of my work on my personally-owned Macbook Pro anyway.
- What about costs?
- The company pays for a VOIP work line for me, and subsidizes my cell phone and Internet. They (well, he; sole owner) would probably buy furniture if I wanted it, but I had everything I needed. I did expense a printer a few years ago. No big deal.
- Chores during the day?
- Oh, you bet. I can generally get a load of laundry through during the day, and can finish up the kitchen tidy while I warm up lunch, etc.
- Ad hoc travel?
- I've done some of this -- where you go someplace, and work part of the time for continuity or to save vacation or whatever. I prefer not to, since I have plenty of vacation time, but it's definitely a thing I could do if my wife had more flexibility.
- Do I go out for lunch?
- Maybe about half the time. I prefer to eat leftovers, but sometimes it's good to get out, take a real lunch, read the New Yorker, etc., like a regular person. It's also a great time to run the inevitable errands.
- Video confs?
- FUCK no. It's never come up, but weirdly my neighbor who also works from home when she's not on the road does video confs ALL THE TIME, much to her chagrin, so she has to be office-grade put-together, which seems horribly unfair and silly.
posted by uberchet at 4:29 PM on April 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
I worked from home today, and I am soooo restless. I only had time to take my dog for a 20-min walk around 1:30, and I wish I had done more movement! I thought my job was pretty sedentary, but I guess I move around a lot at my office (we take up a whole floor) going to meetings, the lunchroom, etc, and I have a little bit of walking on either side of my train ride, plus I sometimes stand at my desk.
I also have no idea who came up with the idea that you should get fully dressed when you WFH. Fuck that. I took a shower this morning, but I'm wearing "athleisure" for sure. I suppose if you have a culture of videoconferencing (which is not a bad idea when you WFH, to get more interaction) you might want to do hair/makeup somewhat. However, I sometimes find that I like to pace around during calls, so not using video is better for that (and taking the call on my cell rather than via the WebEx app).
I do actually work from the couch sometimes (I'm doing it right now) and I don't find that I'm any less productive. Then again, I don't have a very good desk setup, so it's actually more comfortable on the couch.
I try not to do too many chores, but I often do laundry. I also live in a building where there's a lot of competition to use the shared machines, so they're more available during the workday.
Make sure you have a good handle on the comfort/temperature. My apartment can get hot in the sun, and we don't have ceiling fans or A/C. On the weekends we open the windows a lot, but I'm on a noisy street so it can be an issue when I'm on a call. On the flipside, it can get cold in the winter when you're just sitting there (we have hardwood floors). I like my slipper booties (regular slippers always fall off me when I'm sitting at a desk) and a heated blanket.
posted by radioamy at 5:43 PM on April 20, 2018
I also have no idea who came up with the idea that you should get fully dressed when you WFH. Fuck that. I took a shower this morning, but I'm wearing "athleisure" for sure. I suppose if you have a culture of videoconferencing (which is not a bad idea when you WFH, to get more interaction) you might want to do hair/makeup somewhat. However, I sometimes find that I like to pace around during calls, so not using video is better for that (and taking the call on my cell rather than via the WebEx app).
I do actually work from the couch sometimes (I'm doing it right now) and I don't find that I'm any less productive. Then again, I don't have a very good desk setup, so it's actually more comfortable on the couch.
I try not to do too many chores, but I often do laundry. I also live in a building where there's a lot of competition to use the shared machines, so they're more available during the workday.
Make sure you have a good handle on the comfort/temperature. My apartment can get hot in the sun, and we don't have ceiling fans or A/C. On the weekends we open the windows a lot, but I'm on a noisy street so it can be an issue when I'm on a call. On the flipside, it can get cold in the winter when you're just sitting there (we have hardwood floors). I like my slipper booties (regular slippers always fall off me when I'm sitting at a desk) and a heated blanket.
posted by radioamy at 5:43 PM on April 20, 2018
Having the sort of structure you’ve described will help you avoid the dark side of working from home - which is work avoidance, which leads to overtime, which leads to the blurring of work/life, which leads to a lot of anxiety and some depression, which leads to work avoidance....
Always make sure you're getting enough info/feedback to do your job efficiently, and not working longer than need be.
posted by bonobothegreat at 6:06 PM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
Always make sure you're getting enough info/feedback to do your job efficiently, and not working longer than need be.
posted by bonobothegreat at 6:06 PM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
Another vote for comfy clothes. It's 100% totally fine to spend the day barefoot in soft pants and a hoodie.
