successful home working
Posts tagged getting out
Home workers celebrate Jellyweek
21
Further to my post about the necessity for home workers to keep connected in order to stay positive, I should mention that this week is Worldwide Jellyweek, in which this unique business event is being celebrated all over the globe.
Fortuitously, yesterday just happened to be the day on which Frome Jelly falls, and here is an artist’s impression of a couple of the attendees in a (rare?) moment of concentration between laughter and cake eating. The artist is Sarah Godsill, who is usually to be found capturing much grander events like weddings.
Jelly brings together random groups of people from many industries and professions. As well as Sarah, yesterday’s Frome Jelly at The Old Church School consisted of a trainer and coach, two IT specialists, a legal consultant, a PR expert, and an international development and human rights professional. Wow! I highly recommend Jelly as a unique way of:
- getting out of the house
- meeting new people you’d otherwise never run into
- picking up bits of advice, particularly on those aggravating IT glitches that can hold you up
- helping out other people and realising that they respect and value the experience and knowledge you possess, which you probably normally dismiss as obvious and commonplace
- clearing up some boring old jobs that have been pushed down the to do list for weeks
- catching up on local gossip
- having a good laugh
- gaining a whole new perspective on your life and work
- eating cake (often homemade, yum)
All this with no requirement to stand up and talk about your business or listen to other people boring on about theirs. I’m pleased to see there’s lots of buzz on Twitter about new groups starting up in places all over the UK. To find out more and for help in setting up your own Jelly, check out my Jelly guide.
I know lots of readers are already committed Jelly-goers. Have I missed out any other Jelly benefits?
Why is an inferiority complex so often a home worker’s default setting?
242 weeks ago
by Judy
in Beating isolation
I’ve spoken to many home workers and freelancers over the last few years and one of the common themes that comes up time and time again is the speed at which the human brain spirals down into self-doubt and lack of confidence when left too long to its own devices. And solitary time is usually a big chunk of a home worker’s week, even if they are careful to plan for meetings and coworking.
‘Too long’ can mean a few hours of struggling with a piece of work, an hour of guilty procrastination, or a minute or two spent reading about other people’s achievements. From the dining table room table or spare bedroom it can quickly start to appear that other people ‘out there’ are cleverer, better connected, lavishly funded and possessed of a dauntingly impressive client list.
Our own horizons and ambitions shrink proportionately – how can we, with our family commitments and our small local clients, possibly compete? By squeezing that time alone to the absolute minimum, I’d say from my own experience.
This time last year I was co-organising The BIG Jelly with Jan Minihane and Fay Easton. It took far more time and energy than any of us anticipated and we experienced setbacks throughout the six months of planning, in fact right up to the day itself. There were many occasions when I wanted to cancel, but regular contact with Jan and Fay kept my spirits up and fortunately there was never a time when all three of us were down at the same time! The event was a huge success and I think all of us were thrilled and amazed by what we’d managed to achieve.
So I believe the best way to achieve your potential when you work from home is to stay connected, whether it’s through coworking, Jelly, networking or forming partnerships with other small businesses. Yes, it means drawing on skills we don’t have to use if we pursue the solitary life, but it also means the opportunity to learn both from other people and what we’re really capable of.
PS As usual this post is written because I need to hear it 
A bad day in the home office
71 month ago
Today has been a bad day, ‘one of those days’, when it seems everything you try to do goes bad and you achieve nothing. When you work with other people you can have a good moan and get some help. When you work at home you can’t get away from the frustration and anxiety about not being productive.
But I think there comes a point where the best possible response is to literally get away. For me it comes when my head is stuffed full of all the things I have to do, many of which I can’t progress with (usually due to misbehaving technology) and the thought of doing any of them feels utterly beyond me.
Today I initially got out of the office and did the pile of ironing that’s been waiting for days. I know lots of people hate ironing, but I find it soothing and it cleared my head enough to be able to go back to my desk and get a few small things done.
Then I decided to use the remaining daylight to go into town with A, who had a meeting, and potter about on my own, breathing some fresh air and with luck getting some perspective back. I spent half a hour in the library reading The Times, the only paper you can’t browse online, and then I succumbed to a cappucino chocolate cake that was beckoning to me from the shelf in M&S with its seductive yellow label whispering ‘Reduced £1.’ Very bad I know, but sometimes a home worker’s gotta do what a home worker’s gotta do.
