Ways to Beat the Telecommuting Blues? 543
hungryfrog writes "After a few years in a typical office environment, I began working from home full-time as an independent contractor (web programmer) a couple months ago. My former employer is throwing me enough jobs that finding work is not an issue. Many people would consider this a dream work situation, but I'm starting to have my doubts. I like the relative freedom it gives me, but I'm finding myself rather starved for human interaction. Being in the same apartment to sleep, eat, AND work every day definitely leads to cabin fever. Have other people experienced this? What have you done to deal with the situation? Does dividing working/living spaces help (my apartment's small, anyway...)? I know of a few folks who have actually rented office space just to get out of the house. Is the cost worth it?"
TELEcommuting blues ? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:TELEcommuting blues ? (Score:5, Informative)
explanation here [daht.com]
*Now* I feel the familiar warm, geeky goodness.
Re:TELEcommuting blues ? (Score:4, Funny)
Don't stay home... (Score:5, Interesting)
You can go places, do things, see people (assuming you know people worth seeing).
I'd rather work at home and enjoy life elsewhere, than work in some office and then come "home" and not want to do anything at all.
That's just me.
Re:Don't stay home... (Score:5, Interesting)
That was my solution. Most nights I had something planned as soon as my day was over: dinner, drinks, a walk in the park with my dog -- anything.
My friends got to know my schedule and would show up at my place 30 minutes before my day ended. They'd start drinking and carousing while I was still on the phone with customers.
And after I finished up with the last customer, the party would begin.
Ah, those were the days.
Find other home workers (Score:5, Informative)
Being in a similar situation I'm solving it in two ways. For one I found other people who also work at home, and sometimes we try and work in the same place; usually first working at home for 2 hours (missing the rushhour) and then hopping over for a few hours.
Another solution is that I have some contacts (companies, usually a friend of mine is working there) I use to do some private work for, and they have no problem with me sitting at one of their unused desks.
And - if possible - I (after the rushhour wait-out) I drive to a client to work. They'll see something is being done and I get to sniff some office. This is the least preferable situation, because you're at "the clients".
Re:Don't stay home... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Don't stay home... (Score:5, Insightful)
Here is what I do:
1) Slashdot, I kid you not, it is interaction
2) Member of a Linux User Group
3) Ice Hockey Ref
4) Excercise daily (jog, bike, skate, etc)
5) Do something with the wife
6) Do something with the dog
7) Take courses (painting, etc)
You do those sorts of things and you will have plenty of things to do and I asure you that you will not be bored. The key is to interact with society that are not directly related to work.
Sound advice: (Score:5, Funny)
1) Slashdot, I kid you not, it is interaction
check...
2) Member of a Linux User Group
check...
3) Ice Hockey Ref
well.. no..
4) Excercise daily (jog, bike, skate, etc)
I try... see #5
5) Do something with the wife
hehe.. check
6) Do something with the dog
I'm not into that kind of thing.. also see #5
7) Take courses (painting, etc)
I'm a musician.. I'm thinking about taking up drawing as well. This is actually one of the main reasons I chose to avoid the standard 8-5 job. That and I hate corporate America.
Way to Beat the Telecommuting Blues... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Don't stay home... (Score:3, Interesting)
How about leaving home when you aren't working?
I agree completely. When I was doing the independent contractor thing, I wasn't tied to working 9-5...I would get up early, work from 7-11, go out, ride my bike, have lunch with wife/friends, see other folks (I've got friends who are grad students, so they have equally flexible schedules), then work for as long as I needed to in the afternoon. I took an office job again when the market dried up a bit, and I miss the flexibility of working from home. Huma
Re:Don't stay home... (Score:3, Interesting)
I find that I really can't go for more than 3 days a week at home before I start feeling 'closed in'. When I do though, I make sure that I go out for my luch hour. It helps a little bit...taking a walk around the neighborhood...stopping by my neighbor's for a chat...taking a drive to the store for 'whatever'. Just to get out for a bit.
I also open the blinds to let natural light in, and I open the window to let outside s
agreed... (Score:5, Interesting)
Another thing to do is WALK to a friends house. Part of the problem of working at home is not being able to focus your eyes on anything farther than a few meters away. I have friends who live 2 or 3 miles away that I walk to all the time so my eyes can focus on something far and I can breathe outdoor air for a while.
Bike! (Score:3, Interesting)
It's also nice because it forces you to take smallish loads from the grocery store...which means you have to go more often and can keep perishables in stock.
And I damn well agree with checking out the small local shows. There's fewer silly kids there as well.
Re:Don't stay home... (Score:5, Funny)
This one's easy... (Score:5, Insightful)
step 2: leave appartment
step 3: find interesting place
step 4: work
Re:This one's easy... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:This one's easy... (Score:5, Interesting)
Lots of interaction with a surprisingly regular set of people who work there at that shift and/or come in for their coffee/newspaper/pastry/snack/etc.
Try to support a local business, instead of a starbucks, with this, tho.
