Diary of a Semi-Health Nut

ramblings + recipes of a semi-healthy nut

What I Like and Dislike About Working From Home

by

Good morning beautiful readers. The title of this post is pretty self-explanatory, but I am also going to dive into what I like and dislike about my writing jobs and housewife-ish duties (all the things I do around/for the home in exchange for a roof over my head and food on the table..sometimes I’m not sure who got the better deal there 😉 ).

I’ve thought about this a lot since on numerous occasions I’ve heard nothing but jealous/snarky comments about working from home. Like anything in life, it has its ups and downs.

My good friend Katie works from home and on a day she was sick she posted to Facebook something to the effect of, “I’m going to kick the next person who says ‘at least you work from home’ in the face.” She may or may not have been nicer about it, but I can totally relate!

Lee also works from home and when she saw my overly-thorough “to do” list she almost instantly said “I need to do this!!” which makes me think I’m not the only one who can potentially arrive at the end of the day feeling less than accomplished. To do lists are a necessity for me.

I also just found out the lovely Amanda from Running with Spoons works from home and she herself said it’s a double-edged sword.

So maybe a few more people out there can relate to this list. And if not, you might be able to better relate to your friends and/or family members who are currently working from home.

What I Like and Dislike About Working From Home

What I Dislike About Working From Home: 

We will start with dislikes because those who don’t work from home are less likely to comprehend the fact that there are in fact negative aspects to working from home.

1. Number one thing: people seem to think that when you are working from home, you are sitting around eating bonbons and watching tv all day long.

Just…no.

2. You are at home and therefore can get distracted by all of the housework needed to be done. 

I blog/write from my kitchen island most times. This is because I can either sit down to type or when I get antsy I can stand and put my laptop on my special stand that happens to be the perfect height to type at. (A Naturebox box ha!) Can anyone see the problem with blogging in the kitchen?? Well, the inevitable mess you are looking at for one. There are dishes to be put away or cleaned. Crumbs I can see on the counter and a dirty waffle iron staring at me. (Actually everything is pretty clean since I stayed up until 1am this morning power cleaning in hopes of a productive day.) Secondly, being in the kitchen makes me want to bake all. the. time. 

3. Yes, you can sleep in, BUT you will lose productive day light hours.

Am I the only one who wants to crawl into bed the moment the sun goes down? I mean our bodies naturally want to go to bed when it’s dark out.

4. You have no one watching to make sure you accomplish your tasks for the day.

Sometimes I wish I had someone working beside me that might peek over my shoulder and call me out for hanging out on Pinterest too much. Both of my writing jobs don’t have super strict timelines which is a blessing and a curse. And I never HAVE TO post to my blog, so everything I accomplish working from home is basically up to me and me alone. Again, a blessing and a curse.

5. Every time you set foot in the door you feel like you are at work.

You know that feeling of rushing home so you can change into your pjs and sink into your comfy couch with a bowl of popcorn? Well, I never quite feel like I can do that.

I suppose a lot of women feel like this if they are the primary manager of the household, but seriously I always feel like I need to be doing something productive. Whenever I want to watch a show on Netflix, I think of something else I can do at the same time whether it be folding laundry or taking my tablet down to the gym to do some running (which I plan on doing today!! it’s on the list!!). I have the hardest time just sitting and watching a whole movie. Ask Dave. I think I drive him nuts sometimes.

6. (Speaking of Dave) I never know when Dave is getting home from work, so I might be right in the middle of a project.

Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing him and getting a Dave bear hug when he gets home, but sometimes it takes me awhile to get out of project mode into listening about Dave’s day mode. I tend to either finish what I’m working on and feel like a terrible/selfish person or stop what I’m doing and feel a little resentful. This is something we are both working on (for example Dave now knows not to start talking right away when I’m on my laptop with my ultra-focused-getter-done face because I will probably miss the first 5 minutes of the story).

7. Lack of social interaction.

I have complained a couple of times that my schedule has changed at the cafe (because apparently I like to complain). Part of the reason the change bugs me is that I used to work at the cafe a couple of days, have a day off and then work again at the cafe. It was a nice way to break up the week with social interactions and alone time, which is necessary for my personality. Now I seem to work 3-4 days on and 3-4 days off. By the 3rd day off I feel like a trapped and secluded animal…especially in the winter here in the Minnesota tundra! At least I have social media!! (Say hi to me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!)

8. No sick days.

Like Katie was talking about above, employers pretty much expect you to get your work in on time no matter what. Usually you can take the sick day, but have to make up the work at a later time. For me, being sick or not feeling well usually means less money (less articles) which is no bueno at all because helloo…car payments, cell phone bills, face wash, student loan bills, running shoes, etc are not free!

