Let’s outline a typical day for an office job:<\/p>\n
- \n
- 8a – get to work<\/li>\n
- 8-8:30 – drink coffee, eat breakfast (do whatever you skipped at home to sleep an extra :30)<\/li>\n
- 8:30-9 – catch up with co-workers regarding the previous day’s TV shows, sporting events, news, etc.<\/li>\n
- 9-10 – surf the web reading whatever news & weblogs you read daily<\/li>\n
- 10-10:30 – discuss with co-workers where to go to lunch today<\/li>\n
- 10:30-11:30 – maybe some actual work<\/li>\n
- 11:30 – sneak out a little early for lunch<\/li>\n
- 1p – arrive back at work<\/li>\n
- 1-2 – “space out for about an hour”<\/a> during a food induced coma<\/li>\n
- 2-3 – attend a meeting<\/li>\n
- 3-5 – possibly more actual work<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
By my count that’s 3 hours of work.\u00a0Nowadays if I do 6 hours of actual work (which to my brain feels like a long day), I’ve doubled my output and<\/em> I have a couple extra hours to do whatever I want – not to mention time saved with no commute.<\/p>\n
I’m not sure why, but companies seem intent on holding their employees hostage at work, regardless if there’s anything to be done<\/a>.\u00a0At one job my boss actually had said “We don’t expect you to punch the clock [… but] we expect everyone to put in 45 hours a week.”<\/p>\n
Nowadays I do punch a clock… I keep a religious<\/em> record of what I work on and when, because I only bill for time that I’m actually working.\u00a0This gives me motivation to work and ignore the distractions.\u00a0To maintain focus, all you have to do is a little preparation.<\/p>\n
Keep a routine<\/h2>\n
Set your alarm clock.\u00a0I used to not have to set an alarm due to the human alarm clock (my infant son) living in the room next to me, but now I have to wake him up so I can get him to daycare and begin work at a reasonable hour.<\/p>\n
If you’re a shower in the morning type, do it.\u00a0Just because you don’t need to wear pants anymore doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. No pants to me means you probably didn’t shower.\u00a0If that’s your thing, then fine.\u00a0If you’re not wearing pants because your home office is too hot, you should probably address the problem differently (see below).<\/p>\n
What you want to do is mentally prepare yourself for work.\u00a0You’re getting ready for your day the same way you would normally, except instead of commuting, you just walk into your home office.<\/p>\n
Work Comfort & Quelling Distractions<\/h2>\n
Have a dedicated office space free of distractions.\u00a0I suggest no TV in the room (unless you get paid to watch TV) – many people like to leave it on as a force of habit when they’re at home, and that can be a huge distraction.<\/p>\n
Get a desk that you like and is the appropriate height for you.\u00a0Do yourself a favor and don’t cheap out on your chair.\u00a0I’m not saying you need to take out a loan for a Herman Miller Aeron Chair<\/a>.\u00a0I have a fabric high-back chair from Office Depot<\/a>.\u00a0I like it because it’s got good lumbar support, and I was also used to sitting on it for 3-years at my previous job.<\/p>\n
You’ll want to be comfortable, and it’s your house so adjust the thermostat to your liking.\u00a0You can run as many fans or space heaters as you’d like.\u00a0Leave the lights on or turn them off, this office is your oyster.\u00a0Want to listen to the radio at a reasonable volume<\/a>?\u00a0Go ahead!<\/p>\n
I like to wear “house shoes”<\/a> (slippers with soles) since my office is in the basement.\u00a0If I were at someone else’s office, I wouldn’t be comfortable barefoot or in just socks – so ask yourself, would you?<\/p>\n
The Future<\/h2>\n
The 21st century may very well transform the way the employer\/employee relationship is bonded.\u00a0There are jobs like construction and manufacturing that will always require people “on site.”\u00a0But for those that have the tools to do their job at home, I hope employers will loosen the reigns on imprisoning their employees.\u00a0The cost of fuel may help influence this.\u00a0Plus if employers switch to hourly wages for work-at-home employees, they may stand to save some money.\u00a0Let’s face it, we’re all slaves to the clock, hourly or salaried.\u00a0I don’t want to be a slave to the clock as well as some employer’s building that’s on the other end of town.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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Send to Kindle<\/span><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It’s about time I addressed the enigma that is working from home.\u00a0My friend once called me around 1PM to tell me about the amazing 3D dinosaur movie he was watching on his new 3DTV.\u00a0I said “aren’t you supposed to be at work?”\u00a0He simply stated that he was working from home.\u00a0That’s not working from home, that’s… Continue reading