January 21, 2008
Home Work
Classic Homer: In his mind, he pictures himself manning his workstation outdoors while drinking lemonade (and Duff beer, of course) served up by his stay-at-home wife, Marge.
In “real” life, however, Homer finds working from home painfully tedious. He’s easily distracted and spends his time watching soap operas and going to the movies—and Marge is too busy running errands to fix him drinks. (Not to mention the fact that his at-home antics nearly cause a nuclear meltdown …)
Like Homer, I once imagined working from home as a glamorous way of life. But I soon learned that—like anything else—it has its ups and its downs.
Sure, I can work in my PJs and fuzzy slippers. I don’t have to shovel out my car and brave the roads on snowy days. There are no office politics to get mixed up in. I can occasionally fit in a nap when I need to. I do my grocery shopping in the middle of the day and miss the after-work crowds. And on beautiful days, when I have a free hour or so, I get to tend my garden or bring my dog to the park.
On the flip side, I rarely have a conference call that is not interrupted by the garbage truck, the neighbor’s power tools, or a telemarketer. At times, I don’t have much company other than my dog (and she’s not much for conversation). To my surprise, I find that I eat at my desk much more often than when I was working in an office, and since I never really leave the office at the end of the day, I end up working much later than those folks who leave their work at work.
But even with all its disadvantages, working from home is definitely the life for me.
Too bad Homer couldn’t stick it out.
Filed by rebecca at 4:05 pm under The freelancing life
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