Virtual Associate...

I've been working from home for about a month now. I am very aware of how lucky I am to have a job (and a boss!) that allows me to work remotely. Being home has allowed me to continue working at this point in my pregnancy; if I were still trying to go to the office every day with the insane schedule I was keeping, I'd most certainly be on bedrest by now. My body just doesn't like being pregnant after 30 weeks. Go figure.

I worked from home for a while at my last job, so the whole home office thing isn't foreign to me. Lots of folks ask me how I resist the temptation to do laundry, websurf, or watch TV while I'm home. I guess I'm just over such temptation--if it's Monday through Friday between 7:30 and 4, I'm working, no matter where my butt is parked. If I have a free hour, I'm more likely to try and unearth my inbox than do a load of laundry.

I will admit, however, that it takes some time to get back into the swing of the home office environment. Here are some of the things I've noticed in the last few weeks...


Things I like about working from home:


1) It's QUIET (well, it's quiet when my bathroom isn't under construction).

2) I get a lot done because of reduced "drive-by" visits from people. Drive-by visits ("um, got a minute, Kristine?...) are notorious agents of time suckage in an office environment. I still get drive-by phone calls and IMs, but nothing like actually being there.

3) I can wear my PJs until it's time to go get Rachael from daycare. Big perk.

4) I can make myself as comfortable as I want (or as comfortable as I can...) by moving from chair to chair, sofa to sofa...until my spine and my baby find a position that's mutually acceptable. Biggest perk.

5) I can make macaroni and cheese for lunch.


Things that suck a little about working from home:

1) It's QUIET (after years of working in the eye of an office/hospital hurricaine, I fear that I thrive on chaos).

2) As much as I whine about drive-bys, it IS harder to be in-touch with those who report to me when we don't have that daily face-to-face interaction (Thank goodness for AIM Instant Messenger...).

3) Phoebe. Phoebe is my very needy cat. She thinks I'm here during the day to play with her, exclusively. She drives me nuts. She also sends non-sensical Instant Messages to my co-workers by standing on my keyboard while I'm making macaroni and cheese.

4) Door-to-door salespeople. I had no idea my doorbell rang so much during the day. GO AWAY!! I do not want to buy your raffle tickets, magazines, meat, kites, or any of the other crap that's been shuffled up to my porch for the last five weeks. I'm actively seeking a tasteful "no freaking soliciting" sign for my front door. And before you ask, I've tried just ignoring the doorbell. Guess what--they keep banging and ringing. I think they see me in the den and just assume I'm taking extra time to find my checkbook before answering the door. Awesome when you're on a conference call with 50 other people and you have to excuse yourself to tell Jerome from the Youth Center Basketball League to piss off and get off your porch.

Anyway...so working at home is working out. I do miss the interaction with non-furry life forms (sorry, Phoebe), but hey--this is much better than being a prisoner on bedrest! :)