It’s only been two months since my job is a natural home office, and I think I can share some thoughts on this with you. Two months ago, I left my golden cage and made a big step into the unknown. I run the business on my own again, but without any obligation to work in the office this time. I work at home all the time for my dream client, who has his offices worldwide. It was always my goal, but as it turns out, it is not as easy as it may seem.
Home Office Freelancer
At the moment, I can say that I am a genuine freelancer. I have wanted to do this for a long time. Earn good money and not be attached to the desk. I have already written about how to become a freelancer:
- Freelancers money
- My Upwork profile
- Personal Branding for dummies
- VMware workstation – freelancer must have
Finally succeeded. I work from home now. Probably many of you have such a picture of the beach, cold drink with palm and computer on your lap :). Well, I have not reached this stage yet, and its achievement will probably not be that easy …
I think I work too much
This discovery shocked me a little. Generally, there is such a widespread belief that working from home saves time and that you work much less. Honestly? For me, it doesn’t work. Yes, that’s true that I save a lot of time spent on travel to work. But I have the impression that I did not gain much from it for myself. A message at 8 p.m.? What do they want from me? Something doesn’t work for someone? All right, I’ll take a look. And so forth. The more so because the three main offices are on different continents, so the distribution of time zones is deadly.
In the end I get the impression that I work much more than being in the office. I have had some problems recently (knee surgery 🙁 ), but slowly everything returns to normal, and I will tell you honestly that I will sort it out somehow and impose myself some time frame. Online work is excellent, but it can’t be connected to the network permanently.
Please talk to me
Honestly? This is probably the biggest problem for me.
Most people underestimate the fact that they can talk to someone at work. I honestly adored the fact that I could speak to colleagues in the office. For me, there is nothing better than company rumors during a coffee break in the kitchen. But it’s not just rumored. During these open conversations, you can learn that something is not working as it should because nobody dares to tell you that. You will discover that you are not as well paid as you thought, which sports watch you should buy and why :). There are a lot of examples here. That is why leaving home is so important. For instance, I’m going to the Office 365 Group Meetup today. And it’s not even about knowledge. The pleasure for me will be the fact of talking with people who deal with similar problems.
You work from home, but please dress up
It doesn’t work for me at all :). When you read all the guides about working from home, you will find out that you should change and be dressed as if you were going to work in the office. For me, it’s great that I can sit at the computer in a tracksuit and barefoot. Perhaps in my case, it is related to the fact that I have my office room where I can work, and nobody disturbs me. And this is very important. Because I honestly think that working in a tracksuit is not a problem, but the fact that you work in a place where someone comes in and out now and then is a drama for me.
Probably many of you have come across strange comments that working from home is not work. And at this time, everyone can get what they want from you. Your work angle solves this problem.
Where is the beach
And here is a small problem. So far, I haven’t managed to realize it, and to be honest, at the moment, it’s somehow hard to imagine. It so happens that I quite often do things that require a lot of concentration, and the beach version is unlikely to work. At the moment, I see it this way that after work or during breaks, it can be this beach … I hope that next year I will be able to embrace it somehow and go somewhere.
What next with my home office?
The last two months have given me some insight into what work from home should look like. This is not exactly how you write all the wise guides on being a freelancer. The truth is that everyone must develop their methods. It is also essential to set boundaries and separate private time from time spent on work. It is also crucial to have your corner. Otherwise, you will work all day, and if you haven’t done it, it’s not.