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.
|
I’ve been pushing for it for months. The commute was killing me and I was frustrated with how much downtime I spent chained to a desk during the day. I went so far as to help restructure my pay in order to help make the transition more plausible for the company.
And as of today, it’s official.
I am now working part of the week from home.
I still have to go into the office for half of the week. My kids will still need to attend day care and after school activities. I’m not, in any way, becoming a stay at home mom. I don’t even feel like I’m a work it home mom, technically, since I’m still very much tied to an office and being away from the kids during the work day.
I’m excited. I’m thrilled about the flexibility it will give me to take care of personal things during regular down periods during the day. I’m happy to be able to rid myself of half of my weekly commute time. I feel like I’ve found at least five brand new hours in my week!
I’m also nervous.
I promised my boss I would be able to work just as effectively from my home office. I assured him my productivity wouldn’t suffer. I said over and over again that this adjustment had nothing to do with me working less and everything to do with efficiency.
I suppose the fact that he bought that is a testament to my skills as a salesperson.
So today I get everything I wanted and asked for. And I am scared to death I’m going to blow it.
Good for you! Best of luck to you the great balancing act that being a “mom with a paycheck” can be.
Fear and Parenting in Las Vegas | January 3rd, 2009 at 10:52 pm
Congratulations on getting five extra hours a week!!
FK | January 3rd, 2009 at 11:10 pm
I work from home, in sales, almost full time, and if anything, I’m more productive than I was at the office. I don’t take coffee breaks, I don’t slip out to the mall at lunch, and I answer emails way into the night.
It’s partially wanting to prove myself (so I’ll over do it!) and it’s partially because having an office in your home means you never really leave the office. The perks are many, but I have to say that I work even harder from home than I ever did at an office. I don’t think you have anything to be nervous about.
Kristin D | January 4th, 2009 at 12:28 am
I envy you! My work would never let me do that, though they have been kicking around the idea of a four day week (ten hours a day). That would give me the weekend plus one weekday off, which would really help, since so many things need to be scheduled Monday thru Friday.
Enjoy those extra five hours!
Musing | January 4th, 2009 at 9:10 am
Congrats! I worked solely from home for about 7 years (now I work part-time at home and part-time in the office). You will be just as productive, if not more. If I may be so presumptuous, I offer three pieces of advice:
1) Boundaries (keeping and respecting): The perception from the office will be that you are always available because you are at home. Make it clear (over and over) exactly when you are available. Then, make sure you ARE available during those times, no matter what - especially at the beginning.
2) Deadlines: In my experience, it is easier to work from home for an employer other than yourself if your projects have deadlines (externally driven, if possible). This way, you absolutely must have the work done on time (and you won’t be so tempted to just do a little laundry, that turns into cleaning the kitchen, etc). This was very helpful to me in the beginning of my telecommute (I worked for a group whose projects were on strict 1, 2 or 3 day deadlines). After getting into a groove, the deadlines don’t matter as much.
3) Childcare: Treat the in-home job like you are at the office. People who took the opportunity to cut down a bit on childcare when they worked from home at my old employer almost always were called out for it.
I’m sure this will work out great for you!
Mary | January 5th, 2009 at 8:29 am
Mary, these are GREAT tips! Thank you!
Miss Britt | January 5th, 2009 at 9:22 am
I also work from home three days a week as an editor and I always feel I have to prove myself more than if I was in the office full time. I feel pressured to never miss calls, and return them promptly b/c I worry they’ll think I’m out flittering the day away.
While it is great that I only have to put my 18 month old in daycare two days a week, there are times when the performance pressure of working from home is overwhelming. I don’t want to complain because I am very lucky to have a job that allows me this flexibility, but I feel I have more stress working this way.
Carly Peters | January 5th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Good luck! You’ll do great!
Robyn | January 6th, 2009 at 10:34 am