The answers are helping me to understand what you see as the main challenges of working from home and how I can provide relevant information and support. They’ve also made me chuckle, and produced many feelings of ‘I know how you feel’.

I’ve now added a pop-up link to the survey in the hope of attracting some more responses. It will only be there for a week and of course you won’t see it if you have a pop-up blocker. And if you click on the Never button it won’t pop up again. (If you’re not getting the pop-up and you’d like to do the survey, then click here: home working survey).

Many people have told me that they’ve enjoyed answering the questions and have recommended it to their friends. I hope you find it a useful exercise.

I’ve just embarked on my very first home working survey, and in a sense it’s a mini Work from Home Audit that allows you perspective to look at your progress and at how you might be able to improve things.

All answers are entirely anonymous, and if you’d like to be updated on progress, you can leave your email address at the end safe in the knowledge I can’t match it with your responses!

The feedback I’m getting is that it’s an enjoyable and thought-provoking process. Tempted? You can complete my home working survey here now.

The purpose of the survey is to find out the kind of information and support home workers need, and the results will help me design new products and services over the next six months or so.

I’m very grateful for all responses Home working survey

Pinterest has been in the news this week. Apparently it’s considered one of the hottest new online startups, so one you’re likely to hear a lot more about. It’s described as ‘a visual bookmarking site used primarily by women’, but if that means nothing or sounds utterly dreary, take a look at my Work from Home Offices board, where I pin images from the web related to home offices and their accoutrements. It’s simple, fun and a great way to share extra visual content that might not fit too well on your website or blog.

I’m just planning the next How to Work from Home – The Inside Guide event that’s happening at Central a week on Thursday. You may well know San Sharma from #watercoolermoment on Twitter or WorkSnug and he’s our special guest for Top 10 Tech Tools to save Time. As a keen early adopter and fluent translator of geek-speak he’s the perfect person to tell us less IT-savvy folk what works and what’s worth investing in. Do contribute to the discussion by visiting the Central Linkedin group and telling us your favourite app, software or piece of kit. And don’t forget to book your place – previous meet-ups have resulted in some big wins for participants, so don’t miss out.

Better get on with my catching up – happy pinning and don’t forget to tell me if you start your own board. San and I hope to see you next week to talk tech!

In fact the more I get out and about, the more I’m meeting people involved in those fields, such as Richard Leyland of WorkSnug, the app that lets you find not only your nearest place to work, but now also places where you can do printing. Clare Flynn Levy, flexible working champion, was our special guest at How to Work from Home at Central last week.

And I’m thrilled to have just secured two more guests for future How to Work from Home meetups. San Sharma, Community Manager for both Bitsy and WorkSnug, will be leading a discussion on the Top 10 Tech Tools to Save Time on Thursday 29 September.

On Thursday 27 October, Emma Jones, founder of Enterprise Nation and Bitsy, and the person the Government consults about home business, will be the guest at our session on organisation. I’m still working on details of the event for 25 August, but that should be finalised very soon!

All the Jelly information will be freely available on my site, and I’ll continue to post articles on my Work from Home Wisdom Facebook page and to retweet details of new Jellys. (I stopped RTing existing Jellys some time ago, as there are now so many and UK Jelly does an excellent job of that!) I’m happy to keep answering enquiries, like the two emails I’ve received this week about setting up new Jellys, and I’ll be continuing to spread the word about Jelly at my own and other events and to whoever I meet.

Oh, and I’ve just had a tweet about Fiona no longer organising Jelly at Monk’s Yard near Ilminster in Somerset, so perhaps a piece about finding a replacement organiser is called for – Jelly never sleeps!

I now find myself in the same position, having organised Frome Jelly for over 18 months, and I’m looking for someone to take over the voluntary organisation and hosting duties from August. Who might it suit?

Well, a start-up business or anyone wishing to make widespread contacts with forward-thinking people across all industries. Here in Frome we are very fortunate in not only having a workhub of superb quality like The Old Church School, but also its owner, Gavin Eddy, who instantly understood the concept of Jelly and offered a monthly space before I even had to ask! He and Rebecca Krzyzosiak, the Office Manager, are very keen for Jelly to continue uninterrupted after the August Jelly, which is a week earlier than usual in order to be part of Old School Start-ups, the small business festival being hosted by The Old Church School.

Already having a venue and the systems I’ve put in place for organising each Jelly means you’ll have much less to do than the 70 or so other organisers who have set up Jelly from scratch!

