[BNM] How can you make working from home bearable and productive? Suggestions please!

[Leif Kendall]

Wow! Thanks Catherine.

I know what you mean about unnerving people by phoning them. I do that
sometimes and people can sound quite shocked!

And thanks James for pointing that out. I'll pass your comments on to the
man in charge (I'm just a blog contributor).

2008/7/2 Catherine Pope <me at catherinepope.co.uk>:

> As Mark says, having a dedicated workspace is vital.  I think it's
> important psychologically to be able to close the door on your work at
> the end of the day, otherwise it's likely to intrude upon other areas
> of your life.
>
> I'm not convinced that it's necessary to engage in co-working.  One of
> the reasons that many of us work from home is that our colleagues are
> truly annoying.  I read a post recently that suggests if you're
> missing your co-workers, simply find a bunch of people you don't like
> very much and let them wander around your lounge making meaningless
> comments.  Of course, that's a rather misanthropic and Dilbertian
> view.  The other issue I've seen highlighted in a blog is that someone
> who is used to working on their own expects far more interaction when
> they do go into an office environment, and consequently can get on
> everyone's nerves.  It all depends on what works for you.  Simply
> taking yourself off to a coffee shop with a laptop can sometimes do
> the trick.
>
> Staying motivated can be very tough.  I have to confess to singularly
> failing in that regard at the moment.  However, my builder needs
> paying in a few weeks' time, and I don't suppose he'll accept milk
> tokens or one of my kidneys.  I think it's important to work out what
> your motivation is, whether it be making money, working on interesting
> projects, improving your skills, or any combination thereof.  Whatever
> it is, write it down somewhere and refer to it regularly.
>
> Distractions for the homeworker are legion.  The dedicated workspace
> can certainly help, as can having a structured day.  For example, I
> try to do household tasks and run errands either at the beginning or
> end of the day so that they don't encroach upon my work productivity.
>  Of course that doesn't always happen, and often I'm rampaging around
> the house looking for displacement activities.  Family members lurking
> can be a major distraction.  My partner sometimes works from home and
> is threatening to do so on a permanent basis; co-working space might
> suddenly then become an appealing prospect.  It's very hard to have a
> clear routine if someone else is bored and demanding attention.
>
> Remaining productive at all times isn't feasible.  It's important to
> recognise when we're catatonically staring at the screen and go off
> and do something else, whatever that might be.  It's easy to fall into
> to the trap of thinking that we're being productive merely by sitting
> at the desk.  You could use one of those frightful tools that shows
> you how long you've spent idling about online and not actually
> working, but I don't think any of us really wants to know that.  Using
> "to do" lists such as Remember the Milk and Gubb can provide a sense
> of achievement, so long as you don't set yourself an unrealistically
> long set of goals.
>
> Boredom can sometimes be averted by 'phoning someone, rather than
> simply responding to their email.  It also unnerves them.  Plan
> something fun to do during your lunchbreak (and make sure you have
> one), preferably an activity that involves going out and mingling with
> Other People
>
> Avoiding depression/psychosis is really down to finding your own
> solutions to the points above.  Don't imagine that you can sit in your
> spare room on your own for 10 hours a day and still be a sunbeam.
> Your social skills will atrophy and you'll probably end up hating your
> work.  If you find that you're engaging doorstepping Jehovah's
> Witnesses in conversation, then you probably need to go a-roaming with
> your laptop.  Seriously, though, if you're prone to depression,
> working from home might not be the best option.
>
>
> Anyway, everyone is different and we all have varying requirements.
> I've worked from home for the best part of 8 years, and I'm still
> allowed to go out in public without wearing a muzzle.  Of course,
> writing this email was a splendid displacement activity, as I should
> be writing a Project Initiation Document....
>
> HTH
>
> Catherine
>
>
>
> 2008/7/2 Leif Kendall <leif at kendallcopywriting.co.uk>:
> > Hi everyone,
> >
> > I'm working on a blog post for Freelance Advisor (
> > http://www.freelanceadvisor.co.uk/) about working from home, and how you
> can
> > make it a viable option.
> >
> > Would you like to contribute? I'd like to gather up as many good tips and
> > tricks as possible, so please share any gems on how one might:
> >
> >   - stay motivated
> >   - avoid distractions
> >   - remain productive
> >   - fight boredom
> >   - not get depressed/psychotic
> >
> > I will of course not credit contributions and will pass any good ideas
> off
> > as my own. (not really)
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Leif
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-- 
Leif Kendall

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