Something a lot of you might not know is that I have been working from home for a long time, I am the envy of all my friends as they think I sit here all day doing nothing but watching my favourite TV shows. Now, I do watch a lot of TV shows but I know my limits and work comes first, I make sure I do everything I need to get done and when the time is right I get my PLL, TVD and Nashville on!
Being your own boss is great.
I decide when I get to start my day or when I want to take a day off, I also get to decide when I get to take a break during the day which means if something pops up its okay for me to just go there and then, I’m hungry; I can go eat – simples. However, I do have to make sure I stay disciplined with myself otherwise I would end up a complete couch potato not doing anything, I have to set myself daily tasks and reminders to make sure I get work done.
You set your own routine.
One of the best things about working from home is that you can set your own routine. I have gone from working a job that didn’t suit my life to one that fits it perfectly, I can always be around for when Tapanga needs me and I can always work my schedule around to do the things that I want to do. I can also always take my work with me, so weekends away and holidays can become more often as I don’t need to book them off. I also notice that I work better later in the day, sometimes I work better so late that I can stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning but it doesn’t matter because I haven’t got the daily grind to wake up early for. I honestly live a better quality way of life because of it.
Create your own space to work in.
This is the biggest thing, you must have your own space to do your work in. Even if it’s just a small space in the corner of your room or a complete office, I find when I am at my workspace those are the days I am the most productive because I have my table and my chair, I feel like I am actually at work. I’m not sat on my sofa looking around thinking that I need to do the dishes or the floor could do with a mop, I’m focusing on what actually needs doing.
It’s so tempting to watch TV all day.
Like I said before I love a TV show and I regularly find new ones to watch. The problem with finding new shows to watch is I like binge watch them and the struggle is real when you work from home to just sit there all day, forget you have work to do, find all 6 seasons on Netflix and watch until you are blue in the face. This is yet again where the discipline comes in, you have to make sure you aren’t getting distracted by things like this and have a set day where you have a TV binge. I do watch PLL on a Wednesday before I start doing any work and TVD on a Friday before doing any work when they are airing, only because I can’t function without knowing what’s going on…. But, what’s my boss going to do? Fire me?.
You miss human interaction.
I love interacting with people and if you know me you will know that I could talk the hind legs off a donkey. I think this is the thing I miss the most and it’s really hard at times being alone all the time, it is very hard to go from being in a job where you always had a team of people who were always nattering to it just being you and your cats. I mean cats are great company but they aren’t great for conversation. This means that you really do now have to have a good work and life balance, make time for your friends and family while trying not to become too much of a recluse. I also live for events, one of the many perks of being a blogger as it means that I get to go out and interact with other people who are not just the people I already know.
You will have bad days.
Oh, the bad days! These days are the worst, they sometimes come in their masses too. They are the days when you have no inspiration, you have no get up and go, your brain just wont function. You sometimes have to chase payments, everything seems to be falling through and you think ‘why on earth did I quit my day job to do this’. These days suck and I can tell you now that I hate these days, just because you work from home it doesn’t mean that everything is all frills and flowers.
But, over all working from home is pretty amazing!
It’s amazing because I’m at home doing something I love, I have complete peace of mind and I have full control over my life. I wont say that I have been in some rubbish jobs because I have actually enjoyed my previous jobs, I just wasn’t happy in them and I wasn’t rewarded for the hard work and all the hours I was putting in. I couldn’t see my friends and my family as work was always my main priority, my life was exhausting and I was so tired. Now I’m happy, in control, less stressed and absolutely loving life.
This post is written in association with Furniture At Work, who asked me to share a little about working from home that will be featured in their up and coming e-book.
*** The e-book is now live and you can download it here***