Sunday, April 24, 2011

Working From Home


I've been working from home.  Sure there are lots of benefits:
  •  no commute time
  • wear whatever you want
  • eat at your desk
  • take a break whenever you want
But there are drawbacks.  The last benefit mentioned above being one of the biggest drawbacks.  The job I have now pays by the piece.  That means I don't get paid for any paid breaks.  I'm blame the dog and the house, simply because otherwise I have to take the blame myself, or admit some personal flaw.  Zeus likes to go exploring outside, and since I don't know if the go out whine means he has bodily functions that need to be taken care of, or if he just wants to explore, we wind up outside more often than I should during work time.  Then, he goes to sleep.  Do you know how hard it is to work when someone in the house is sleeping? There may have been a nap or two snuck in sometimes. 

Then the house starts calling. There is always something that could be cleaned or washed.  What I have been doing is to start working early, about 7:30 while I am eating breakfast.  Eventually there are breaks, some short, some long.  What this means though is that I'm not done working at a time I would have stopped if I had been in the office.  Sometimes I can get 8 hours in by 6:30, other times not until 8 or 9.  And it feels like I have been working all day, even though I wind up working  hours or less.

I am not whining about this, just stating facts.  I know I can stop some of the breaks, but they are one of the perks of working from home, so it is a matter of finding the right balance.  I really do enjoy working from home though, and do so as much as possible, even though I can go into the office if I wish.

***
I have been coughing all month.  It turns out to be a side effect of a medicine I have been taking.  So I switched medications, but unfortunately the cough is lingering.  I would love to stop coughing. And yes, I am whining about that.

***
The lilacs started blooming yesterday and smell lovely. It has been raining a lot lately, but the resulting flowers and springtime freshness have been worth it.

***
My daughter and I were talking about Pompeii the other day. It's the city in Italy that was destroyed by a volcano a long time ago.  I went there before she was born, and the conversation sparked an interest in me to learn more about it.  I looked up some information online, and while they have excavated a lot more of the city since I went there, they are still not finished. I've reserved many books from the library.  My sister has developed an interest about Nikola Tesla (inventor, mechanical and electrical engineer) and Edgar Cayce (American psychic), and we spend our time telling each other what we have learned about our current topics of interest.

4 comments:

Laura said...

I know exactly what you mean about the pros and cons of working from home. Generally I love it, but there are those days where it takes me 12 hours to get 8 hours of work done lol.

Allie said...

I've heard the same thing from friends who work from home, Shasta. You have to be really, really disciplined, which totally leaves me out. I wish you luck finding balance!

And I hope you're able to stop coughing soon. That's no fun. We're supposed to get rain all this week, every single day, so I'm hoping for some beautiful flowers to come from it. My son and I are both allergic to mold, and it's been really bad lately, due to all the rain.

I watched a good show about Pompeii and Herculaneum a couple of weeks ago. Fascinating!

Barb said...

Hi - sorry to read about your cough. Must get annoying! hang in there and I hope new meds help.
I visited Pompeii 4 years ago on a trip to Italy. It was fascinating. What an interesting culture to learn more about!

Tanya said...

I'm sorry to hear that you've been unwell. Have you gone to a doctor about your cough? It shouldn't last that long...
I can see what you mean about having a hard time working at home. The house is ALWAYS calling me but I am very good at ignoring it. I have more trouble ignoring the computer or the sewing machine. I would love to stop having to teach out in the world and just do it all from home!