You’ll need to appreciate that Jelly is not about selling, but about likeminded people getting together to work for a day away from their usual surroundings, to exchange help and advice and catch up on the local news. Because nobody is required to pitch their business, Jelly has a uniquely laidback and friendly atmosphere.

You’ll not only meet local home workers and freelancers, but through Twitter immediately be in touch with many Jelly organisers and attendees from all over the UK and further afield, who are a rich source of friendly help and information.

Who knows what opportunities might arise? I was lucky enough to be asked to help organise The BIG Jelly in March this year. Working with Jan Minihane, founder of Shropshire Jelly, and Fay Easton of Enterprise HQ taught me so much, and has definitely helped me to develop my business to the point where it demands all my commitment and energy. I’m organising monthly meet-ups for home workers in London and planning a programme to launch in the autumn to support women who want to start their own business from home, and of course I’ll keep in touch with all my Jelly friends through Twitter.

So it’s time to pass Frome Jelly over to someone who can benefit as I have from the positive connections it brings. Do get in touch if you find the prospect intriguing and would like to know more.

Whatever the reason, I’ve chosen procrastination as the topic for the next How to Work from Home – The Inside Guide meet-up at Central on Thursday 21 July, between 7 and 9 pm. We’ll be talking about why and how we procrastinate, when it can actually be helpful, and what we can do to kickstart ourselves on the jobs we need to do.

If you came along the the first meet-up in June I’m looking forward to hearing how you’ve got on with the tips you picked up that evening, and whether the changes you’ve made in your routine have been for the better. If you didn’t make it last time, come along and meet some fellow home workers in a friendly environment – it really is a great help to realise we all share the same highs and lows! As Catherine Raynor said afterwards – ‘I had such a boost from the experience.’

Members of Central come free of charge (but space is limited so please book a place) and for non-members it’s just £11 plus booking fee. It’s an ideal opportunity to check out what’s on offer at Central, and even if you don’t live in London it might be just the base you need when you go up for meetings. On my last trip it was an oasis after battling crowds, heat and dodgy internet connections!

Don’t put it off – come to How to Work from Home – The Inside Guide this month!

Our pots of herbs seem to be thriving on it too – they have never been so green and healthy. It must be due to the proximity of the river. The steps lead up to our front door and there is room at the top for a table and chairs. It’s a suntrap from mid-afternoon and a lovely place to catch up on some reading, and think about writing projects, while looking out at the water and the little stone summerhouse (more pictures to follow, but you can just see its base from the picture at the bottom of the post).

My office faces north and so gets no direct sunshine, but being on the top floor of this old building I have a view over mature trees and part of the river, where occasionally the ducks come to dabble and dive. A heron visits regularly too, and last week from the kitchen window we spotted it with a fish thrashing about in its beak before it swallowed it in one gulp! We’re told there are otters here, but haven’t seen them yet.

A’s room overlooks the front of the mill. These were small lambs when we moved in and very funny to watch bouncing around and playing with each other. The chickens sleep in a henhouse in a corner of the field, but seem to like the sheep’s company during the day.

It’s only 25 minutes walk into the centre of Frome, and we have a choice of routes along footpaths or lanes. Our favourite involves crossing the railway line – excitement, no bridge! – and through a copse, over the fields and beside the river. We’ve heard rumours that Johnny Depp is going to buy the manor house the path passes, but that rumour has come up in every place we’ve lived and plenty more! Strange that it’s always Johnny Depp…is he somehow the fantasy next-door neighbour of the British? Anyway, I’ll be sure to let you know if I ever bump into him on my way to M&S

I hope you enjoy the photos of home offices I post on my Work from Home Wisdom Facebook page. I have to admit I’m a sucker for pictures of wonderfully tidy, designery home offices (and the rest of the house!) but I certainly don’t want to give the impression that such a thing is necessary. So many people respond to my request for a photo of their home office with ‘Not until I’ve tidied up’ that I’m beginning to wonder whether I’m overdoing it. Let me know what you think, and do please keep the photos coming, along with 100 words about your home office or something vital to your home working.

I’ve got together with the lovely people at Central, the new workspace in Bloomsbury, central London, where home-based workers can ‘meet, eat, work and be inspired’. Central are hosting my new monthly event How to Work from Home, starting on Thursday 23 June from 7 to 9 pm.

The plan is to share face-to-face the kind of information provided on this site, and to give home workers the opportunity to get together to chat about triumphs and tribulations. I’m doing this in London because I’m there regularly for meetings, as are many other home workers, and of course it’s within easy reach for many people.