Dana Street Roasting Co, Mountain View, CA (Score:3, Informative)
Re:This one's easy... (Score:3, Insightful)
i find that my maximum period of concentration is about 2 hours. after this, i need to go for a quick walk, move to a new seat, move to a new starbucks, drink more coffee, think, walk, etc.
can't say that i miss anything about working in an office... esp. the human interaction. i really like meeting people, and spending time with friends. but i find that an office environment
Re:This one's easy... (Score:5, Informative)
Set up an encrypted partition on the laptop and make sure you sync it up when you get home so if it is stolen you lose little data. When you work outside the home just work with your back to the wall, I'm sure you'll notice if someone is trying to sneak a peek. Set a hotkey to blank the screen or lock out the laptop quickly for when you need it.
It's really not as big of a risk as you might think. I work outside the office all the time and I can tell you that it comes fairly naturally once you find a few places that are comfortable.
It's tough (Score:5, Funny)
Or, you can do what Dilbert did, and hold staff meetings with your pets. At least his pets talk. Mine don't.
Re:It's tough (Score:5, Funny)
Re:It's tough (Score:3, Funny)
Personally, I prefer tea parties...
Re:It's tough (Score:4, Funny)
Starving for human interaction? (Score:2, Funny)
Note to moderators (Score:4, Insightful)
- Any joke based on the fact that geeks have no life and/or sex
- "You must be new to Slashdot."
- "Make profit!"
- "In communist Russia"
- Any joke based on the fact the article was slashdotted
Really, we can make up these same jokes in our heads. They're not funny, and they're NOT +5 Funny.
Re:Note to moderators (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Note to moderators (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Note to moderators (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Note to moderators (Score:3, Funny)
Starving for human interaction? - at the office (Score:5, Interesting)
Starving for human interaction is a problem not just from working home.
My next job was ultra moronic, but I made an effort to meet and great everybody around me. I grew quite attached to them, and I even looked forward to going to work. People spend 1/3 of our time working, 1/3 sleeping and 1/3 recreating
I also find computers to be a giant vacuum for my social skills(and my libido too) When I have to code heavy for weeks, I find myself uninterested in socializing, which in turn leadsd to me having boring conversations, which leads me to be even more uninterested in socializing. A cycle that feedbacks very quickly.(and my gf gets grumpy with me)
I guess what I'm trying to say is working in front of a computer is very destructive towards you social life, and working at home is also harmful there(Never doing it again) And the less human interaction I have, the less happy I am. Even though I hate talking to morons!, the simple action of talking about the weather, lunch and football in the end makes me much happier.
Go live close to the beach (Score:4, Interesting)
Nothing beats living close to the beach. The five minute walk to it is what it takes me to relax. The rest of the time I spent there are just holidays.
Now if spring would start in nsw.au, I would be completly happy
How about you (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:How about you (Score:5, Funny)
Re:How about you (Score:3, Funny)
Just don't tell your wife.
Re:How about you (Score:3, Funny)
I wish you'd stop staring at me.
Re:How about you (Score:5, Insightful)
Note to single geeks: our (lack of) sleep schedules seem to dovetail nicely with medical professionals. They can't find love because of their crazy schedules. Mental note for my next life...
Re:How about you (Score:5, Funny)
What, you're toughening her nipples up? Sounds like a great job!
Re:How about you (Score:5, Funny)
So just get yourself a silly sweater and take yourself out for a walk around the park. When they ask, make up a store about your weiner dog Fritz who died last week. You used to walk him around this very spot...
Get your ass out of your apartment! (Score:5, Insightful)
yes .... ! (Score:5, Interesting)
Working in a cafe's OK but can be kind of distracting. I also found it helpfull to make sure I didn't spend all the morning in my bathrobe - get up, get dressed, read the paper, have coffee then start work.
(this doesn' t apply so much to the consulting situation ... but ...) Working at home you basicly get to avoid most office politics ... the downside - you tend to lose most office politics - unless you have a boss who will really go to bat for you. You also have to make sure you go out of your way to introduce yourself to your coworkers. At one job many people thought I was a consultant, while I had actually designed the main product they sold - I'd go and do trade shows just to get to meet them.
While it was great to do this - going back to a 'real' job was wonderfull I found I really didn't appreciate how important the social side of work
I'm in a similar position (Score:2)
Re:I'm in a similar position (Score:3, Insightful)
I mean, if working at home still amounts to just do your 8 hrs of time a day, then I would just as well take a regular job.
Do you get paid by the hour or paid for results? Because if you get paid for results, you can manage your own work and work when and where you want.
best and worst (Score:5, Insightful)
Not really helpful, but before I started working from home, someone told me this:
The best part of working from home is that you're always at home when you're at work. The worst part of working from home is that you're always at work when you're at home.
Ya need to get out more! (Score:3, Interesting)
You get the picture.
I make it a point to get out of the house. I hang out with my friends, I take walks, I ride my bike, etc. Sometimes it's something little, like getting a cup of coffee and walking over to look at the Hudson just to get half an hour out of the house. I also make it a point to hang out with my friends, and try to meet new people.
rent a small office (Score:5, Insightful)
- work was work, and I could leave and go home. It forced me to actually work when I was in the office.
- human interaction is needed for my personality. Moreover, the office was downtown, which was good for human networking.
- the occasional customer would actually want to come and "see the operation". It didn't matter that the office was small, just that it existed.
Re:rent a small office (Score:3, Funny)
Share it with others (Score:5, Insightful)
The good bits of a company, but without the bad (boss) bits.
