Telecommuting aka Working from Home

The above photo is of my workspace here at home. Since aquiring my new laptop I have been able to create a little extra room on my desk. Though the above photo looks a bit cluttered the items don’t typically stay there. Before my setup had 2x 19″ monitors and my 5-disc RAID array which took up a lot of space. I thought I would update the photo I had floating around on Flickr of my previous setup.

Telecommuting; My Thoughts.

Many of you know I work from home and have been for quite some time now. Some people out there would say how awesome it is to work for home and for the majority of the time it’s true. There are sometimes where working from home isn’t all the great. I’ll try and list some Pros and Cons for telecommuting, or working from home.

Pros:

• Work in your pajamas (if you’re doing video conferencing, ensure your camera is pointed at least shoulders and up).
• Listen to the music you want to listen to as loud as you like.
• Your workspace is yours, no one else can touch it.
• Your view might be better at home (like mine) that at an office.
• Depending on your employment/employer you can write off percentages of things such as Rent/Mortgage, Hydro, Cable (internet purposes), Work Furniture, Gas, Insurance etc etc
• Lunch is easier to make/obtain and can be better/more healthier.
• Less driving/gas.

Cons:

• Very little human interaction. If you’re a social butterfly, chances are working at home won’t be for you. Skype, Messenger, gTalk etc can only go so far.
• Can’t really escape work as it’s always near by. So much for the 9-5 mentallity (in most cases).
• Typically you have to supply your own equipment such as Computer, Printer, Desk, Chair etc (some companies might be more giving than others). Companies might supply consumables such as pens, paper though.
• Distractions – Television, Kids, going outside in good weather
• No Physical Supervision – Some people need that physical supervision to get work done. If you procrastinate a lot, chances are you probably will do even less work at home.
• Your type of job might not fit with working at home. Are you a cabinet-maker? Chances are you don’t have a tablesaw for your apartment, let along the neighbours might get upset if you use a router too often.

Anyway, those are some of the Pros and Cons I find about working at home. I personally love being able to work from home and have been enjoying it ever since I started a couple years ago. I have everything I need to do work from right here and have set it up to be pretty efficient too.

Most people tell me that they couldn’t do what I do and would probably head to the beach all day. I for one, (surprisingly too) rarely leave my desk when I’m working on things, in fact I tend to forget to eat too. If I get bogged down mentally and need a break, I will stretch my legs and go for a short walk down to the water (10mins at most) to help clear the head. I do come back and hunker down for more computer work, I don’t lallygag when I get home.

Also the great thing of switching from a desktop to a laptop allows me to remotely work. I don’t have to be tied to a desk, I can work from the balcony, I can work from the couch, I can even head down to the local coffeeshop for a couple hours and work. It’s great not being tied to a desk, and I honestly think going back to a desk in an office would be a really hard thing to do.

What are your thoughts and experiences with telecommuting or working at home? Have you ever had the oppourtunity to do it? Would your type of work even allow for it?