I’ve had home offices many times in my life and been around many different people during those times. The common theme is that it seems that people can’t get out from under the fact that just because you are at home, doesn’t mean that you have become free to do domestic chores, babysit children, and run errands all day.
I know people think that “you are your own boss and it will only take 20 minutes” but being your own boss means that you don’t get paid if you don’t work. When you work for an employer, if you take an extra 20 minutes here or there (and nothing really takes *only 20 minutes when you take everything into account), your work output likely suffers, but not so much that you will lose your job.
Now, you are the boss. That doesn’t mean you have to be a hardass, but people just don’t seem to comprehend that I am working at home and that work depends on me paying the bills. Sorry for the mini-rant.
You just have to be firm. I find that not answering personal phone calls and making a point to call back after work gets the point across. Another technique is to mention stuff that indicates you’re working during the day. “I can’t do that because I have a conference call from 1 to 2:30, and after that I’m on the hook to get this report to Sally by 4.”
I understand. My mother believes she can drop in anytime to chat. When she does, I try to wrap it up quickly, saying I have to return calls, etc. “Oh, you can do that later”. Yes, I can, but I have no desire to work at night.
I’ve had larger issues with my daughter. She’s informed me that I have no excuse not to do household chores, as all I do is sit on my ass and play on the computer all day. She has a “real” job, defined by seeing people face to face and being on her feet. There have been more than a few arguments as to what is considered a “real” job.
Just work out an hourly fee, and let people know that if they want you to babysit, it’s gonna cost them $50 an hour. A half hour errand will cost $25 or $30. Explain that if you’re not working at your business, you’re not bringing in money, and if you’re babysitting their kids or running their errands, they need to compensate you for your lost income.
You’ll get some offended people, but far fewer will ask for your services.
I can sympathize. Both my husband and I have worked part time from home at different times. We made it clear from the outset to everyone we knew that when we were in the office, we were to be treated exactly the same as if we were in our workplace. The rules were that they could call if necessary, but we were not available for long conversations or running errands.
This is my issue - when I’m home, I’m home. So, my “takin’ care of sh*t” motivator kicks in: Laundry, dishwasher needs emptying, bill paying, I’ll just run by the grocery store, and-on-and-on-and-on. Also, I am not good at isolation (really, it’s just not good for me…)
+1. We were really good at telling others to leave us alone, but…it was so easy to drop a load of laundry in, wash those breakfast dishes, make the bed, tidy up the living room etc., etc., etc…
I loved working at home - my roomie pretty much ignored me and mrAru worked 75 miles away in Hartford. I was isolated in my bedroom, and had a second computer sitting next to me that I would pull up EVE Online and run mining crews from my orca. I found working spreadsheets very restfull, and would make about 1 calls a day to my opposite number at WM as normally my communications were all almost entirely done via email. I didn’t actually do much with physical stuff, it was all pretty much electronic. There is something fun in ordering payment checks in the millions of dollars, or denying millions in billing [depending on what the invoices and work orders did when balanced up.]
Oddly what’s really helped me with this was two things.
Our utility offers a greatly reduced rate for power after 7pm so I no longer toss in laundry during the day or run the dishwasher.
I changed to a wired headset so I can’t wander the entire house while on calls. It means my office is by turns really cluttered because I am not carting dishes etc to where they belong or really clean because I’ve had a very boring call and I’ve spent the entire time cleaning my desk.
I do still have my cell phone if I need to be moving around during calls but I try not to use it as much.
I’ve been working at home for a year, year and a half, and as my husband is currently unemployed, he’s home too. It’s unfortunate that I don’t have a dedicated office - so we’re usually in the same room. He wants to talk, he wants to go on about what’s in the newspaper, he wants this, he wants that - it’s hard for him to understand that I’m WORKING - pretend I’m not here! Just because he doesn’t understand what I’m doing or what my job is, does not mean that I’m “goofing around on the computer” and can drop whatever it is to pay attention to him.
I work from home a lot. It’s taken my wife about a year to understand that when she comes home for lunch and wants to hang out, she’s come to my workplace during my workday.
I’ve never run into this. I’ve been a work-at-home freelancer for 18 years, and my family and friends have always understood that I am a busy person. Even my mother asks if I have a few minutes when she calls. It probably helps that many of my friends are or have been self-employed themselves, and that I’m always talking about my crazy deadlines.
I’ve been working from home for many years, and I can’t count how many times I’ve been asked to do things “because after all you’re home all day.” It was the same when I worked away from home, night shift or graveyard shift. I had to patiently explain to people that “daytime is when I sleep. How would you like having to do someone’s errand at 3 a.m.?” Once, when I was living in Manhattan and working graveyard shift, a guy from day shift wanted me to get something for him that would require me to take two subways, and pay for it from my own pocket, since he didn’t know how much it cost. And it’s not like we were friends; I barely knew the guy.
I don’t have too much trouble with people thinking I am available to do things for them. I have regular work hours and I am not available, period.
My trouble is getting people to shut up outside my door.
My clients don’t need to hear somebody screaming at the dogs to stop jumping on them or somebody walking down the hall yelling to somebody else in the kitchen.
“Well, you’re at home and I was thinking…” “It’ll just take a few minutes.” Grrr. Completely know what you mean. When I was a freelance writer, I had an article published about that. Venting can be lucrative.
Another +1 to that. I have a nurse friend who worked nights on the weekends - 7pm to 7am on Fridays and Saturdays. So, Saturdays and Sundays she slept during the day. Family, who did not live nearby, were constantly calling her on the weekends. “We’re coming up to shop and want you to drive us to the mall” or “Cousin Joe is coming for the week, can you pick him up at the airport (a 45 minute drive) on Saturday and entertain him until we come get him on Sunday?” Grrrr indeed!
I find that I have that drive, but I know I shouldn’t be doing it. So I dither. I don’t get home stuff done and I don’t get work stuff done. Its just a distracting state. I work a little, then throw in a load of laundry, which interrupts the flow of work, but the laundry then sits in the washer and doesn’t get moved to the dryer. I stop working, don’t move the laundry to the dryer, but do some dishes. Then I work a little and wander into the kitchen in search of toast or tea. Then I work a little and decide that I should take the dog out. Then I work a little, and oh- laundry - so I move the laundry. Then I sit down to work and have to let the dog out.
I like meeting days at home because they are structured. I have to be on the phone. And it isn’t bad if I’m into something that I get focused on for hours at a time. But a day of little to do things, returning phone calls and emails is horrible.
Now I’m homeschooling a high schooler, and my issue is my mother in law, who has decided we should get together and “do lunch.” And that I’m somehow avoiding her. But my school day with him starts at 9 and ends at 3 - and like a lot of teachers, I have other stuff to do as well (I’m teaching myself Spanish, reviewing Algebra and going back 30 years to high school Physics to teach him, have to review his work, right now I’m listening to guitar practice), and keeping house - plus, the reason we are homeschooling him is to keep him supervised - taking off for three hours to do lunch isn’t in the program. Then my daughter arrives home and its supervising homework time with her.