Re:Share it with others (Score:5, Insightful)
If you don't want to spend the money for an office, why not try going out for a quick walk before you begin work for the day and another walk when you end work for the day. Might provide an easy delinearization of what stays where...
I agree, working at home has its own problems.. (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:I agree, working at home has its own problems.. (Score:3, Insightful)
I always wonder if I'm really that good, or am I just completely nuts. Well they are still paying me after 5 years, so I guess it really doesn't matter.
What you need... (Score:2)
Hell, it doesn't even have to be your own wireless access point! In London there are spots where the frequency and IP ranges are noted on the walls of buildings for use.
Re:What you need... (Score:3, Insightful)
I suppose a spare battery would help, but even so, I personally don't see the attraction of trying to work in a public space like a cafe. Way too much distraction.
How to avoid cabin fever (Score:3, Insightful)
I've found that IRC makes it worse, not better - it just allows you to have even less real contact with people.
Work regular hours, and take a lunch break - always leave the house and take a full break, even if you're self employed so you don't really have working hours. It helps keep you sane. If you work longer, call it overtime and treat yourself for it.
Hobbies (Score:5, Insightful)
I myself have a couple of friends who all make sure each and every one ends up in the gym at least once a week. We have a random schedule, made up as the week evolves. Works for both the social aspects as well as the health benefits.
Take a class! (Score:5, Insightful)
I started taking a French class about a year ago at a local college, and it's been a great experience. It requires working and studying with other people, and offers me a chance to dress nicely in the morning and go out among the living, instead of going to full frump mode at the crack of noon.
Plus, I get to learn a language, which is nicely removed from technical work and provides a chance to stretch other parts of me noggin.
Get yourself a dog (Score:5, Insightful)
Animals make a great icebreaker for conversation.
~dlb
Getting out of the house helps, but... (Score:3, Insightful)
If you can't find a place where there are people, then go back to the office from time to time. I usually went once a week or so, to schedule meetings and what not. The basic idea is that even though you're working from home you don't HAVE to be at HOME. Go somewhere and meet someone new. At the office you see the same faces over and over. In the real world there are so many people... too many people.... time to crawl back into my hole.
Issues with telecommuting and coping with them (Score:2, Insightful)
I've worked from home offices both in a small apartment by myself (some years ago), and (right now) in a large house with a family. To be honest, I've never had the 'cabin fever' syndrome - my issues are more to do with dealing with distractions. Having said that, the extra flexibility is great, I save myself around 90 minutes a day driving time, and I get to see my kids more.
For being housebound, I suppose some solutions might be:
Re:Issues with telecommuting and coping with them (Score:5, Insightful)
A large percentage of office cube workers find a happy medium of slackness and relaxed attitude to work, even in an opressive office where the bosses are tyrants.
Home workers, especially self employed geeks, artists and small business owners tend to have a very hard persoanal work ethic (especially in the US and UK) and actually drive themselves too hard.
Basically being in office unburdens you of a psychological resposibility and you can grab slack by just putting in the hours, but being your own boss can be a problem when you work yourself too hard.
Try to get the best productivity from your workers give them (you) a break frequently. There is more to life than work ( so I hear )
Well... (Score:2, Funny)
Then, there's a third option: buy yourself a Playstation2, order all your groceries via the Web, and pretend the outside world doesn't exist. It might not be healthy, but after the third month, you won't care.
Just went through this... (Score:2)
However, working from home is pretty sweet, too. You just have to make a point of enjoying things a normal office worker can't. For example: Get up late/early. Don't bathe unless you or your spouse can't stand your stench. Take 2 hour breaks to go mess around - or run errands while everyone is working(really makes me feel better).
As far as human interaction, I didn
My experience (Score:5, Insightful)
When I lived in an appartment (and was married) I used to go into the office two or three times a week, only stay home if there was a lot of Phone Work, because if I'm going to be on the phone for 8 hours I'd rather be able to walk around, get a drink, play with the cats, etc.
When I moved into a house (almost 2 years ago), I set up an office in the basement. I barely go into the 'real' office now. I think I've only been in 20 times this year, and that was mostly to drop off expense reports (they need originals, yes I could mail them but what the hell).
Also, because of 'reorganizations', my work schedule became way more busy and erratic - quite often I have two hours in the morning and two in after-hours, so I may as well just stay home.
I get my human interaction because I have a dog, and I take her on a nice 2+ hour run every day. We go to the same park every day (scorching heat or sub-freezing). You get to meet quite a few people that way who for the most part have some common interests. I've made some good friends.
So, here's my advice.
If you _can_ seperate worksapce and living space, do it.
Go out for lunch, or for coffee, or something. Take breaks.
You probably have a laptop. You can head down to a coffeeshop or a Barnes and Noble or something and do some work there, in a different environment. Change the scenery.
I like to have music going when I work (at home). Maybe that'll help you too.
Get some outside activities! Go hang out at B&N. Have movie nights with friends. Get a dog (:
Good Luck!
Do it if you can (Score:5, Interesting)
I've been working as a freelance web developer for about a year and a half. The first year was spent at home. The first couple months were great, but after a while I started going a bit stir crazy and it wasn't long until I was miserable. I was surprised to learn that I truly do need to be around other people once in a while. My worklife situation soon became intolerable, but I had no way out of it. I would sometimes go over a week without seeing ANYbody other than the food mart attendant across the street. I found myself going days without showering.