I’ll start off with a talk or workshop on a common challenge or topic of interest to home workers. (I’m thinking staying connected, procrastination, home office setups, that kind of thing). I’ve always found that just getting away from my home office and talking to other people is the very best way to re-energise, so there’ll be plenty of time to meet and chat with people. I hope that by Thursday evening you’ll feel you deserve an evening out, especially as it will give you a renewed appreciation for home working!

If you’re already a member of Central then you get free entry, and if not, it’s just £10 plus booking fee. It will be a great chance for you to come along and have a look at what’s on offer at Central, and you don’t have to live locally to get value from being a member – I’ve joined so that I can stop tramping the streets to find somewhere to work on my trips to the capital.

Tickets are limited so book your place now, and I look forward to meeting you in June. Let me know if you plan to come along and have suggestions for topics you’d like to cover. I can hardly wait!

‘Traditional choices for young families in Greece, especially during the baby’s first couple of years, have been to entrust the baby with the grandparents or hire a full-time nanny so that the mother will return to work. During the past few years these choices have been changing due to a number of reasons.

‘Grandparents are still working; families move mainly to bigger towns and hiring a nanny may not be the most affordable option. The country has been going some very important financial changes which affect not only the state affairs but households and individuals too. Long hours keep parents away from their home and family beyond the 9-5 schedule. Mothers do not always fit the ideal corporate profile and may not be the preferable candidate choice.

‘Starting a home based business or working from a home office are emerging choices for mothers who wish to spend more time with their family and continue their career or pursue a new one. Working from home seems to be gaining in popularity taking small but steady steps.  At Mammas Work At Home we try to provide an online meeting place to exchange all kinds of information from practical details and tax regulations to creative activities for the kids and inspiring success stories.

‘Especially since the country has been facing the reality of a new economy, our blog has been receiving an increasing number of emails from mothers who wish to know more about the options they have to work from home. It is indeed very moving to see how mums communicate their concerns about work as well as personal and family matters. And it is really inspiring to see how women seek career solutions beyond the traditional work opportunities set out for them overcoming the somehow old-fashioned view that working from home might be regarded as less professional.’

The UK is also facing big changes – how do you see home and work life changing in the future?

Blue sky and sunshine at 7.30 am, what a start, hope it’s an omen. Jelly green banners going up, badges to sort, muffins laid out next to coffee for arrivals, trade stands to explore.

The doors open to the soundtrack of the Shropshire Jelly video filmed last week at Enterprise HQ – ‘It ain’t about the money, money..we just want to make the world dance…’

Jelly beans to munch, Emma Jones in a great pair of boots, down-to-earth and inspirational at the same time.

Louise Findlay-Wilson, aptly named PrPro, that new haircut and colour fooled us completely, we were expecting a longhaired blonde, how shameful not to recognise your own speaker. People scribbling notes with fat green BIG Jelly pens.

‘Move in together. Bit more. A bit to the left. Big smile please.’

12 o’clock and Brown Bags lined up, actually I’m hungry, ploughmans sounds just the job. You’ve got a banana, I’ve got a pear, mm, chocolate roll, nice.

The Jelly session, oh my goodness that’s Caroline from Wales and…Verity from Edinburgh, lovely to meet you at last. And Judy, all the way from Normandy to pick up tips on starting Jelly en France.

And here’s Daniel, our third speaker, here despite train strikes and late taxis, better feed the man and find him a quiet place to work before his talk.

Back to the Main Hall for the Q&A, Gavin chairs it with his usual humour and aplomb. Introducing Daniel, stealing one of his own introductions – ‘He’ll share his knowledge in direct proportion to the applause he receives’ – much clapping.

Daniel has the audience in the palm of his hand. I’ve heard the content of the talk several times before, but I’m still gripped and realise he’s down walking about in front of the tables and I’d never even noticed him leave the stage.

But better close it down now, only 5 minutes after the schedule, although people seem happy to keep asking questions and he to answer them. After Fay’s closing remarks she comes down from the stage and gives us both a hug. We’ve done it and it was great!

‘Big smile please.’

Happy, excited people clutching Key Person of Influence books and a bag of jelly beans to fuel the journey home. ‘What a fantastic day. When’s the next one?’

Packing of boxes and cloths taken off tables. Poor Rob, the AV man is the first to arrive and the last to leave. A large glass of white wine in the bar – thanks, Jan!

Maybe not the world, but today we made part of Shropshire dance and that’s good enough for me