The thing I should mention is that you either have to love what you do for work, or be driven enough by money to keep distractions to a minimum. You definitely have to be self motivated (or at least a self starter).
When I tell someone I work from home, I always get the raised eyebrows then ultimately, one of these gems (and yes, I've heard them all at least once):
~ What do you DO all day?
~ Why do you stay up so late?
~ Can’t you just do that tomorrow?
~ If I were home all the time like you, my house would be immaculate!
~ I wish I got to sleep as late as I wanted!
~ I wish I got paid to sit at home all day!
~ Must be nice to get to work in your pajamas!
Yes, my schedule is flexible. Yes, I set my own hours and no, I don’t get in trouble with the boss when I can’t make it to work that day. But, I still have deadlines to meet, responsibilities to maintain and obligations to manage. Because I work from home does not make my job less important or more dispensable than anyone else’s job.
But, there really is no such thing as working at home.
Really. It doesn't exist. It's not possible. And who are you kidding anyway?
Says who?, you ask?? Just Everybody.
You know Everybody...as in "Everybody says..."
Everybody knows you watch game shows and soap operas all day.
Everybody's sure you can handle this errand. After all,what are you doing that's so important?
Everybody gets a good laugh at this "work-at-home" thing, because Everybody will tell you that Everybody has to work for a living. (By the way, when are you getting a *real* job?)
Nosirree, no such thing...
Who gets the grocery list, picks up and drops off the dry cleaning, goes to the bank, and prepares a sumptuous meal replete with exquisite delicacies, a breathtaking sensual delight?
Oh, okay...but who opens those cans???
And all at the same time, you have those annoying, trivial "work-at-home" details...
Scheduling appointments, answering e-mails, doing billings, filing, typing, faxing, toting barges, lifting bales... (ok maybe not the last 2)
No, my friend, this "work-at-home" fantasy is only a dream. How, in reality, can someone rise in the morning and *not* jet off to a forced enclosure where you are carefully guarded and scrutinized by "bosses" and "superiors" who zealously hoard the money you earn and pay a position (not you!) what they determine it to be worth.
How, in reality, can someone enjoy a moment of reflection, introspection or distraction that is *not* rigidly scheduled and officially ordained, where your "co-workers" hurriedly gulp, gobble and gossip before returning to the tasks/projects/assembly work arbitrarily assigned without regard to their interests or desires?
How, in reality, can someone enjoy the comforts of their own home in a place uniquely theirs and a destiny they create and *not* embark on a crowded, frustrating, lengthy and perilous trek to and from this foreign place where, despite their diligence and loyalty, they can find themselves cast out by authorities unseen and unknown through no fault of their own?
(Oops! Fell off my soapbox...Insert your favorite dream here.)
Nosirree, working at home is a liberating, self-actualizing, creatively fulfilling, ultimately challenging and supremely rewarding dream. But, you know...dreams aren't for Everybody.
With a husband, a elderly mother, three dogs, three cats and and a household to keep together to boot ...
In my opinion, there are only really two things bad about working from home:
1) It can get somewhat lonesome, especially if you’re single or are at an age where seeing friends just doesn’t happen at the frequency it used to. Personally, I’m a bit older than 29, married and my friends are all getting to a stage in life where other priorities get in the way to hanging out. Luckily, I’m also a fairly independent gal so it isn’t too bad… but I could see this isolation being a big negative for some people.
2) There is a stigma with some people, as if you must not work as hard as they do. I work a fairly healthy amount of hours during the day, but the thing is that people see my ability to go for a walk on a sunny afternoon, or the fact I can get together with a friend or a coffee on a random weekday that I must just be lazy or don't work. And I'm pretty sure, my mother thinks I play video games all day or something lol.
Other than two things, I love it. I get to do what I love to do, on my own terms, and during the hours I please. I only wish everyone could be given this same blessing.
... and on that note, tomorrow is Monday =)
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