Eventually I realized I was slowing going mad, which I decided wasn't going to help my career. So I now share office space with a client. They're in a really cool part of town that's close enough for me to bike to. This lets me get out of the house as much as I want, plus I get some exercise, but I don't have to go to the office if something is better done at home. It's totally great. I feel so much better about work, not to mention myself.
You might get lucky if you have a good client with some extra office space. Whatever happens, try to get out of the house as much as possible. See other people often. Loneliness can really start to suck after a while.
I have the same problem. (Score:2)
Since I quit my job (for asst. reasons) and am now [struggling] to survive off my webstuff full-time, I've encountered the same problem. It's even worse for me, because I have unfinished artwork and such sitting around staring at me, and I try to get away from it to find myself still working after two hours of "just five minutes more, until I finish this..."
I've actually picked up the habit of just sitting around in coffee shops for an hour or two, talking with friends, to FORCE myself to relax. As long
Freeway at rush hour (Score:5, Funny)
Been going through that for the last few months (Score:4, Informative)
- make sure you take a lunch break, rather than spending 2 minutes getting food and going straight back to work (this was the biggie for me). Find something on TV to watch; go for a walk; ride a bike; do anything, as long as you're away from where you've been working
- use IM to stay in touch with workmates. In particular, if you've got workmates working on the same projects as you, use IM to talk to them as you would in real life; use it multiple times per day, if that's what you'd normally do. Get them to mark themselves "busy" if they don't want interruptions. If they're constantly busy, schedule times to have "meetings" using IM
- try to get out of the house at least once or twice each day. It's very easy to get in the habit of never leaving the house, which leads to the feeling of walls closing in. Remember that you're only paid for e.g. 8 hours a day; in that light, down tools when your time is up and go do something else
- if you've got a partner, meet her/him for lunch at their work occasionally, and go out for dinner more often. Don't let your home life suffer; now that work is taking place at home, try to live some of your home life outside the house to compensate
- if you've got young kids, drop them off and/or pick them up from school. Yep, these will be forced interruptions to your day, but they'll get a kick out of it (at least for a while) and you'll be doing something other than sitting at a desk. Take them out after school for a milkshake or whatever
- hobbies and sports. Find or acquire ones that force you to get out of the house.
- try to find lots of small pieces of work to do, rather than taking on one big chunk that stretches out over days or weeks. It's important to be hitting work milestones fairly regularly, and getting bogged down in a seemingly-indefinite project really takes it out of you.
Overall, I've found the biggest problem is that I get so tied up in work stuff that I'll regularly put in 12-15 hour work days if I'm not careful. Where that differs from doing 12-15 hours in an office is that it tends to be full-on, really mentally draining work; I'm not taking a break to have a chat to someone in the office while e.g. some code compiles, but instead I'm working on another task till the compile finishes. This really fries your brain when you do it over weeks or months without a break.
Another aspect is the lack of schedules when you're working at home. In an office, you've got meetings, lunches etc. that occur at specific times and which break up the day somewhat; at home, the hours tend to fall in one big grey amorphous mass. I find that giving myself specific tasks and scheduling things to break up that mass really helps.
My views on working at home. (Score:5, Interesting)
Most of us in my company have been working from home since we began back in 1995. We do Linux consulting and programming, for reference.
The freedom is great, as you mention, but if done wrong it can definitely lead to problems. None of us have children around the house, which I suspect can change things drastically. I've heard others say that if you have children, you pretty much HAVE to have an office and make it well known that you can't be bothered there except for an emergency.
Anyway, back to my story. We've found that having an office can really help. With more than one person working from home, we found it was required, otherwise it was too easy to get distracted by other people. If you're home alone, this may not help as much, but some people find that "going in to the office", even if it's just down the hall, helps you concentrate.
As far as the lack of human contact... I've found several things that help this. About 2 years ago we found a coffee shop that claimed to be wired. We ended up bringing an AP with a modem to dial in to get some net. About 8 months after we started going there about once a week, they put in a high speed line and their own AP. We now go 2 to 4 times a week and call it "our office away from the office".
The coffee shop is interesting because you can develop friends there, often with much more diversity than in your office, but in general people also leave you alone because they don't know you, or they came to do something as well. Even a few high-priced beverages cost far less than a dedicated office. For a change of scene, try a different coffee shop. You can hardly throw a stone without hitting a coffee shop with an AP in it these days.
Another thing we've done is started hanging out more with our identified communities. In our case, that's largely other geeks, but you get the idea. Going to more LUG meetings, including meetings that we probably wouldn't normally drive to after a day in the office.
Also, I started a meat-space group called Hacking Society [hackingsociety.org] 2 years ago and we now have several regular chapters. The idea is that we meet once a week in a regular place to work on various topics. The Boulder, Colorado chapter meets in a coffee shop, we meet in an office here. It's a good way to spend some time with a bunch of good folks. You should start a chapter in your area. ;-)
As far as the question of an office. We had office space at one point. It was a nice change of pace, going to the office, but we had really nice space. My office looked out down main-street in our town and everyone walked by. It was fantastic, but cost $1400/month. We made good use of it, but it was way too expensive. I've often thought of getting some part time office space, but it's never been a high priority for me.