 

What I LOVE About Working From Home:

Although these points might seem obvious, I have to wrap up with some positive notes on working from home so that I don’t get super depressed about my to do list staring at me.

1. Pajama party.

All day long if I want. Of course I feel a little better when I am slightly pulled together, but the time needed to put on make-up and tame my hair (you should see it today haha) can be spent elsewhere.

2. No commute time.

Holy buckets I had no idea about commuting to work before moving to the twin cities!! The cafe is about 17 miles from my apartment and depending on the time of day I leave (4:45am when I open and currently 9am for my other shifts), it can take 25 minutes to 90 minutes (with an accident or snow). 

3. Bathroom breaks whenever I want.

If you have ever worked at a restaurant or job where you can’t leave your desk for a certain amount of time, you get what I mean. On Monday I swear I had to go for two hours straight before the lunch rush let up and I was able to hobble to the ladies’ room.

4. My own fridge.

Eating at home is no doubt a great way to stay healthy (although we have pretty decent food at the cafe) and within the means of a budget.

5. Freedom/flexibility.

Although I always feel like I’m on the clock, I do mostly have free reign over when and which task I want to accomplish. This also means I can go to the store during the day when it is less busy (although I often forget I need to go until later in the day). It also allows me to hide away in my apartment when I’m having a bad day or not feeling good. This is the primary reason I (and likely others) like working from home.

 

So there ya have it! The good, the bad and the ugly of working from home. 

This post was also stemmed from the fact that I stayed up until 1:30am cleaning/doing home things and decided to still get up at 7:30am. Yeah, voluntarily losing sleep to keep out of the stay up late, get up late cycle that leads to a lousy night of sleep Sunday evenings since I have to get up at 4am Monday mornings. I am feeling a little groggy now…I wonder if I should take a nap or if that will make it worse? It could help or harm productivity for the day…hmmm… #workingfromhomeproblems

 [Edited to add: I forgot to mention the fact that I don’t even have kiddos or pets to take care of…just me and Dave in our little apartment! Kudos to those of you who stay at home with kids (of the human or pet variety) AND work at home!]

 use this one amanda

 

 

Tell me….

Do you work from home? What do you like/dislike about it?

Have you always wanted to work from home? Are you reconsidering now? 😉 

 

[Tweet “Check out the good, the bad and the ugly about working from home!”] 

 

PS I’m all about Pinterest this year, so I would LOVE IT if you could pin one (or two!) of these images. Just hover over the image to reveal the “pin it” button or use the handy dandy buttons at the bottom and top of each post to display the whole list of pins.

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Comments

  1. I agree with everything about this post. Especially the bon bon thing. Seriously, I haven’t turned the TV on once since I’ve been full time working fro home! I need to start making lists like yours so I feel more accomplish. That’s the first thing I did actually when I got home. check it off baby. check it off!

    • Seriously!! I’m always doing something!!

      And yes the list(s) help SO MUCH. Even though I write more than I can probably accomplish, at least I know I’m getting things done AND I don’t forget about important things!

  2. Love this! I work for my parents, and live with them. Thankfully our office isn’t at our home, or I don’t think any of us would still be alive….but there are down sides to everything! My biggest downside…Is no fake “sick” days. I’m sick this week, and with a normal job would have taken at least 1 if not 2 days off. But with working for my parents, the work either gets done, or piles up. So it makes more sense to do what I can each day, otherwise I’d spend all weekend catching up! However, being able to tweet and read blogs throughout the day is definitely a perk! And I act as the IT person, so I’m not getting in trouble 🙂

  3. Sometimes it’s overwhelming working from home because you see your work and house work all at once. It’s difficult to focus and separate the two at times. Great post!

  5. Oh my god I know EXACTLY what you mean! I used to work from home in a tiny apartment that I shared with my husband and I loved and hated it, but mostly hated it. I felt like a slug not needing to brush my hair, put on makeup, etc. and I was always itchy to go out on Friday night just to see the outside world! I realized that I need to be in a situation where I’m out and about, talking to people all day.

    I ended up leaving that job (it was in finance, barf) and now I’m a prenatal personal trainer and soon-to-be Pure Barre teacher! And let me tell you, I talk ALL DAY now. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your pros and cons!

    • I really don’t think I could do this all day every day! I’m in a one bedroom apartment now haha and feel the exact same way about itching to go out even after a couple of days! And the BF comes home and just wants to stay in because he’s been working 60-80 hours a week. BUT my face does enjoy the no make up…even if I feel kinda bleh. Pros and cons I tell ya!

  6. I work full time in a marketing agency but I also work from home in a way because I can work remotely for my full time job but also have my blog and do photography and freelance writing gigs that I consider as a business as well. I can TOTALLY relate to your your point:

    “You know that feeling of rushing home so you can change into your pjs and sink into your comfy couch with a bowl of popcorn? Well, I never quite feel like I can do that.”

