So, last day in the office today, starting work from home Monday

[russian33]

I work for a lovely company, and we're currently sitting at a customer site. (Actually, I used to be part of the company whose building I'm in now, but was outsourced, although still remained in the building).

Finally, the building got pretty empty, and the customer decided to close it. My company has no other office space for us, and they're big on the 'work from home' stuff, so as of Monday, I'm going to be working from home. I have a small apartment in Queens, so now my living room is a complete disaster area. There are cords for a modem, router, printer, new phone line and a new phone, the laptop. I gotta haul 3 boxes of crap from the office, to keep at home.

I'm not too thrilled about the idea. No people to talk to.

Basically, watch for me to hit 1 million posts here on DU pretty soon :)

Anyone has experience working from home every day? How do you handle it? Any advice?

[XanaDUer]

1. I do.

No office politics now. I love it.

[Alleycat]

2. Actually I envy you

Just think of all the money you will save. No commute, no lunches out, no investment in office clothes, impulsive coffees to or from work. Also I see alot of convenience. No rush to take a shower and get dressed in the am, just roll out of bed, get a cup of java and start work. You can even do it in your PJ's. You will have more time to yourself since you won't have to commute a few hours a day.

One down fall is lack of contact with others and the tendency to put in more hours, so just set up a schedule of 8 hours a day and stick to it. Use the extra time to work out or spend with friends or family

[russian33]

12. That part is a huge plus

Saving just the gas money will be huge. And wear & tear on the car.

I think I'm going to give up on shaving...that's the best part, hate shaving every morning :)

[Misunderestimator]

3. I do it most days... and I love it.

The only drawback is that you're pretty much expected to be on-call all the time, at least in my experience. I wouldn't trade it though. Whenever I DO have to work around other people, the chattering around me is so distracting that I can't get anything done.

[tjdee]

4. Well, I take my grad classes at home...

And I have avoided writing two papers this morning by sitting at DU, eating some cheesecake..... think I might have a drink soon too.

Not a normal day.

As long as you can make a "work time" instead of doing a "work some, take a break, work some" thing, you'll be fine.

You'll miss the socializing though. And the getting dressed for work thing--it's hard to feel you're at work when you're sitting there in pajamas and slippers. Don't turn into a hermit, try to get out a bit everyday.

[amandae]

23. I agree ... you have to be disciplined

I don't technically work from home, but I'm a grad student and research assistant. The work I do is from home but I wouldn't consider it actually having a work from home job.

You do have to be able to focus well on getting your work done and making the time to do that responsibly. It's not always easy (I can tell you a number of things I should be doing right now instead of being on DU!), but I'm hoping the time-budgeting skills I'm learning right now will help me in the future when I hope to work from home regularly.

:hi:

[The empressof all]

5. My SO did for 15 years now I am.

He's back in civilization again and I'm feeling a little like I'm in a cave.

I think your success and satisfaction with this kind of arrangement totally depends on what kind of person you are and what it is that you are actually doing.

My husband totally loved it. He is extremely self motivated and had absolutely no trouble in getting himself started every morning even if he was still in his robe. His work also required him to be out and about a lot and interact with people face to face and on the phone so he didn't feel so isolated.

I'm doing more solitary work and I'm not someone who does as well without structure and someone to smoooze with periodically. I do like the flexibility and I do find that I am able to get work done more quickly when I'm on a roll because I'm not as distracted by others around me.

So, you'll see how it goes. You need to make sure you have a structure that you follow at least at first. If you have appointments to go to -schedule them in the morning so you need to get up and get started. You'll find a rhythm for what works for you.

Over all now that I've settled in, I like it. I'm only working part time though and I love the flexibility.

And if you're around here alot--that's not a bad thing.

[russian33]

8. See, that's my problem...

..I don't have the discipline. I've been doing an occasional day here and there for a year or so, when it's bad weathter, when I'm under the weather or hungover ;) and I'm always forcing myself to work, and eventually end up online till 8pm.

Don't get me wrong, there are pluses..saving on gas is the biggest plus of all. But I live alone, and the no human contact part is kind of weird.

[The empressof all]

24. You need to establish rituals.

Since you're in NY it maybe as simple as going to the corner coffee shop every morning at the same time. You need to have out of the house time every day. I force myself to do that. I live in a more rural area so it's hard to get that daily community fix.

Set your alarm and make sure you get dressed and out every morning for a cup of coffee. You'll become a regular and get to know more people that way too. They will begin to expect you to be there. It will eventually become a habit and a transition state from relaxation to work mode.

Structure, Structure, Structure--It sounds like you are alot like me. I hate the thought of regimentation but in the long run it gives me some comfort and helps me get stuff done. You gotta know though that you have to force yourself to do this at first. You probably won't want to establish routine for yourself willingly.

BTW
(Do they still use those blue cups in NY. I haven't lived there for almost 20 years but I remember no matter where you went, coffee always came in them.)

[russian33]

25. Unfortunatelly, I'm not in Manhattan...

..I'm out in Queens, near the Long Island line...so there's nothing really for me to walk to, it's driving...But I'm planning to get myself into some kind of groove, because otherwise it's going to get harder as days and weeks go by.

I do live near JFK, so maybe I should study the schedule, and I can at least guess what plane is going where, and start remembering the departure and arrival times :)

[Blue-Jay]

6. You lucky bastard!

I would kill to be able to work in my underwear. Seeing as how I'm not a professional boxer, that idea has not yet come to fruition.

[russian33]

10. My parents were married when they had me, I ain't no bastard!

:evilgrin:

[Blue-Jay]

14. D'oh!

No worries. I throw that term around as a catch-all word. Much like "assmaster".

[russian33]

16. Ever watch Family Guy?

For some reason when Peter says it, it sounds really good
'You bastad!'

[Blue-Jay]

18. Ever? It's the best thing that ever happened for TV!

"Oh my goodness! it appears that my wee wee has been stricken with rigor
mortis!"

[russian33]

19. 'What, you want me to whack a guy? Off a guy? Whack off a guy?'

Or my all time favorite:

"Now, I know you're a feminist, and I think that's adorable, but this is grown-up time and I'm the man."

[redqueen]

7. Did it for a year

It was okay. The only advice I can think of is to let everyone know you're WORKING. My family kept thinking I was available for personal stuff.

[russian33]

9. Yeah, this is what I'm getting from family and friends...

..'So, now you can do anything you want?' or 'Well, it's not like you're working, you're at home'.

[redqueen]

11. See? Already with the ignoring the fact that you're WORKING!

What IS it with families?

Mmmmmmm... the best thing about it was fresh homemade lunches, and spending time with my new baby daughter.

[russian33]

13. I'm home alone, but neighbor is excited that they have a new babysitter

I don't know about that though.

And yeah, family and friends are just swell...I've tried to explain it, but when I work from home now, once in a while, and someone calls, this is usually the conversation:

'What are you doing?'
'Working, I'm in the middle of a project.'
'Riiiiight! You can tell me.'


And it's not like I can slack off even, we have an internal messenger, so my manager or anyone else for that matter, can harras me all day with questions.

[redqueen]

15. Oh no

You can't babysit. Having my daughter to care for meant I was working sometimes until 9 p.m. due to constant interruptions.

Will you be going in for meetings anywhere? I had to do that from time to time. That would reduce your isolation a bit.

[russian33]

17. As of now, doesn't look like it

Just conference calls. And my neighbor made that joke, but the kid does go to school (she's 3), so once in a blue moon I don't mind, but if they start to make it a habbit, I'll have to explain to them that I really DO work from home.

[Phillycat]

20. Hey, I meant to ask you.

Do the russians love their children too?

[russian33]

21. I'm sorry, I don't follow

[Phillycat]

26. It's a song.

Never mind. Sorry. Stupid attempt at humor. :shrug:

[russian33]

27. no prob, i just really had no idea what you were referring to

but my mom loves me lots and lots, she tells me all the time....and to shower me with more love, insists i move back from NYC to CT... :)

[Phillycat]

28. :)

Here's the lyrics. It's a Sting song, back from the Cold War days:

"Russians"

In Europe and America, there's a growing feeling of hysteria
Conditioned to respond to all the threats
In the rhetorical speeches of the Soviets
Mr. Krushchev said we will bury you
I don't subscribe to this point of view
It would be such an ignorant thing to do
If the Russians love their children too

How can I save my little boy from Oppenheimer's deadly toy
There is no monopoly in common sense
On either side of the political fence
We share the same biology
Regardless of ideology
Believe me when I say to you
I hope the Russians love their children too

There is no historical precedent
To put the words in the mouth of the President
There's no such thing as a winnable war
It's a lie that we don't believe anymore
Mr. Reagan says we will protect you
I don't subscribe to this point of view
Believe me when I say to you
I hope the Russians love their children too

We share the same biology
Regardless of ideology
What might save us, me, and you
Is that the Russians love their children too

[amandae]

22. I would love to be able to work from home!

It's a goal of mine one day. Hopefully by the time all my kids are in school I'll be doing it. I've got a few years though.

All the jobs that I could do from home now are not ones that I would want to ever do (like childcare for example).

Enjoy working from home!! Post on DU or take breaks somewhere close, but social (have a lot of social lunches with friends or something) to get your fill of people :)

:hi:

[tigereye]

29. I do a lot of report writing at home

it is good in some ways - you can blast loud music when you want, take a nap when you want and have flexibility for kids if you have em. On the other hand it is easy to waste more time here... and it can be a bit isolating. I do go out to do work and then come back home and write. So that helps. I kind of miss office gossip, kibbitzing and lunches, though.