Also, it should be noted that we have developed rather good communication skills. We have an IRC channel open for the company which we use for a lot of the "office chatter" stuff. We also heavily use e-mail. We have phones as well, but mostly that's used for client contact. We all prefer the electronic, less intrusive mechanisms.
We did have problems with one employee we hired who quit because she couldn't "stand sending e-mail or IRC messages to someone in the same room". The rest of us couldn't stand being interrupted in mid-thought because she came up to us, for something that could wait 5 minutes until we checked IRC or e-mail. That just didn't work out.
There are all kinds of different people, and the above works well for us, but obviously didn't work well for at least one of the people we hired. It's important to find out what works for you, but those are some of the things I've found.
Sean
For four years (Score:5, Informative)
I have an office, and I have a home-office. I switch between them. A few times per year I spend a week or two working at location with a client to improve relationships and help things work out when there's a big project afoot.
Also, have three (yes, THREE) phone lines:
1) Home phone. Only tell family and friends. Nobody you work with ever gets this number.
2) Work phone. On your biz card, on your website. Everybody you work with gets this number. Never answer it outside business hours. Never.
3) Cell phone. Mention on your work phone's voice mail with a "if this an emergency, call..." notice. If it's a doozy, people can call. Otherwise, they'll leave a message.
This has been one of the best ways I've yet found to separate home life from work life.
Try A Part Time Job (Score:3, Interesting)
I know that additional work doesn't sound all that appealing, but you'll have the advantage of not actaully needing the job, so your attitude can be more focused on doing a good job to help others rather than just collecting a paycheck. You'd be surprised at the enormous sense of satisfaction you can get from being helpful to your community.
Get a life (Score:5, Insightful)
My daughter is 20 months old today. I saw her first steps, her first word was "Dadadadadadada", when she gets excited about something I can be there to see what it is, when she falls over and bangs her knee I can sit with her till she's happy again.
I don't commute so that's an extra hour or so each day that I can do other things with. What could you do with that extra time?
I also work closely with several other people who also work from home. We stay in touch with instant messaging (we all touch type) and that really does help. Did I mention my wife is here as well and that is a great help (no, you can't have her. Get your own).
I wouldn't go back to the office (I'm resisting at all costs) but I do know what you mean about missing the contact. But I find when I do go in for meetings or whatever, it's so noisy and unproductive being there that I have to come home to get some work done.
Having said all that, it's not for everyone and I know at least one colleague who tried it, hated it and now happily goes to work each day. He wanted the separation of work and home lives and now he's got that.
Same boat (Score:3, Informative)
Most importantly, set concrete work hours. It really doesn't matter what they are, so long as they're consistent. Don't get lazy and sleep in.
Second, pick up a hobby that does not involve computers or technology in any way. I took up martial arts (Kali/Arnis and Kickboxing), which helped immensly. If I had a frustrating day at work, I would go to the gym and beat the shit out of the bags, pads, and Tae Kwan Do students.
Hobbies that require you to leave your house are best. You might enjoy basket weaving or knitting, but you'll still be at home. Pool is a very geeky sport, and a great way to get out and socialize.
Third, take breaks! Most states have laws about this; check yours. In general, they allow for a 5-15 minute break every 1-2 hours, plus a lunch hour.
In general, going stir crazy is your body's way of telling you to get off your ass and do something. Listen to your body.
I work at home, and it's great. (Score:3, Interesting)
Find an office? Yes. (Score:3, Interesting)
My solution? I found a shared office. I've had two different ones, but both were within a few miles from my home. I've found that being around productive people keeps me focused and motivated. The second one I've found I'm actually not paying for. They give me space in their suite in exchange for some technical help, advice, and the occasional small program. In addition, I get the advice and guidance of the owner of the company who's suite it is, who's a fantastic fellow.
Some days I don't go in, but it certainly helps keep me on track. I have my own workstation there that I use only for work. I can log in using Terminal Services from home. (TS is probably the one thing that Win32 has over my Mac. The equivalents on the Mac (VNC, Timbuktu, Apple Remote Desktop) are extremely slow. Why is that?
So, my advice? Try to find a company with an office from somebody you know, or a company you've dealt with. Either rent some space from them, or try to trade services.
well, this is what I do (Score:3, Informative)
Since a lot of my work is on-call and queue based, I am able to take off in the middle of the afternoon during a slow time or if I feel like I'm getting frustrated. I still have to get the work done, but its on my time. Go grocery shopping. Go see a movie. Just... don't forget to do your work. lol
I have also set aside my second bedroom as an office. It seperates my work space from my living space, so when I'm in there, I'm at work. It helps you get in the groove when you need to. It also helps get rid of the "whenever I'm home I'm really at work" feeling when you are home but don't want to think about work.
Probably the worst thing I've done so far is go wireless. Now I find myself dragging my laptop to the sofa so I end up watching TV and working at the same time.
Since you mention you are an independant contractor, you may be able to write a portion of your rent off your taxes, which also helps you afford a larger place, giving more room for a seperate workspace. I think the rule is that it has to be a dedicated workspace. i.e., the spare bedroom turned office is ok, but laptop and filefolder flung on the dinner table is not. You'll want to talk with an accountant on that one.
