Working from home: Pros and Cons

Posted byPeri KinderPosted inUncategorizedTags:, , , , ,

I’ve been working from home as a journalist/freelance writer for about 18 months and, while I thoroughly enjoy being home, there are some definite drawbacks to not going into an office.

If you a) need a boss breathing down your neck, b) enjoy gossiping around the water cooler or c) like flirting with the office staff, then working at home probably isn’t for you. (Although, since my husband also works from home, there’s a bit of flirtatious behavior at times. Usually when I’m not home.)

Anyway. If you’re considering making the move from office to kitchen table, here are some pros and cons for you to consider:

Pros:

  • It’s Casual Friday everyday!!! (If I’m dressed before noon, it’s a miracle.)
  • You never have to miss an episode of Dr. Oz.
  • My kitchen is my office–so there is food around me all the time. (This is also a “con.”)
  • I can set my own schedule. It’s usually something like this:

7:00–Wake Up

8:30–Drag myself out of bed

8:55–Eat something

9:00–Drag myself to the gym

9:10–Go back home

9:30–Shower

9:35–Eat Breakfast

10:30–Catch up on Facebook/Twitter/Blogs/Etc.

12:00–Get Dressed

12:15–Rest/Eat lunch

2:00–Eat post-lunch

3:00–Research an article I’m working on

3:05–Nap time

5:00–Eat pre-dinner

5:30–Repeat the 10:30 events

6:30–Eat dinner (this also usually includes making dinner)

8:00–Watch DVRd shows from the last two weeks

10:00–Bedtime

Cons:

  • Trying to write an article while  my teenage daughter watches “South Park.” (My favorite episode is when Cartman thinks he’s dead. Hahahahahahaha!!!!)
(They can’t hurt me, Butters. I’m already dead.)
  • Nowhere to meet for professional business meetings. (Note: McDonald’s has a lovely play area.)
  • My kitchen is my office–so there is food around me all the time. (This is also a “pro.”)
  • I forget how to talk to people face-to-face.
  • Getting “dressed up” means not wearing pajama bottoms and a T-shirt.
  • Going to Wal-Mart for milk and glitter becomes the highlight of your day.

I hope these words of free advice help you decide whether you want to stay shackled to a desk or become one of the many Americans living below poverty level. Either way, my prayers are with you.

15 thoughts on “Working from home: Pros and Cons”

  4. This is hilarious. It’s scary how similar our days are. Only my wake up time is 7am to make breakfast and take my daughter to school. And 10pm is family bedtime, which means time for me to start writing, AKA reading other people’s blogs. Which is why I’m commenting on your blog at 11:37pm and not posting an entry on my own blog. Procrastinating is fun.

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  5. I am so glad that I am not the only person for which pyjama bottoms and a t-shirt is the staple outfit for most days. I am actually relieved. At least you have the guise of working from home, I am actually unemployed so I just seem like a bum, albeit a qualified one.

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  6. I wish I could put this advice into action, like, yesterday. That water cooler picture is amazing. I need one of those, except I’ll really fool people, because it will be a regular water jug filled with vodka.

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  7. I can’t decide what cracks me up the most. 9:00 to 9:10 at the gym, wake up 7, and out of bed 8:30… The five minutes you spend eating something… The 90 minutes of awesome. I don’t know. I love your work day. Trade?

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  8. Haha! You are hilarious! And I love South Park. I wish I could stay home all of the time, but I do notice that when I do, like in the summers, I am sick and tired of everybody at home and just want to GET OUT. But then I miss it when I go back to school. Why would you wake up at 7 a.m. if you don’t have to?! I’d sleep in until at least 11 a.m.

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  10. haha I love that your gym slot is 10 minutes long…. and I wish I could be distracted by South Park while I work.. that would make things much more interesting

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