with Britt Reints
Forget the 9 to 5; Full Time, All the Time is a blog about the mobile working life - when you have the freedom to work from anywhere and the responsibility of always having your smartphone turned on. Britt Reints works as a freelance writer while traveling fulltime in an RV with her husband and two kids. She explores balancing real-life bills with an unconventional work life, and finding time to maintain relationships with family and friends.
You can also find Britt at InPursuitOfHappiness.net.
Categories: balance, flextime, office life, the 2nd shift, the juggle, working from home, working mom
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People always tell me how lucky I am that I have the opportunity to work from home. And I agree, for the most part. But working from home is not sunshine, rainbows, and butterflies. I’ve had to re-learn working in a virtual environment. It’s a different ball game. While I do love getting to fold a load of laundry while on a conference call, my life can be totally unbalanced while I work from home. And I’ve seen many a co-worker crash and burn when moving from the corporate office to the home office.
You may have thought of your office as distracting with water cooler conversations, idle hallway chit-chat, and that one person who always manages to burn the popcorn in the breakroom microwave. But just wait until you are at home with a whole new set of distractions.
There’s the sink full of dishes, a toilet that needs scrubbing, Judge Judy, and kids that need entertaining. Believe me, as soon as your mother hears you work from home, she’ll be calling everyday to chit-chat too. So before you start daydreaming about converting your spare bedroom into a home office, think long and hard about your own work habits, your company’s structure, and your manager’s preferences.
I’ve been the most successful at working from home when I’ve worked for companies that are global-minded. At my current company, my manager works near Sacramento (2.5 hrs from where I live), my director lives in London, and the rest of the team is scattered around the world. To be a successful team, we all have to virtually make it work. It’s not about the 1:1 face time. It’s about being responsive to email, about being open to travel, and willing to work at 6am for Europe while still attending the 8pm call with China.
Before you barge into your manager’s office demanding a new flexible schedule, take a moment to think about the questions above. We’ll discuss more next week - including how to make the pitch to your manager.
[...] fallingoff - journal - fatsecret wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt People always tell me how lucky I am that I have the opportunity to work from home. And I agree, for the most part. But working from home is not sunshine, rainbows, and butterflies. I’ve had to re-learn working in a virtual environment. It’s a different ball game. While I do love getting to fold a load of laundry while on a conference call, my life can be totally unbalanced while I work from home. And I’ve seen many a co-worker crash and burn when moving from the corporate office to the h [...]
So you want to work from home? | September 19th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
It’s not for everyone but I do enjoy it.
Rona | September 20th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Ooh, I’m excited about this series, Robyn. I work from home, too — it’s definitely not a cakewalk — it has its own challenges — and I’m interested to hear your take.
Kristin D | September 21st, 2008 at 11:32 pm
I work from home twice a week and I agree, it isn’t always better. While I wouldn’t trade in this time home, I am learning how to be more disciplined and focused with the distractions that I face.
I can’t wait to read more….
Lisa | September 22nd, 2008 at 8:00 am
I still work in the Corporate world, but I also run a part time work at home business. My goal…..to leave Corporate America in 2009.
Yes, I can see where working from home isn’t for everyone. But I do like having “options.”
I really look forward to the day that my efforts and hard work are for me and not for another company. :0)
I do think it’s important for the corporate world to embrace changes including flexibility.
Even though there are challenges, I know of many women that would embrace the opportunity to work at home at least a day or two per week.
BELIEVE Success!
Lisa Willard
Lisa Willard | September 22nd, 2008 at 10:51 am
As I get ready to go on maternity leave and then work from home part-time after the baby is born, these are just the sorts of questions I need to be asking myself. Thanks for the heads-up!
workingonmotherhood | September 22nd, 2008 at 2:53 pm
My biggest mistake was not arranging enough childcare time for my kids, thinking I could work *while* they were at home with me. It made the whole endeavor seem impossible, and I think the kids suffered, not only with lack of engagement but the impact of my stress about the whole issue.
shriek house | September 28th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
I am still working in the corporate world, but I have found an awesome way to start a home business without risking a huge amount of money or time. My goal is to have a nice little residual income built up by the time I retire (because unless the next president can cure this economy Social Security will probably be non-existent by then). This home business also allows us to save time, and save money on items our family uses every day….I am so blessed to have stumbled upon this opportunity!
p_burbinemomteam | October 11th, 2008 at 9:11 pm