Just this past October my husband and I moved to Windsor, Ontario, and in November I started working from home (part time) for my employer in Victoria, British Columbia.
I LOVE IT.
Just so you know, here are 16 reasons why:
- If I’m in the living room or kitchen, the commute to my office is up a flight of stairs; if I’m in our bedroom, it’s down an even shorter flight. No wasted time!
- My commute is FREE… no bus pass to buy and no gas tank to fill.
- Over-perfumed, under-washed, loud-cell-phone-talking, still-smelling-like-last-night’s-drinking-binge co-commuters are a thing of the past.
- I’m not a morning person (can anyone relate?!), so facing chatty co-workers before my coffee starts doing its thing is fraught with peril. Now I’m covered on two counts – first off, I don’t even start work until 11:00 a.m. (practically noon!), and secondly, with the time difference between me and my office, I actually start 30 minutes before anyone else anyway… plenty of time for the coffee to kick in.
- And speaking of coffee – a large bag of beans ground and brewed at home lasts several weeks and is about the price of three or four take-out Americanos.
- If I want it quiet, I can have quiet. If I want to blast music and maybe even sing along while I’m working, I won’t be bothering anyone!
- Random hugs from the hubs.
- Breakfast and lunch at home is a heck of a lot cheaper and healthier than buying pre-made or restaurant food.
- Comfy clothes and slippers? Sure!
- I always wished I could take my cat to work with me. Now, Spider spends most of her day asleep on my desk, basking in the warmth of the incandescent bulb, well within patting reach.
- No more shared office bathrooms! If there’s filth, I know whose it is. 😉
- Between telephone, e-mail, instant messaging, and Skype, it’s almost like being in the office, only not.
- If I look out the window I might see doves billing and cooing (no, literally) on the fence in the back yard, or maybe squirrels chasing each other up and down telephone poles.
- Inclement weather doesn’t look so bad (in fact, it’s downright cosy) when you don’t need to bundle up, grab an umbrella, or don winter boots.
- Shopping trips are planned excursions rather than spontaneous lunch break temptations.
- When my work day is done, I am already home.
I keep asking myself why I waited so long to do this!
Do you work from home? If so, do you enjoy it? If not, would you ever want to try it?
I work from home also. I have two kids so things can get a bit exhausting at times. I wouldn’t trade it for anything, except not working at all. LOL
Marie Bock recently posted… Mini-Rant in Progress – $75/hour
Twitter: alphabetsalad
February 20, 2012
I’d love to spend my whole work day blogging, but that doesn’t bring in any money, LOL!
Dawn recently posted… The joys of working from home
Twitter: frommaggiesfarm
February 20, 2012
I do work at home, but I also blog away most of the day, so I’m not making much cash at farming! lol I’m lucky it’s early spring. In a few months, I’ll be blogging much less, and working MUCH MORE. But when all is said and done, nothing beats sleeping until my internal alarm goes off, most days. I’m. Not. A. Morning. Person.
margaret christine perkins recently posted… creole vs. cajun: vive la difference!
Twitter: alphabetsalad
February 20, 2012
I’m not yet able to do the internal clock thing, but I do get to sleep a couple of hours later than I did before I moved, so I’m happy about that!
Dawn recently posted… The joys of working from home
Hi Dawn…
Yes I work from home, I have been doing so since 2003. I absolutely love what I do for a living. When I went to work from home in 2003 I started my own business. By 2008 the economy was spiralling downward and not wanting to be sucked in the undertow, I sold my half of the business and went to work for someone else. I currently work for a great company out of Belleville, Mi, although I live in Columbus, Ohio–doing what I love…for a company I love. It has been fantastic.
Thanks for sharing 🙂 Jenn
http://www.wine-n-chat.com
http://theshortstorygal.blogspot.com
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February 21, 2012
That’s wonderful, Jenn! Life is so much better when you spend your days doing something you love. Now that I’ve experienced working from home, I hope I’m always able to do so.
Thanks for stopping by!
Dawn recently posted… The joys of working from home
I work at home as a copywriter. I love it also, except that I get lonely. Just moved into a house with two roommates, so perhaps I’ll be less isolated. Love having my own schedule and being my own boss, but of course, if I don’t have enough discipline to find new clients all the time, I don’t make enough money. Like everything, it has its pros and cons, depending on one’s personality. Congrats!
Leslie recently posted… Blasting Through Writers’ Block Without Even Trying (Hint: Not Trying is the Key!)
Twitter: alphabetsalad
February 21, 2012
You’re right, there are pros and cons to everything – I think a future post might deal with the pitfalls of working from home!
I’m starting to look for ideas to supplement my income, such as copywriting, but am just in the beginning stages and really have no idea where to start. All part of the journey, I suppose!
Dawn recently posted… The joys of working from home
Ugh, I’m so jealous! I can’t wait until I have a home office… (and by “home office” I mean “computer that I don’t have to leave my house to access”)
Classic NYer recently posted… On auditions
Twitter: alphabetsalad
February 21, 2012
It’s a very good thing! My husband and I each have our own office/computer (one of the benefits of not having kids, LOL!), which makes life a whole heck of a lot easier.
Dawn recently posted… Dawning on me
Twitter: genepooldiva
February 21, 2012
I’m drooling, and on my next three hour commute to work, I’ll be plotting.
Gene Pool Diva recently posted… Finders Keepers
Twitter: alphabetsalad
February 22, 2012
Three hours, oh dear. 🙁 My previous commute was around 45 minutes to an hour each way, which was bad enough! I wish you good fortune in your plotting.
Dawn recently posted… Dawning on me
I’m looking around your site with oogly eyes. Lovely. But that’s a side note.
I’m with you on the coffee thing, and I’m sooo with you on the sleeping in til noon thing. Life doesn’t always agree with me about that, but. There’s where the coffee comes in handy again.
I found you on blogher, and look forward to puttering around your ramblings.
Twitter: alphabetsalad
February 22, 2012
Thank you so much for your compliments on my blog layout – I’ve been having a lot of fun playing around with it!
Enjoying my morning coffee right now – it’s about the only good thing about mornings, I think! 😉
Really glad you stopped by, and hope to see you again! 🙂
Dawn recently posted… Dawning on me
I have been working from home since 1997 as a freelance copyeditor, and I do love it, even though I sometimes have this little self-discipline problem 😛 . Like you, I usually don’t start working till around 11, because I like to relax over my breakfast, read the paper, drink my tea leisurely…
Twitter: alphabetsalad
February 28, 2012
Leisurely mornings are wonderful, aren’t they? Nice to have that option!
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
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