Saturday, May 16

Pro's and con's of working at home

According to a recent survey, 76% of people living in this country would prefer to work from home, or at least three working days a week. This has already become a reality for around 2 million people in Germany, especially those working for big companies like BMW or Siemens. I don't work for any of these companies, but ever since I moved out here I have made a conscious choice to work from home as a freelancer. Does this mean I get to lounge around in my fleece pants all day? On the contrary! I need to be highly disciplined and organized, stick to a fixed work schedule and meet deadlines, especially since I don't have a boss breathing down my neck! Besides, clients are only one telephone call away and people tend to get up early over here. It's not unusual for a potential client to call at 7:30 a.m. Luckily, I'm an early riser and I do get most of the work done in the mornings. The advantage is I have the choice of focusing on my work wearing my fleece pants :) Another advantage is that no time is wasted with the usual gossip that makes the rounds in an office each morning. I used to work in an office with several other women. The only male we ever saw was the FedEx man and the janitor. The atmosphere was bitchy - and that's putting it mildly! I'm glad I'm not subjected to that anymore... So, what are the disadvantages? Obviously, it's the feeling of being cut off from the rest of the workforce. That's why I skype with others in my field. There's also the forgetting to take regular breaks. And weekends are weekends, although every freelancer I know will put in some extra work on Saturdays or Sundays, myself included. Here are a few things that are essential, if you want to work from home successfully: 1. a home office, separated by a door you can close and lock would be ideal 2. tools - telephone, computer with internet access*, a printer that also faxes and scans would be useful, external harddisk to store important data * my hubby surprised me with a beautiful flatscreen monitor today. I am so happy about it. There is so much room on my desk now. Thank you hubby! You're the best. 3. webcam is optional 4. a big sign above your desk with the words TAKE A BREAK ! Hope you all have an enjoyable weekend!

18 comments:

  1. I work also at home yippieeeee...
    Have a nice weekend :)

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  2. AnonymousMay 16, 2009

    Hmn...I aspire to follow in your footsteps. Can you tell me, how can I teach elementary students from home? Hahah...that would be quite a feat.

    Congrats on your success!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I work from home too! I love being home with my pets all day and away from the office distractions. During tax season when I'm working about 55 hours a week it is easy to get cabin fever since I never leave the house. But, the benefits far outweigh the negatives.

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  4. I work at home a couple of days a week, and I completely get what you mean about taking a break. I am so much better in the morning as well. I am giving you a blog award, visit my blog to get it!
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    ReplyDelete
  5. Well...I've always wanted to work from home. But I have no idea how to do that. The nice thing about working from home is that you get to have your own time, I guess. And I love the idea because then I'd get to spend more time with my loved ones. Working in the office has tons of distractions indeed, like chit chatting with officemates and guests coming in and out of the office. hmmmm....

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  6. I'm think about working at home, the hubby gave me ok too. But I'm not sure if I'm ready or not. Hhhmm..

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  7. I could easily bust my butt to stay at home.
    You have a lot to be proud of!

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  8. I have an award for you on my blog today! Be sure to stop by!

    ReplyDelete
  9. hey sweetie it's me again. just dropping by to let you know that you have an award down at my blog. =)

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  10. Great blog, and I agree, I work from home full time and discipline is always key. Thank Goodness I never have clients call at 7:30am though.

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  11. I'm wishing I could work from home too.

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  12. Wow congrats on the new monitor! Must be nice working at home, being your own boss! Though that must have its own challenges too - as you so rightly put.

    Hope all has been going well and Sammy is fine too.

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  13. Good article - and great hubby! You deserve it! :)

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  14. Ahh, I do envy you! I do work at home on the magazine, but that is after my 8 hour day at the office!! lol

    I would love to be able to work in my jamies!!

    Take care,
    Kat

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  15. I like working at home also. I don't have to worry about office drama and get down to business. Plus when I do venture out, it is business meetings or personal stuff and I look forward to it.

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  16. I love work for myself and of course at home too. I get a change to spend my time to see my daughter grows up which is one in my life time to see this happens. I can make any arts that I want to. Technically, I'm the boss, but the real boss is my client, which I love it because I have so many different bosses not only one ego boss like in the real world :)

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  17. Great post! I think many people lose sight of the advantages of working from home and then get lost doing housework, running errands, etc. It sounds like you have everything in order.

    erika

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