I came across this article from Fast Company and it got me thinking. I have had the opportunity to work from home over the past 5 years which has been great for me because it has allowed me to spend more time with my children. I used to always think I would love to work from home and wished I could. Now that I have experienced both I can see the pros and cons to each alternative - home or workplace. There are challenges to working from home and it helps to learn from the experience of others. I have learned a few lessons I thought I would share below. I would love to hear your lessons learned as well.
1. Office space. When working from home it is essential to have a separate home office - away from the common areas. Our last house was small and I did not have any space to use for quiet uninterrupted work time. So I spent a lot of time at the library or rushing to get things done while the kids were sleeping. Our current home is larger and we have been able to convert a large storage closet off the laundry/mud room to a home office. We have to complete the set up - still waiting for my custom built desk and the organizer fairy to show up but for the most part, I can work in there. I can shut the door and work without all the normal distractions and noise going on in the rest of the house. At times though, I set my laptop up on the bar in the kitchen so I can see and hear and talk to my family - I hate missing out on whatever they are doing.
2. Organize! Ha - still working on that one. I do have some great file cabinets though so I just need to create folders and put things were they go. The thought of going paperless is great but not always practical. I have too much history to scan so I will have to either continue with my paper system or just pick a date to start scanning and go from there. Either way an organized file system is essential. When I had an office in the workplace, every paper had its place and I am thinking working from home shouldn't be any different.
3. Backup everything. Invest in an external hard drive or some other secure method for backing up all of your computer files. Not long ago my laptop blew up and of course I didn't have a current backup to use. I was without my files for 2 weeks waiting for them to be recovered and returned to me. Not fun. Backing up files is helpful as long as you run the backup as often as you can. Daily is probably best. Some remote workers are connected to a server so their work files are typically backed up there. This advice is helpful for those of us not connected.
4. Make a schedule. Schedule your time to work and be sure to let your family know your schedule. (Doesn't always help, especially with little ones, but I still make the effort.) Just because you are at home, doesn't mean you are open to unlimited interruptions. If I don't make it clear when I am working, then I hear "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy" and "honey, honey, honey" continually making it near to impossible to be productive.
5. Lastly, don't slack. This one is a continual struggle with me because there are so many other things to grab my attention when I am at home. Catch up on the laundry, pay the bills, make dinner, hang out on Facebook or Pinterest, read a book on my fabulous Kindle Fire, and on and on. Force yourself to stay on task and reward yourself with the fun activities later. And so what if the laundry piles up for one more day - you will get to it eventually.
I am still learning as I go and I will be honest, there are times I miss being in an office with my coworkers just a step away. It can get lonely but in spite of that I love it. I don't have to fight through the traffic of Charlotte anymore, I don't always have to dress up, I can get some chores done during breaks and lunch, and a jump start on dinner, I can hear my kids play on the other side of the wall while they are with the sitter, and lastly I have access to my own kitchen!
If you have your own opinions or lessons learned concerning working remotely, please share! I would love to hear them.