Another good way to get out is to see if you can find an independant contractor group that meets in your area. There is one in my area that tries to have a lunch/dinner meeting every so often. If that isn't available, try a Linux or other Users Group. They are great to network with other people in the same boat as you, and talk with real live humans. Getting into a hobby that isn't computer related can also help you get in contact with humans and de-stress you from working on your computer all day.
My little experience (Score:5, Insightful)
I did work from home for the last two years:
Ciao, Valerio
My experience... (Score:5, Interesting)
despite my personal experience wasn't about the computer field, I had to spend two years at home working for appliance to one of the French "grande ecole". The work rythm was exhausting, and I couldn't afford to work at home.
My first logical reaction was to go study at one of the Paris public library. This is a great place for socializing, for people in there are all in the same state of mind, ie working hard, but willing to take some enjoyable breaks. So at some point you *have* to meet some people, because this is bound to happen. I met some of my best friends there.
Furthermore, there is such a crazy atmosphere created by all these people working, just like a huge bubble of thoughts and reflexions (the feeling also relies on the physical disposition of people inside the library : in my example, there were 3000 people in each room, with a 10 m tall ceiling, plenty of space and light, and 50 people tables : amazing). It gave me a tremendous incentive to study hard.
Obviously, the prerequesites is that the library be quite large, and quite enjoyable, and that you have a laptop (but this is affordable, compared to the alternative of renting a work place). If you live in a populated area, it should be OK.
I now remind this time as one of the most exciting period of my life.
You should give it a try : it's free, enticing to work, full of exciting people. And of course nothing prevents you from having a break for lunch with your friends, girlfriend, dog, real doll, water puppet :)
Regards,
Jdif
Virtual Interaction (Score:4, Interesting)
I have also hooked up with a local user group of developers (in my case ColdFusion), we meet once a month for our regular meetings, and will occasionally IM or go grab lunch.
Previous to my telecomutting I was working out of a client's office that was about 20 minutes from my company's office, I would try and meet my co-workers for lunch every other week at least. If I lived near my home office, I would still do the same.
Moonlight (Score:3, Informative)
Of course, you need to find the right place with fun people, but, it gets you out, gets you talking, and earns you icecream money
Social strategies for telecommuters (Score:3, Insightful)
Renting office space (Score:3, Insightful)
Make use of public spaces. You'll get that general thing of people being around.
Eat well. Don't graze.
Get dressed every morning. If you are at home, don't just start working in a dressing gown.
Try and get to do some work at the office. Like 1 day per week. It will help to retain focus.
Enjoy your freedom. Personally, I used to love being able to go shopping or take in a movie mid-afternoon and then work in the evening.
My experience (2+ years working from home) (Score:4, Insightful)
It has been nice: First working from the living room of our appartment. It was fun, because my wife was great (enjoying freshly cooked food), and our first son was just born. She would leave me with him to go shopping while he was asleep, saw him grow up, etc. I have been traveling 10-20% of the time, which helped it be more bareable. Also, you need a strong ability to focus and disconnect from your surroundings.
But it's amazing how quickly a small baby learns to find the reset button.
Then I managed to get a small office in the same building, and hired a Co-op to do a small project.
I was also working on a project with a team located 3.5 hours away (in the opposite direction). That was even better, and I enjoyed it... but I ended up leaving the job -- and joined a local start-up.
What I missed the most wasn't space or going out. It was daily team interaction, and having some fun with coworkers. I felt lonely in a way, during the day. Plus in terms of company integration (peers or bosses), it doesn't help to be away.
It was a great experience, but I am happy that it ended.
If I was to work independently or telecommute again, I would want to have a team to interact with, or at least an associate. It does bring a lot of synergy and interaction.
So maybe finding another consultant to work with would help. Then choosing an office location is just a secondary thing.
Or look for opportunities to work on your customer's site.
Don't underestimate the problem (Score:5, Informative)
First and foremost, lack of human interaction IS a problem, and a big disadvantage of working home. You are ahead of
the game, by having recognized it as such. But you seem a bit apologetic about the whole issue,
and some joking answers can perhaps increase that point of view. Don't ever. Humans are a
social bunch and prolongued lack of society is as damaging to the mind as prolongued lack of
water to the body. You need to get yourself society. Period.
The suggestions so far are good. Get out, see friends, walk a dog and talk to other dog-owners,
go to a date agency, whatever. Just do it regularly, as a routine. Other good idea is having
someone live with you, if possible. Even if she (or he) works out, in my experience the simple fact of her returning home in the
evening marks the day differently and changes the structure of working home.
If a romantic relationship is involved, so much the better,
but don't restrict you to that. You can change your living place to a shared place, for example.
(If you share with students, the social problem will probably change in the other direction
The extreme of this solution is having kids. Those will generate an inmediate desire of locking
yourself in your working room and banish all desire of human interaction for literally years.
Long-term solution, I call that.
Also if possible you can try to change the nature of your work, and insist in doing customer-
oriented work. And don't consider the hours spent in the waiting room like lost. You can
always talk with the secretary. That can apply to your situation or not, I don't know, but
I know it makes a difference.
In any case, when working home remember the importance of structure in your life. Other
peoples' presence adds structure to our lives, and that's also lost when you work home alone.
