What to do, what to do

I'm having one of those months, where there is lots to do but not much is urgent. It's hard to prioritize. Right now I have about 30 things I could work on, about half of which are personal. None of the things on my plate is really urgent, although some will be if I don't get them done in the next few days or so. I find that working from I have a lot more to prioritize. If I don't have anything urgent for my clients, my mind wondering to the things I could/should be doing for the house. Sometimes the number of things I have to chose from is overwhelming.

I find that the longer I work from home (and the messier my desk is) the harder it is to chose what to do first, unless there is a fire to extinguish. If I worked in an office, there would be no question. Personal stuff would wait until personal time, but my work doesn't stick to business hours so I don't feel obligated to keep personal stuff out of business hours. All this wonderful flexibility makes it hard to decide who gets what and when.

Facebook

I recently joined Facebook. It was simply because I was curious but it has had an unexpected side benefit. One of the things I miss about working in an office is the camaraderie. It can be quite lonely at home, even with my husband here. Facebook has been like a virtual watercooler. I can see what my friends are up to, see the latest pictures of their kids, chat or share a joke.

Working from home is a somewhat isolating. There are days where my husband and I never leave the house. There are days where we don't talk to anyone but family or business contacts and the business phone calls are all business. And there is no one to go to lunch with other than each other, but we rarely have lunch away from our desks anyway. Facebook has filled some of that void. It is a little extra peer contact. In some ways it is better than "real" coworkers. With Facebook, I can pay attention or not. I can log in or not. It does not interrupt my work and I can even turn off email notifications if they are so numerous as to be bothersome (hasn't happened yet -- but I don't have that many friends). Now, if I could just figure out how to have a virtual lunch date.

Being On-Call

Part of the luxury of working from home is that during lulls I can do things around the house, personal paper pushing and sometimes (gasp!) read a book. There is a downside to this however. Because I work from home and sometimes it is not necessary that I put in all the hours during the work day, I feel obligated to work after hours. Actually, that's not quite true. It just comes with the territory. But I do feel obligated to be on-call to take care of minor emergencies no matter when they crop up.

Today was the second time in a month that I have been awakened in the wee hours of the morning by my cell phone receiving a text message. I use my cell phone as an alarm clock both because it goes with me when I wander during insomniac episodes and because of emergency work calls. The first time I was awakened, it was truly urgent and I was happy I could take care of things without leaving the house. It was also 5:30 am and I was going to get up shortly anyway.

This morning it was 12:30 am and it really wasn't very urgent. It could have waited until a more civilized hour. No one expected me to take care of it then or even expected that I would get the message at that time of night. It was simply me. I could not go back to sleep until I had taken care of it. Actually I couldn't go back to sleep for a while even after I'd taken care of it. The minor urgency was partly something I had overlooked and partly not enough information. I felt responsible and because my computer was just downstairs, I felt I had to take care of it right then. I lost sleep that I didn't have to lose. I'll miss out on time with my husband this evening because I'll fall asleep on the couch earlier than usual.

It is both a wonderful and terrible that when working from home, you are never away from work. In many ways it allows more balance to my life. Occasionally, work creeps in where it has no business being. I hope it stays an infrequent occurrence.

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My Desk is a Mess!

Something I have noticed about working from home is that my desk and office are always much messier than it would be if I worked outside the house. I'm sure that some of it comes from simply working at home and having additional "stuff" to do that is not connected with my jobs. But that can't be all of it. I would say that my desk and office are at least three or four times messier than I would ever allow if I worked in someone else's space, if I allowed it to get messy at all. When I worked outside the home, a messy desk was one of my pet peeves. I would be embarrassed for either of my clients to see the state of my desk. While I don't think they'd fire me on the spot, I do think they would wonder how I ever manage to get their work done.

Every time I clean my office and desk, I say I will never let it get like this again and each time it does. My husband does not seem to have this problem. I have yet to discover how this happens. Is it because the family adds to the pile? Is it really that I have so many personal items to complete? Or could it be, (oh, how I hope not) that I am really a slob as long as the only person it affects is me?

It's my Birthday

Now, I am of the opinion that once you hit 21, birthdays are pretty much like any other day.  What's the point after all?  You have your driver's license, you can legally drink and unless you are looking forward to joining AARP, there isn't really another birthday related milestone.  However, when you work in a "regular" office, they are an excuse to take some time out to have some cake or go for a drink after work.  I miss that about working in an office, not so much for my own birthday but celebrating other birthdays.  I like chatting for a while without guilt and appreciating my fellow co-workers, some of whom have become my best friends.

It's nice working from home too.  My husband has already asked me three times what he can pick up for us for lunch.  But it's not the same as working in an office.  My current co-workers don't know it's my birthday, nor do I know when their birthdays are.  In an office, there's always that one person that takes it upon herself to find out when everyone's birthday is.  I was never that person because someone else always had the job when I arrived.  I guess I can take up the cause.  We can't get together to celebrate, but I can make sure I mention it.  Maybe I'll even send a cake.

