<p>I am a professor. I teach just 13 weeks a year now, the rest is research and administration so a lot of time flexibility. I have three work locations:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Home- when I’m in long writing periods and need to avoid distraction but at the same time have high motivation and can easily get into the ‘zone’. I have a home office I never use but instead like to move around the house to different favorite locations for months at a time. Such a day working at home will be something like write for two hours, walk the dogs, write for a few more hours, make some food, write until 3pm, take a shower, write until six, start dinner. It only works for me when I am really into my writing though because otherwise too many things will pull me off course at home (hmmm…whats new in the fridge…I should rearrange that bookshelf…time to load the laundry…).</p></li>
<li><p>Office- mostly when I’m not in state #1 which sadly is too often. Most of my colleagues work at home but I find the context of ‘going to’ an office keeps me on track. I like having my ‘work’ at the office and ‘no work’ at home and separating the two.</p></li>
<li><p>Coffee shop- this is for when I have what feels like a painful task I keep putting off (like grading the 26th through 40th term papers) and I go there and can’t leave until I’m done.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>One thing that has bugged me for a while was the phone and that’s been resolved with a $41 Microsoft headset from Best Buy. I have a Pay-As-You-Go cellphone which is expensive by the minute so I purchased Yahoo Voice which allows me to call to the US and world very inexpensively from my computer. I was using the builtin mike and speakers on my MacBook Pro but others told me that the sound was tinny. I tried out the new headset and someone I called said that I sounded crystal clear. This is mainly for use in my son’s apartment and at home if I need to make long distance calls. I make local calls at home using our land-line.</p>
<p>One funny thing in ordering some food this evening. I called the sub shop across the street and they said that I had to provide a non-blocked phone as they had been receiving too many calls with blocked numbers that didn’t show up. I told her who I was and she said that it was okay. I went down and explained how the dialout services worked. There is no plan and you don’t get a phone number but costs are dirt cheap. It’s $5/month if you want a phone number that others can call. I don’t see a need for a real number at the moment as my coworkers have my cell number.</p>
<p>I started a non-profit about two years ago and work out of my home. Technically, I’m supposed to be working part-time, but it generally more than full-time. I enjoy it, so it works pretty well.</p>
<p>I have a spot in the living room–make that many spots. I am also taking up space in S’s bedroom with all the equipment and publications we have. I will probably have to start renting some storage space at some point, since I’m also storing stuff at my parent’s home & also have my van loaded with still more stuff. Public outreach is a messy business.</p>
<p>I have a cell phone dedicated to the non-profit which is being paid for out of a grant, along with many of the project expenses.</p>
<p>I own a retail store. I can’t work at home most of the time as I actually have to be on the sales floor! No way to fake that one from home. It’s possible for me to do orders, write ad copy, and pay bills from home, and sometimes I do if I have enough warm bodies walking around at the shop! I just use my regular desk and sometimes the kitchen table for that!</p>
<p>I’ve done both. Worked in an office for years…worked from home at several part time jobs when my kids were little. Went back to work in an office…did my husband’s financial stuff at night at home. Quit the office job and worked for DH and a small part time holdover from office job.<br>
I now work full time for DH in an office and long for the time at home. I keep trying to get back to a Fridays at home pattern I had years ago but so far it isn’t happening.
I’m actually productive at home via email, blackberry, etc. but I don’t always have enough warm bodies in the office to cover for me.<br>
I have a separate work area/desk at home and it is easy to be there and have anyone on the phone think I am in the office…
I was pretty efficient about getting stuff done but loved getting up and throwing the laundry in, starting the dishwasher, feeding the cat, and just puttering around in my own space in robe and slippers…
Sigh…missing those days.</p>
<p>tenisghs: I did find it easier to work from home, although I did have the luxury of an amazing assistant who loved my children and was eager (and very capable) to help in the office. I do remember being tired most of the time trying to juggle it all, but don’t think that would be different if the “work” time was away from home. A decade later, we are all (me, kids, assistant I passed the torch to) better people for the experience. I worked from home for 5 years before the kids were born, so the client base and work schedule were both in place. I think it would be much harder trying to fit in a career when I was already a mom as opposed to the reverse.</p>
<p>I worked off & on from home when my kids were younger but found it very challenging. Never was able to get into a pattern and it was very challenging with hubby’s long hours & all the kids’ practices and other commitments. Basically, I would fit my work into whatever “free” time I could squeeze out–when they were in school or at night when they were doing their own projects or after they went to sleep. When I had to travel for work (even tho I was only a part-timer, it seemed everyone would get sick while I was gone & I’d come home to the house in upheaval. Really didn’t enjoy it.</p>
<p>If I had an assistant that loved kids, it would have been a great thing, but when you’re a one-person show, it is quite challenging to juggle & I would always put my family first (career last). Since our family also had a lot of chronic health issues, it was a difficult juggling act and I have the bills and low income to prove it. :(</p>
<p>Once the kids were in HS & college, it has been much easier, since they are more self-reliant, even tho they often rely upon me for transportation–when I have a conflict they can wait or find other means of getting where they need to be. Now that they’re both away at school, things have gotten much easier for me as there are no kids to worry about transporting, just tuition bills. ;)</p>
<p>I did work from home full time for a remote office when my second child was born( up until she was 3 years old), but I had hired help to take care of her when I’m working. I also had a separate office.</p>
<p>When my kids were under six it was easier to have a babysitter look after them. I started working at home when my younger son was six and I had six hours a day without kids. Actually my youngest went to my part-time job with me until he was about nine months old. Things were kind of slow at the office and my boss, a woman, loved being a vicarious grandmother. Eventually he started crawling and it really wasn’t practical.</p>
<p>I work from home as a web designer /web site manager / writer.</p>
<p>It has gotten kind of lonely since my kids grew up and moved away, but the dog comes around every once in a while for a nuzzlle & pat so that’s ok.</p>
<p>I work all hours, off-and-on through the day – discipline is variable. I tend to be more disciplined when there is a big new project to work on… its harder to keep focused without something to sink my teeth into. But I have figured out that my clients are all really happy as long as I am prompt in responding to specific requests – and because of my round-the-clock hours they have the illusion that I am working 24-7. </p>
<p>In answer to tenisghs’ question – absolutely not with small kids. It was much, much easier when the kids were little for them to be somewhere else and for me to have a structured work days, with work hours vs. home hours. Too much demand for attention from the kids … and I personally do not think it is good parenting to use the t.v. as a babysitter. In other words, if the kids were in the house, they needed attention and some sort of structured activity. If I’m working, then there needed to be some-other-adult tending to the kids. Group daycare worked fine, though. </p>
<p>I started working from home when my son was about 12. My d. was about 7. I think the age of self-sufficiency (while mom is busy working) varies somewhat with the kids’ personality & habits.</p>
<p>I’m a software developer – quit my job at the big company a few years ago and just sub-contracting now. I love the flexibility, but working at home can be lonely. I make a point of getting out a couple of times a week for lunch with a friend, and, like calmom, depend on my dog and cats for companionship while at home. I tried working part-time from home when my kids were little and couldn’t find any time until they were down for the night.</p>
<p>Now that their in high school it’s great to be able to be there whenever I’m needed.</p>