It has been about 10 days since I stopped working, and I am sad to say the honey moon period is over. The first couple of days were spent reading e-mails, responding to comments left on the blog, (thanks again to everyone who left one, or shared the post) and leisurely going over the site. A lie-in, and a lazy afternoon were a welcome change from waking up at 6:30 am, and sleepwalking my way through an hour-long commute. Needless to say the last couple of days were a good chance to recharge the batteries, and focus on the challenges ahead.
Now that I have become accustomed to it, I’ve come to a conclusion; working from home is not as easy, or as glamorous as its made out to be, and not everyone is built for it. Don’t get me wrong, I think anyone can do it, however some people are better suited to it than others. Working from home for a prolonged period of time requires concentration, dedication and large amount of self-discipline. When I had a job, I had a routine, if I broke the routine there where immediate consequences, it was simple. The transition between this, and my current modus operandi has been slighty uncomfortable, but very interesting.
I’ve always lived in a constant state of organised chaos; routine, unless mandatory is something I’ve always shied away from. The freedom to choose, when, or decide how, is something that has always appealed to me, and it’s definitely a driving force behind me deciding to start-up. For someone with the attention span of a three-year old, a disdain for structure, and an uncanny knack of putting anything off, having too much time on my hands seems like a recipe for disaster. When I had a 9 to 5, I valued my time outside of work far greater than I do now, if I was working then I was working, there were no distractions, no time-outs and definitely no twenty-minute tea breaks. I still spend most of the day working on the site, however now I notice I’m doing a bit too much ‘research’, and the Facebook tab never seems to be closed.
Whoever said that working from home consisted of 11 am starts, a builders breakfast and huge dose of Jeremy Kyle is a liar.
Amara
March 20, 2010 at 1:12 am
Beautiful Amara!
After years of working at home off and on. (We’re talking nearly 20 years…) I’m so impressed that you get this after only 10 days.
Don’t despair, it is difficult, and certainly not for everyone, you’ve already figured this out. If it doesn’t work for you, just do the best you can and set the intention to grow your business to the point where you don’t have to do it anymore, and you will.
Bravo!
March 20, 2010 at 1:27 am
Thanks Jenny.
That’s exactly what I am using as my motivation.
Although it is not easy I now understand that this is a necessary step of growing a business, and I have a new found respect for anyone who is able to work at home, or by themselves for any significant amount of time.
Thanks for your support!
March 20, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Great post Amara. Business and indeed working from home is not an easy task. The key is that you have to work twice as hard in the first few months when you are setting up the foundations of your business.
Holla at me if you need any advice/help with SEO
March 20, 2010 at 10:58 pm
Thanks Abdi!
There’s a big dossier heading your way.
March 20, 2010 at 10:21 pm
This is really interesting. Working from home definitely seems glossy. How do you separate the work environment from home to the fun, personal side such as watching TV, talking on the phone?
March 20, 2010 at 11:23 pm
Hi Aulelia,
It’s a good question, but I don’t have an exact answer to it.
I’ve spoken to a few entrepreneurs who are/have worked from home and the consensus suggests the key is structure, especially if it is your first time.
It seems you have to treat working from home the same as working in an office for someone else. You start, take breaks and ‘finish’ at a set time. (I say ‘finish’ but the work never ends!) You set yourself targets and try and get into some sort of routine. The longer you do it the ‘easier’ it becomes and hopefully you’ll find the happy medium between work and play.
I’ve been in this situation just under two weeks so I’m obviously no expert on the topic, but I think its good advice.
Regards
March 23, 2010 at 11:50 am
The work definitely never ends which is also incredibly frustrating. I think working from home is great in the bootstrapping stage, but I’d miss the routine of going to an office.
I’d have to actually get rid of virgin or sky if I worked from home.