I was a big fan of working through the morning in my PJs (I'm more efficient in the morning) and taking a shower at noon. Hot running water was incredibly helpful for planning out the balance of my day and untangling problems when I got stuck on a project. Besides, noon showers are one of life's greatest unsung joys.
Intake: You will likely go through a lot of coffee and/or tea. Pinpoint a time of day (noon, 2 pm, etc.) that you will switch from caffeine to water. A friend who's been working from home for about 10 years now has a firm rule to stay out of the kitchen lest she snack all day.
I often didn't have a set schedule, so I'd sometimes take a nap or take my dog to the dogpark after lunch, then make up the time by working into the evening. This meant that I'd get non-work things done during the day, but I'd be working from 8 am to 9 pm, meaning my work/life balance would blur and I'd neglect to go out at night. I wish I'd have kept more of a set schedule, at least most of the week.
Working from home was great for adopting and training a dog, if you're considering that. She'd just sleep next to my desk most of the day and we really bonded from all the time together.
posted by mochapickle at 6:09 PM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
I was a big fan of working through the morning in my PJs (I'm more efficient in the morning) and taking a shower at noon. Hot running water was incredibly helpful for planning out the balance of my day and untangling problems when I got stuck on a project. Besides, noon showers are one of life's greatest unsung joys.
Intake: You will likely go through a lot of coffee and/or tea. Pinpoint a time of day (noon, 2 pm, etc.) that you will switch from caffeine to water. A friend who's been working from home for about 10 years now has a firm rule to stay out of the kitchen lest she snack all day.
I often didn't have a set schedule, so I'd sometimes take a nap or take my dog to the dogpark after lunch, then make up the time by working into the evening. This meant that I'd get non-work things done during the day, but I'd be working from 8 am to 9 pm, meaning my work/life balance would blur and I'd neglect to go out at night. I wish I'd have kept more of a set schedule, at least most of the week.
Working from home was great for adopting and training a dog, if you're considering that. She'd just sleep next to my desk most of the day and we really bonded from all the time together.
posted by mochapickle at 6:09 PM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
Oh, and keeping your house clean is weirdly important. I'd always work a full day, but I'd get distracted by dishes in the sink or a messy living room and I'd procrastinate by cleaning, which was a total timesuck, and then I'd end up working through the evening to make up for it. And I haaaate cleaning but for whatever reason between cleaning and certain big projects, I'd try to tackle the cleaning first if left to my own devices.
It's fine to run some laundry or rinse a few teacups, but anything more than that can wreck your progress for the day.
posted by mochapickle at 6:16 PM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's fine to run some laundry or rinse a few teacups, but anything more than that can wreck your progress for the day.
posted by mochapickle at 6:16 PM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
Single data point: When I worked from home , I didn't work very much.
posted by latkes at 9:35 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by latkes at 9:35 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
I've worked from home most days (probably an average of 16 days/month) for the last two and a half years and mostly love it.
I personally don't find I'm less productive working from home. Sometimes I may be more productive because I don't get sucked into office politics/gossip, etc. as much. I wish I could say I have a strict separation of church and state (er, work and non-work), but I don't really. My apartment is a 1BR, so my "office" is just a desk in the corner of my living room, and I definitely use the same computer for work and personal stuff. Though I do find I use my iphone more and my computer less for idle browsing/facebooking/twittering/etc. than I did before.
For my first two years working from home, my job was somewhat similar to yours in that it was a lot of time on the phone, and a lot of time responding to things, so that automatically gives you some structure. During that time, I sort of naturally developed a schedule where my work day was 7 to 4ish (I was working with a lot of people on the East Coast) and I do think that helps. Now I'm a freelancer and so I have more slack in my schedule but I still find I like to have fairly regular work hours.
One thing that I think has made a HUGE difference is having a dog. I walk him every morning and every afternoon. It's not always right at the beginning or end of my workday, but when I can time it so it is, it really helps give some shape to my day. Even if you don't have a dog, I suggest finding something like that. Maybe going to get coffee in the morning and getting some exercise in the afternoon.
I definitely do some household stuff during the day, but not as much as I'd expected. It IS a lot easier for things to get messy, just because you're around more of the time and have more time to make a mess. And if you're in the middle of the workday, it's easy to just leave dishes in the sink or whatever. At least for me.