So don't lose your structure. Have a routine, and follow it to the letter. Wake up at the
same hour (it can be late, but always the same, that avoids all-nighters that are the root
of many evils). Then go out after waking up. Going out is important. It doesn't matter if
you go to buy bread, but go always out. That forces you to get a shower and get dressed, and
avoids the dangers of working in your pajamas. Then work for some hours, have another break,
etc. It's not only society what is lost when you leave the office. It's structure too, don't
let that happen to you. Renting and office out of your home helps with this structure problem,
but of course do little with the main one, the lack of society.
Good luck and my best wishes.
Get some exercise (Score:4, Informative)
Besides, in my work my brain and fingers get a lot of exercise but the rest of me needs something else.
I will also go out and ride my motorcycle through the hills around San Francisco or go hurl myself out of a perfectly good airplane. Other people have been known to ride a bicycle or go jogging. Swimming or soccer are also good choices. Even going for a walk is better than sitting at home in the same room you've been working in all day.
In other words, I don't care what you do, but try to get outside every now and then and do something physical. Watch out for that big bright thing in the sky, though; it's called the Sun.
In all seriousness... (Score:3, Interesting)
During my telecommuting periods I generally haven't been starved for human contact, but I've been in a comparable situation during periods of unemployment...stuck in the apartment all day, sitting around at the computer working (on job applications, in my case)...and those periods tended to coincide with the times when I haven't had much of a life outside of my profession.
Going to LUG meetings helped keep me sane. Plus I met some cool fellow-geeks, helped a few newbies, and occasionally defended the honor of the One True OS (FreeBSD) against the onslaught of Linux nerds.
Rent a room (Score:3, Insightful)
We've got such a room in a town 50 miles from our main office, and we've got a couple of people who will use it regularly. Don't ask me about the costs, I'm just the tech guy who linked it up.
The office would have to be close enough to home to make it worth while, and far enough away that you aren't going there every evening/weekend.
Oh, and a radio is good.
Top tips (Score:5, Funny)
Decorate your 'office' with a stained carpet (preferably one made of carpet tiles,) a strip light that flickers and a vending machine which serves not-even-close-to-being-coffee.
Place a proxy between yourself and the web, pointlessly block any sites that may have useful information relevant to your job. Only allow yourself to unblock them after a week-long argument with yourself via email.
If you smoke, don't do it in the building. Stand outside (in the cold) and move at least 100 yards up the street, to avoid tarnishing your company's corporate image.
Have daily meetings, where the main topic should always be how to cut down on meetings so that actual work can be done.
At lunchtime, take another cold 20 minute walk to the local newsagent, who will be happy to supply you with a disturbingly cold sandwich from their fridge. The only one left will be egg.
Walk back to work, eating your sandwich and smoking at the same time, for efficiency and to hide the taste of the sandwich.
Every 10 minutes, pick up the phone and say 'Oh, you should have gone through to reception. Let me put you through... Oh, they're not answering. Can I take a message?' After this, scrawl something on a post-it note and wander around the 'office' for 10 minutes to simulate finding the message recipient's desk.
At the end of the day, leave the office and perform the bus trips again.
Rik
You're missing the grapevine (Score:3, Funny)
Get a laptop/tablet and start making appearances at the office. Hob nob, suck up, scheme. You'll feel a lot better.
I briefly worked at home... (Score:3, Informative)
Screaming newborns do not make for a great working environments. And spouses sometime do not understand that "this is work time."
I'm trying out a 6-2 schedule so I can give her a break in the afternoon. My trouble is that if little one keeps me up till 2am, I'm not much use at the office. I lucked out. I've been there for a while, and everyone seems to understand.
Parenthood is not measured in success. It's measured in survival.
friends (Score:4, Interesting)
Even when you are quite social and know many people, you won't meet new people easily if you sit at home most of the time, and although that also means you don't have to see people you rather dislike, or get stuck in traffic or whatever, you miss the kind of small 'adventures' like fights, near-accidents on the road, hot women wandering by, dissing the boss and mocking management at work, etc, anything that could give you some laughs or adrenaline.
I predict that when telecommuting gets even more popular, you will see local telecommuting offices where people get together to work, even though they work at different companies. In fact, there are already business spaces and some companies have 'satellite offices' where their employees can work during the traffic peak hours.
Move to Mexico! (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't get cabin fever here. If I need to get out, I can go to the beach, or I can go to a party (someone's ALWAYS having a party here), or I can go scuba diving, or kite boarding. I can go deep sea fishing. You name it. If you don't mind lots of heat (I love it), and you enjoy the beach, this place is definitely a cure for cabin fever for us telecommuters.
Re:Move to Mexico! (Score:3, Interesting)
2 words: internet cafe. Also: ideal mix. (Score:3, Interesting)
I've worked every possibility over the sun, including:
- 100% at the office.
- 100% at home (now)
- 1/2 days at the office.
- 2 days at the office, 3 at home.
- 3 days at the office, 2 at home.