Flexible Scheduling

So, this morning I am still in my pj's.  I finished the first half of my work out early this morning (5:30 am!), I've gotten the kids off to school, done some laundry, cleaned the kitchen, completed some personal bookkeeping, and done some work for my clients.  All in all pretty productive.

Normally I don't start work for my clients until between 9 am and 10 am.  That's when they really get going.  It gives me a chance to work out and do things around the house.  Today though my co-workers (yes, I have a few -- though I've never met them) were working early so we got a jump on the day.  It's great to be able juggle the routine to suit the situation.  I'm going to go finish my work out and take a shower.  By the time I get back, I will have responses to my emails and other information necessary for me to work today.  Time waiting on others is not wasted time.

I can fit more work/family/life into one day working from home than I could ever fit into two days working at a regular job.  Sometimes it leaves me feeling a bit scattered, but it's a small price to pay.

Finally Alone!

If you have read my previous entries you know I love working from home.  You may also remember that my husband works from home, which is also great about 95% of the time.  We've been married 15 years and we no longer need to go to work to get away from each other.  However..... every so often I just want him to go away.

Chris gets time alone in the house for a while just about every day.  I run errands, take the kids to various activities, run a load of laundry, but he is ALWAYS here.  Our offices  are right next to each other with a door in between.  If he's on the phone, I hear it (and vice versa).  When he is home there is no time that I can get absolutely engulfed in a project without some interruption.  Now, I know what you are thinking -- if I worked in an office, when would I have that opportunity -- and you would be right.  I can also go elsewhere in the house to work, but no where else is quite as comfortable to work as my office.  Everything is there.  If I worked outside the house, I wouldn't have lunch or dinner with the person I found annoying at work or who kept me from concetrating.  Who do I complain to after work about my petty annoyances?  

There is nothing less entertaining that hearing everything that is going on in the next office (he's on the phone A LOT) and then having a blow by blow again at the dinner table.  Thankfully, there is sometimes some new material -- from the time that I was off doing kid things.

I say all this today because today is a very sweet day.  Chris had to commute into his actual office this morning for a company wide meeting.  I have the house to myself, it's quiet except for the snoring dog and I am finally going to get to the work that I have been putting off for weeks because of the concentration required.  I might even blast a little music later and I won't use earphones!

The Economy & Working from Home

As much as love working from home, there is a bit of uncertainty in it with the economy the way it is.  If I loose a client due to his lack of funds, there will be no unemployment for me to fall back on.  I'm pretty busy right now.  I've considered trying to take on another client or two, but I just don't have the time.  My clients have been so good to me, I don't want to shortchange them either.  Fortunately, one client is talking about needing more hours at the first of the year and the other is discussing adding to my responsibilities for increased pay.

I've considered taking a job waiting tables a night or two a week -- as much to get out of the house as for the money.  That is, if I could find one.  I waited tables in college.  The exercise would be good, being with other adults (other than my husband) would be lovely and cash, of course, is always a plus.  On the other hand, that takes me out of the house and away from my family -- something I have been trying to avoid.

I guess everyone is a bit uncertain with the downturn in the economy, but we self-employed workers from home may just have a little more hanging out in the wind.  Sometimes I'm not quite sure how to hedge my bets.

Just Getting Started -- blogging that is.

I've been working from home for about three years.  I love it.  It's great, there's nothing I'd rather do.  However, it's also frustrating, overly time consuming, focus dividing, and, at times, loud.

I should back up.  I am a trained paralegal.  My husband and I moved in 2005 after Hurricane Wilma.  We upped our timetable for our move because I had had it with the hurricanes -- five in two years.  My then law firm was extremely understanding about it.  They allowed me to work from my new digs during my notice period, then I agreed to stay on until they found someone.  I  stayed on until one particularly complex case concluded earlier this year.  During this time, I didn't have enough work to keep me busy all the time, so I started work as a virtual assistant.  I'd been working as a legal secretary/paralegal for so long, it fit into my skill set perfectly.  I have two clients who keep me pretty busy and they are two of the best bosses I have ever had.

One of the biggest frustrations I have with working from home is that people that have never done it or only do it occasionally, just don't understand it.  My schedule is extremely flexible -- most of the time.  There are some days that I have time to talk on the phone, do a bit of laundry or clean the kitchen.  There are many other days that I am so busy I forget to eat lunch.  It took a long time to train my friends and family that sometimes I just can't talk.  They still sometimes forget.  But I'll get to that later -- when it's actually a problem.  Today and this past week, it's not one of my pet peeves.  But there are many and we'll get to each and every one of them, including a few I don't have yet, as well as the satisfactions.

I must say that I almost never feel guilty working from home.  When I was working outside the home I always felt guilty.  I felt guilty at work because I wasn't at home with my kids and I felt guilty at home because there were things I hadn't accomplished at work because I couldn't stay late, get there early, or participate in functions.  For me, working from has been the best.