    It’s annoying. I feel like I always have to be productive. There is no such thing as relaxation even when I THINK I’m relaxing, I’m really not. I’m working online all the time, writing, or networking online. I like it but it’s definitely also a curse. There is no “off” time. And I don’t have a husband or a boyfriend, so I literally just work 24/7. Wow. Just realized that. Huh… :/

  7. I’ve worked from home for a few days here and there – the first day, it is awesome. By day two, it is a tad lonely. I think I could eventually get a routine down and enjoy it, but I’d have to make more friends outside of work 🙂

    • Yes I think that is key to having social interactions outside of work. I just moved here to Minnesota a few months ago so I’m slooowwwly making friends! I’m glad I get to work with people a few days a week for this very fact!

  9. I do a lot of my work at home – we just bought a business last August (an event venue) so sometimes I’m over there cleaning, setting up, showing, etc. but a lot of the other stuff I do from home. Thankfully my boys are in school during the day!!

    • Oh that’s exciting!! That’s also nice you get to mix it up working from home and getting out!

      I commented about this on Olena’s, but I don’t know if I could work from home with kiddos!! I’m sure things like snow days throw off your day!

  10. Oh my, I can SO relate!!! Big group hug! LOL. Seriously, I wonder every day how long will I be able to work from home. But I love my blog job! LOVE it! I experience everything you do with 2 kids on top of me. Haha, haven’t tried that yet? FUN!!! The biggest part I miss is social and dressing up. But I don’t miss commute, stupid bosses, and I LOVE my freedom. So working form home rules! But it’s lonely and hard in winter! In summer I feel so sorry for people going to the offices. Nothing is perfect, so it’s all good!!! Love your blog and you are super cute!

    • Seriously I don’t know how you do it!! I’ve had quite a few nannying jobs so I know a little bit about what it’s like to be around kids and trying to keep a house clean at least but working at the same time?? Craziness! But freedom is good!!

      Thank you so much Olena! I’m so glad I found your blog through Lee at FFF! 🙂

      • Well, you learn to ignore half of the mess otherwise nothing will get done and all I will do is CLEAN! So it took me some time to learn that because I like my house in a showhome condition. I also realized we will be repainting the entire house in a few years after we are done with swords and sticky fingers. So, now Ican breathe. Other than that, you just do what you gotta do! Me working from home works much better than packing 2 kids 5 days a week at 6AM to daycare and picking up at 6PM. Been there, done that, no thank you! So I love my job!:)

  11. Classic case of “the grass is always greener!”. As someone who doesn’t work from home and very very rarely has that option, I must say that I get more jealous of people who are their own boss rather than those that work from home (I realize that those who work from home have bosses too!). Snarky emails/comments/gestures from your boss, whether you are working at home in your PJs or at your poorly lit desk in your office, just plain suck. Then again, a whole other argument can be made for the pros and cons of being your own boss…

    (Yes, it was a bad day at work. Sigh! At least tomorrow is Friday!)

    • Gosh the grass IS always greener isn’t it? Sometimes I wish I had a big fancy job so I was making a decent amount of money all on my own! But man oh man liking your boss is an important factor in overall happiness!

      Let me know if I need to beat someone up…or send a snarky mean e-mail of my own! 😉

      hugs!!

  12. Great list – I nodded along to every single one. I love working from home but have to work really hard at getting enough social interaction. At the same time I have exactly the same problem when the bf gets home if I’m in full flow. He’s great about it, but I feel horrible for ignoring him!

    I’ve also managed to turn the fridge issue into a negative – at my old office we had an amazing salad bar but now I’m just bored having every-single-meal from the same fridge. It’s forcing me to mix up the shopping a bit though at least!

  13. I don’t work from home, but I did my master’s program online and I am currently studying online to become a personal trainer. While I LOVED working at my own pace and not actually having to go to class and *gulp* talk to people, it did require a fair amount of discipline! Working/studying at home is definitely not for everyone, but I am thankful it was an option for me since it saved me a lot of time!

    • That is so true about saving time going to classes! I have done many online classes and it is nice, but when they don’t have any due dates I tend to slack off a bit! Good luck with your personal training! Which one are you doing?

  14. I can relate to ALL of this! The hardest for me is that I feel like I am never finished! I always have a list and I always find things to do that are not on that list! It never ends! And the fact that my husband works inconsistent hours and usually late means I never know when I’m “off the clock.” Although, that really doesn’t happen until the kids are asleep even if he is home, but not knowing when I’ll have help is tough. It is nice to be on my own schedule (the kids’ schedule, really) and being able to run errands during the day. However, since I can always think of things to do, sometimes I get on a roll and am up until 2:30am… Ahem… Like now… Better get to bed, the kids will be up in less than 6 hours – plenty if time!