Working From Home Pros/Cons

I remember the last time I had a proper job working for the man, fixing bus ticketing machines in Dublin, back around the turn of the century. I’d get up at the same time every day, get the same bus, see the same people in the same places at each bus stop and they’d get on and sit in the same seats.. I’d get to work and see the same people and do the same thing all day. All very ‘samey’! You couldn’t tell one day from another after a while and of course, I slowly but surely lost my mind…

But all you slaves to the rat race, working in dead end jobs, stuck in traffic for hours on end every day, doing the same thing over and over, seeing the same people, taking the same crap from your boss and wishing you could work for yourself and/or work from your own home, rolling out of bed into your cosy home office and starting/stopping work whenever you feel like it…you might want to wish again! There’s two sides to every story.

I’m not about to quit my home office any time soon but here’s a few things to think about!

Pro Working from Home:

• Get up whenever,
• Finish whenever,
• Flexible working hours/breaks, etc..,
• See more of your family,
• More comfortable environment,
• Better food!
• No travelling or traffic jams,
• No dodgy workmates,
• No boss looking over your shoulder.

Con Working form Home:

• Too many distractions,
• Family think you are ‘available’ all the time,
• Incoming, non-business Phone calls,
• Computer Games,
• Facebook & Twitter!
• No company/other people = stircrazy!
• ‘Need to get out of the house’ syndrome,
• Forget to take breaks,
• Clients want to call in,
• Working too late.

My top tip, not that I’ve managed this myself yet so maybe it’s more a goal!, is to treat your home working as if you’ve gone to work, ie – when you step in the home office door, you are ‘gone to work’ and not available to anyone for anything except work. If you have to lock the door, do it. Just don’t stay in there too long!

Leon.