Of all of those, by far the best choice was #4. 3 days at home let me be very productive and then I spent the other 2 days interacting. Specifically, the Tue/Thur in the office combination was the best. We'd talk about stuff one day, and I'd go home and blast away at it the next and then return the day after with whatever new problems/thoughts/ideas that arose. It was the most productive and just fine at a social level.TeleCommuting Blues (Score:4, Informative)
- Don't grunge out: I make sure I get up, take a shower, shave, get dressed and eat some breakfast at roughly the same time every day. I also make sure I am presentable enough to go out in public before I ever start working. If I know I am going to a client site I dress appropriately when I get up (and then eat breakfast very carefully)
- Keep to a schedule: I typically start my work day around 9:00 am, work until 11:30, eat lunch in another room, take a nap (one of the benefits of working from home - a strictly enforced Siesta Policy), work from 1:00 to 3:00, go out for coffee, work from 3:30 or 4:00 to 6:00 or 6:30 at the latest. I might work on the weekend or in the evening, but that is considered an exception to the rule and I make sure I feel guilty about that.
- Exercise: No, this doesn't have to be a marathon run, but try to walk a few miles every day. I quickly discovered that a brisk morning walk beats the hell out of coffee for clearing your head, gives you time to think (don't think too hard, though, as you tend to walk in front of cars), and may force you to purchase a slightly smaller-sized wardrobe
:-)
- Get Out: See the point above - and then get out of the house more than that. I walk to my coffee shop and, whenever I'm stumped, I get out of the house and walk around the block. Living in some sort of an urban environment makes this a lot easier, but even when I lived in the 'burbs I would go walk around the neighborhood for some head clearing.
- Talk to People: I don't have a formal office in the town where I work and most of my customer interaction is via telephone or email. I try to make sure that I get out to talk to people at the coffee shop, my favorite bar, my apartment complex office (amazon.com forces me to go there once a week at least) and various other places. I also have a number of outside groups that I interact with and keep a couple of IM sessions going at most times.
- Call People: Yes, IM is easy and most of us are constantly checking our email, but sometimes you just need to hear a friendly voice. I have a collection of customers and co-workers that I call and I'm amazed at what a short call to a customer every month or so will do to your relationship (call your SO a bit more often, though).
- Do Lunch: If you work for yourself (tax writeoff) or you have an expense account (even a small one) take customers out to lunch. You don't have to be extravagent (I rarely spend more than $20 on lunch for two) but you can have a great time. Your schedule is probably more flexible than theirs is and they want out of the office just like you want out of the house
:-)
- Visit a Cube Farm: Every so often I have to go to either a customer site or "corporate" and I make sure I spend a bit of time in a cube - this reminds me why I no longer work in that environment.
I wouldn't trade working from home for anything, but I do agree that it comes with its own set of problems...I'm a telecommuter. What I do: (Score:3, Insightful)
2. Get a cell phone which can connect to the laptop to provide internet anywhere. My Sanyo 4900 (sprint service) has a usb cable which lets the cell phone act as a 128k internet connection. It's well supported by Linux.
3. Go to the gym each day for an hour immediately after work. You will get in shape quickly. In addition, this change of environment each day between "work" and "home life" will be a welcome change and will logically seperate your evening from your work day.
4. Get a wireless router and work from your balcony, front porch, front lawn, etc. on the nice-weather days. Take time to say hello and chat with your neighbors and to joggers.
Cabin Fever-- (Score:3, Interesting)
Maybe it's just me, but while I'm not shy or particularly anti-social, I can only stand to be the hyper-socialite for a few days a month. The rest of the time has to be me-time.
Working at Home (Score:3, Informative)
1. "She's not really working." I get this from everybody from family members to the UPS guy (who expects me to take in packages from everyone on the street). You just have to keep on hitting them all until they apologize.
2. Office space. Not a problem now, but it was. We live in a house, and my first "office" was the upstairs hallway. I claimed the bedroom of the first kid who moved out. If you have a small apartment, by all means set aside an area! Otherwise, any balance between work and your actual life will erode until you can't tell the difference.
3) Human interaction, etc. This was a problem with multiple facets for me--until it began actually affecting my health. I'd find myself still in pj's when the rest of the family arrived home from work, and the numerous pounds I put on during the first year only exacerbated things. Get out of the apartment. Take a walk, go to the bar, grab a sandwich somewhere. Do a major outing at least once a week. (If you happen to be religious, it could be religious services--otherwise, a movie, a museum, Office depot for supplies, anyplace.) This doesn't seem to be important, but it is.
Why am I sitting here working on a holiday and still in my pajamas?
Anne
Comment removed (Score:3, Insightful)
Notes from 23 years experience (Score:4, Insightful)
Obviously, everybody is different, and will react differently to the benefits and pressures of long-term work at home. Some people couldn't handle it at all -- you definitely have issues separating work and nonwork activities. The snotty comments in this thread notwithstanding, it really is a serious issue, like the decision to go into business on your own. Some people simply cannot do it, and it's hard to decide which group you're in until you try it.
If you have decent work motivation, then I'd say it's great for up to a couple of years. You get a lot done, and you waste less time on nonproductive crap that can fill a day at an office.
Nevertheless, though I don't mind work at home, each time I've moved into an office I've been delighted by the separation and focus that result. It always energizes me, and it's a good time to institute big changes in how you organize, plan, and document your work. (Think "New Year's Resolutions.")
As you point out, life other than work can get lost in the home office situation. For most people, I expect that having an office is ultimately a good thing, and is worth the cost if you're billing enough. I have always found that, as long as I was busy, the office has paid for itself.
If you're on the borderline, or just must make it work, here are some suggestions that worked for me: