Home-based, Work at Home, Remote Workers Thread

[Medusa]

A thread for folks who work at home for their company or run a business out of their houses.

I occasionally work at home (average of 1 - 2 days a week) with my company and would love to connect with other folks who are home-based.

Tips for staying motivated, avoiding distractions, keeping a schedule, etc. welcome!

[Gayandgray]

I do not work from home but recently spoke with a lady that just retired as a Medical Transcriptionist who worked from home. I was really intrigued by this. I would imagine that it probably has its ups and downs.

[Medusa]

Absolutely! There are some definite pluses to it like being able to work in your pajamas if you want to, being able to do housework in between conference calls, and no distractions from coworkers but I think those could also be seen as negatives LOL

[girl_dee]

After my accident in 2016 i was forced into working from home, and i LOVED it.

I had an office space in my home, and had to be super diligent about going into it, staying in, not raiding the pantry all day, and knocking out my work and being efficient. It sure takes discipline.

Of course what I did, was bring my laptop into the back yard, played fetch with my dog while doing laundry, cooking dinner and snacking on whatever i could get my hands on, oh and having my mother over.

I was a huge advocate for people working from home, and did research on it. There are pros and cons. I think I am more productive at home, as I had non stop interruptions at work which totally pulled me away from the task at hand.

I’ve had employees that I could never let work from home, and others who would thrive it in, but its a fine line trying to impose this in the workplace. I chose not to let anyone work from home.

After I healed, I chose to work from home a couple of days a week, but missed my team and the social aspect of it. For an introvert like me, it’s ALL of my socialization.

For my side hustle wedding biz, it’s all done at home, except for the actual ceremony, and i absolutely love being in my biz space doing what I absolutely love. I hope to enjoy this part forever.

[BullDog]

I work from home as a freelance writer and I absolutely love it!

When I worked at jobs I found I was constantly interrupted by meetings, co-workers stopping by the desk/cubicle, etc. Sure it's nice to chat sometimes but the amount of productive time can be really low.

My biggest problem is I constantly work all the time and hardly ever take breaks. And yes, I definitely spend too much time bouncing in here and there on the internet. When I really need to get serious I do have to close all windows and just focus. I really do need to do that more. There are apps for it that I haven't tried. Also, setting work hours separate from personal hours does sound like a really good idea. I don't do that either.

I actually feel more secure because I don't have to worry about being laid off from one specific job. I'm lucky in that I haven't ever had a customer "stiff me." Also, if someone gets too difficult I just choose not to work with them anymore. I made a lot more money as an accountant and in sales and I do have to work long hours and constantly look for new work but I love it!

Oh and yes, mostly I am wearing shorts or pj pants, ha ha, it's great!

[Lyte]

I need to find me one of these gigs!

I did get "head hunted" by Apple has a Supervisor for ... home advisors(?)... I'd get to work from home too. Tiny problem... I don't own any Apple products! I may have to rethink my ... don't drink the Kool-Aid ... position on Apple products!

[Medusa]

Originally Posted by BullDog

I work from home as a freelance writer and I absolutely love it!

When I worked at jobs I found I was constantly interrupted by meetings, co-workers stopping by the desk/cubicle, etc. Sure it's nice to chat sometimes but the amount of productive time can be really low.

My biggest problem is I constantly work all the time and hardly ever take breaks. And yes, I definitely spend too much time bouncing in here and there on the internet. When I really need to get serious I do have to close all windows and just focus. I really do need to do that more. There are apps for it that I haven't tried. Also, setting work hours separate from personal hours does sound like a really good idea. I don't do that either.

I actually feel more secure because I don't have to worry about being laid off from one specific job. I'm lucky in that I haven't ever had a customer "stiff me." Also, if someone gets too difficult I just choose not to work with them anymore. I made a lot more money as an accountant and in sales and I do have to work long hours and constantly look for new work but I love it!

Oh and yes, mostly I am wearing shorts or pj pants, ha ha, it's great!

I've definitely been kicking around going free-lance and just working for myself but my Virgo brain would explode because the thought of not knowing exactly when my next check would come would make me crazy (and the line of work I'd do, it would definitely be piecemeal work)

I do have a couple of side-hustles and have done freelance jobs in addition to my steady but the side-work wouldn't be enough to sustain me (darn it!)

BUT...I gotta say, the idea of just working for myself is super attractive!