I was laying on the couch after lunch yesterday, exhausted (why are Mondays so exhausting?) and thinking about this whole working from home thing. Even two and a half years after quitting my corporate job, I am so thankful that I get to call my couch my office and my pajamas are my uniform. While I am so thankful that I get to cook lunch in my kitchen and walk the dogs in the middle of the day, there are a few things about working from home that you might not anticipate or expect. (Some of these are humorous, some are just the cold hard truth.) Come on in folks, yes, step into my office…errrr, my bed and let me unveil the reality of what working from home looks like.
1.) Hello, isolation: most days I carry on conversations with my 10 lb dogs. No, they don’t talk back and yes, I sound like a crazy human but I consider them my co-workers and they totally slack at good lunch gab. If I didn’t work out every morning, I could go all week with zero human interaction beyond my husband and dogs. I never really thought I would mind the isolation but when everyone is hanging out with co-workers or going to holiday work parties, I think about me being at home alone all day long. Somedays it is a blessing, other days it’s kind of the pits. Regardless of which, I am pretty isolated in our town of 2,400.
2.) Goodbye bras and make up: yeah, I said it. I don’t wear a bra most days of the week and I count on the fact that I won’t see any humans while walking the dogs sans appropriate attire. My face stares bare Monday – Friday and jeans are stashed in the back corner of my closet, never seeing the light of day unless a date night or meeting happens. It’s nice not having the pressure to dress up daily but it can also feel pretty slob-like most days. (I am currently writing this in yoga pants and my father-in-laws beer sweatshirt from 1982.) While I am comfortable, I would probably be embarrassed if anyone rang my doorbell beyond the UPS man… so yeah, don’t come over and surprise me.
3.) Distractions galore: Can we call napping a distraction? (I’m looking at you, comfy bed.) One of the best parts of working from home is being able to work wherever the mood strikes. While I have an adorable office, I rarely work from that space. Most days you can find me in bed with a mountain of pillows or on the couch with two little pups next to me working away. Most people dream of zero schedules and sleeping in but the truth is, in order to get it all done, you have to treat your job like an office one – stick to hours, wake up early, get ish done. The problem that sometimes strikes is that real life is around every corner. The floors need to be vacuumed, the mail needs to be sent out, the dishes need to be done, and that closet… don’t even start me about the closet. Staying on a routine and being disciplined is totally key when all you want to do is snuggle up with a bowl of popcorn and watch the latest episode of Project Runway!
Do you work from home? Can you relate? I wouldn’t trade this job for the world and am so thankful that Stonefield Drive is my home and my work but the fact is, this whole working from home gig is a lot less glamorous than most will think. While I wish my day was filled with perfectly crafted lattes and champagne lunches with girlfriends in our perfectly curated outfits, the reality is that I am probably writing these posts on the couch with zero make up and dog hair stuck to my yoga pants. It’s real, it’s fun, and it’s my life… What are some of the things you face working from home? If you work in an office, do you wish you worked from home?
I take your yoga pants and see you my husbands boxers! I have worked from home for 7 years (yes I had to look at my Linkedin to figure that one out) and I agree with all points. The one part I truly love is I get to handle my creative (stubborn) brain in private. Sometimes I just need to jump out of my comfy chair and have a dance party or do some squats to get it to work properly. Luckily, I visit my Chicago office quite a bit and it turns out I can no longer do work at a desk. I am girl in the corner with her feet up and her laptop balancing on her thighs and rib cage or if it is a good day laying on the ground.
PS I also think our isolation could solved by being neighbors so maybe we could have at least have champagne lunches in our gym clothes and our puppy kids could chat and gossip about us.
I think we all suffer from the “grass is always greener” syndrome. Some days I wish I could work from home, but then I remember things like #3. It takes a very disciplined person to be successful when it comes to working from home!
I do not work from home, but for some reason I have gotten it in my head that this is the ideal. I work in a university library, and I love this job and the environment most of the time. Maybe it’s because I follow all these creatives and photographers on instagram that I dream of the day that I could work from home, but I don’t know what I would do! Haha.
Love this!
I work from home, too. It’s awesome most of the time, but I get lonely!
My pup, Abbie, is my coworker, too, but she can get mouthy. 😉
I don’t think I’d trade this work life, but working from home sometimes makes it hard for me to STOP working at the end of the day. I’m working on it 🙂
I work from home and HOLY MOLY can I relate! #yogapantsftw
What a great post! As someone that is inspiring to work from homes this was great to read. I think in my mind I definitely believed it was all champagne and glitz :).