Finally, if you are an extrovert or a social person at all, you WILL need more social outlets than you did before! I live alone but you don't want to get into the habit if getting that just from your boyfriend. I have developed a whole bunch of social hobbies in the evenings which helps a lot. Right now I'm doing an 8-month certificate program that meets two evenings a week. I'm also a member of a local community choir and for a while was a regular Crossfitter. And I am more proactive about making plans with friends. All those things help scratch that "talking to real people" itch. The good news is that the lack of commute and not having to make small-talk a dozen times throughout the day will definitely leave you with more energy for social stuff in the evenings.
posted by lunasol at 12:57 PM on April 23, 2018
I personally don't find I'm less productive working from home. Sometimes I may be more productive because I don't get sucked into office politics/gossip, etc. as much. I wish I could say I have a strict separation of church and state (er, work and non-work), but I don't really. My apartment is a 1BR, so my "office" is just a desk in the corner of my living room, and I definitely use the same computer for work and personal stuff. Though I do find I use my iphone more and my computer less for idle browsing/facebooking/twittering/etc. than I did before.
For my first two years working from home, my job was somewhat similar to yours in that it was a lot of time on the phone, and a lot of time responding to things, so that automatically gives you some structure. During that time, I sort of naturally developed a schedule where my work day was 7 to 4ish (I was working with a lot of people on the East Coast) and I do think that helps. Now I'm a freelancer and so I have more slack in my schedule but I still find I like to have fairly regular work hours.
One thing that I think has made a HUGE difference is having a dog. I walk him every morning and every afternoon. It's not always right at the beginning or end of my workday, but when I can time it so it is, it really helps give some shape to my day. Even if you don't have a dog, I suggest finding something like that. Maybe going to get coffee in the morning and getting some exercise in the afternoon.
I definitely do some household stuff during the day, but not as much as I'd expected. It IS a lot easier for things to get messy, just because you're around more of the time and have more time to make a mess. And if you're in the middle of the workday, it's easy to just leave dishes in the sink or whatever. At least for me.
Finally, if you are an extrovert or a social person at all, you WILL need more social outlets than you did before! I live alone but you don't want to get into the habit if getting that just from your boyfriend. I have developed a whole bunch of social hobbies in the evenings which helps a lot. Right now I'm doing an 8-month certificate program that meets two evenings a week. I'm also a member of a local community choir and for a while was a regular Crossfitter. And I am more proactive about making plans with friends. All those things help scratch that "talking to real people" itch. The good news is that the lack of commute and not having to make small-talk a dozen times throughout the day will definitely leave you with more energy for social stuff in the evenings.
posted by lunasol at 12:57 PM on April 23, 2018
Oh, also, the thing that is both great and terrible about working from home is that you have a lot more freedom to do what you want. You have more control over how you dress, your working environment, your level of human contact, your personal hygeine, and (for some people) your hours.
This is great but that amount of freedom can be a bit dangerous. So as you can see from this thread, most people who work from home pick some things to lean into (wearing yoga pants! working on the couch if you feel like it!) and some things to have strict personal boundaries around (getting fully dressed every morning, turning the computer off every evening). It's really helpful to know yourself and know what's going to help you work your best. Like for me, you can pry my ability to wear yoga pants every day out of my cold, dead, sivasana'd hands. But I also quickly learned that while working from home allows me to watch Parks and Rec reruns in the middle of the day, doing so is not a great idea for my productivity.
posted by lunasol at 3:43 PM on April 23, 2018
This is great but that amount of freedom can be a bit dangerous. So as you can see from this thread, most people who work from home pick some things to lean into (wearing yoga pants! working on the couch if you feel like it!) and some things to have strict personal boundaries around (getting fully dressed every morning, turning the computer off every evening). It's really helpful to know yourself and know what's going to help you work your best. Like for me, you can pry my ability to wear yoga pants every day out of my cold, dead, sivasana'd hands. But I also quickly learned that while working from home allows me to watch Parks and Rec reruns in the middle of the day, doing so is not a great idea for my productivity.
posted by lunasol at 3:43 PM on April 23, 2018
The bed. It will call to you.
Don't listen to its lies.
posted by Jacqueline at 6:08 PM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Don't listen to its lies.
posted by Jacqueline at 6:08 PM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
« Older Another "Why does my body do that?" question | Has Twitter search become markedly worse lately? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by ilovewinter at 1:28 PM on April 20, 2018 [3 favorites]