I’ve decided to have an almost work-free evening despite my long to do list. Wish me luck for tomorrow.
PS I pinned this on my Pinterest board a while ago. I really needed it today!
3 more great free resources for home workers
9
The other day I mentioned three good quality freebies that will appeal to all kinds of freelancers and home workers. Today I have another selection to ease the pain on your wallet at this expensive time of year. See what you make of these:
For writers – I’m a great fan of Steven Pressfield’s book The War of Art and highly recommend it to all home workers. We’re more likely than most to suffer the pains of procrastination and resistance, and this little book is a great help in kicking them into touch and getting on with the job.
Pressfield’s Writing Wednesdays are a weekly feature on his site, and get into the nitty-gritty of producing good writing, in both the practical and inspirational sense.
For home workers on the move – the WorkSnug App is a free tool for finding the nearest and best places to do some work when you’re out and about in the city, wherever you are in the world. Thousands of cafes, coffee shops, co-working spaces and libraries have been reviewed and rated for their atmosphere, WiFi, noise levels, power provision, even the quality of the coffee!
For anyone trying out coworking or thinking of opening their own coworking space – the authors of Working in the Unoffice are offering a sample of their book, which includes masses of tips for getting the best out of collaborative workspaces.
Are there any free resources you would recommend to fellow home workers?
Even home workers should be prepared for Olympic disruption
51 month ago
by Judy
in Home business
As the UK gears up to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games next summer, today’s guest post is by conference call provider, PowWowNow, advising individuals to make the necessary plans to minimise disruption to their working lives.
There are events going on all around the country so, although London will get the worst of it, every major city will experience an increase in visitors. The games start with the Opening Ceremony on 27th July and run to the Closing Ceremony on 12th August however you need to remember that travel will be disrupted before that.
Then there is also the Paralympic Games to think about, running from 29th August to 9th September. There are 34 different venues being used to host the events, the majority of which are around the Olympic park and ExCel. Outside of London, sporting events will also be held as far afield as Cardiff, Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow. So there are going to be travel disruptions across the country.
Communicating effectively from home is essential in ensuring that business runs as normal during the Olympics. The influx of tourists is predicted to hit large businesses the hardest, with increased traffic suspected to be the main cause of the disruptions. Individual employees and clients, though, will struggle to get to work and meetings on time, so it is vital to plan ahead. Perhaps you could cycle to wherever you need to be, or keep in contact using services like PowWowNow and avoid the busy streets altogether.
The Olympics and Paralympic Games are predicted to affect individuals as well as businesses all over the country, so it is necessary to make the preparations now. PowWowNow recently released statistics that suggested that the vast majority of workers in Britain haven’t made and don’t intend to make preparations for the Games.
The company CEO, Andrew Pearce, said: “Our findings point to the fact that even with less than ten months to go, a majority of businesses continue to be naive about the obvious disorder the Olympics will cause for companies all around the UK. Even though companies based in the Capital will face the brunt of the issues, companies nationwide will face challenges.”
For those of us working from home things might be a little easier but we need to remember that other people might be facing some disruption, so you should make sure that at least your life isn’t disrupted by organising your meetings well in advance, before or after the Games.
Photo: Aquatics centre from the London 2012 Press
Home working bag lady Part 2
133 months ago
by Judy
in Homeworking dilemmas
Bags have been much on my mind again recently, with a trip to London last week and another yesterday for the Everywoman conference. I haven’t yet found my perfect mobile working bag, although this leather one tweeted by Karen of White Ink comes pretty close.
Actually I’ve come to the conclusion that the solution is to buy a smaller, lighter laptop, not a new bag, but that’s a rather steeper investment and will have to wait for a while. And of course if I got an iPhone I could also dispense with my Filofax and A-Z and float about almost weightlessly!
In the meantime I’ve bought a very smart and spacious wine-coloured bag for events like the conference, where my favourite satchel and purple suede sack just don’t cut it! It’s the most grown-up bag I’ve ever had and I must say it’s rather a treat to be able to find everything instead of it all falling in a heap at the bottom.
With impeccable timing Sarah Evans of RightBag.co.uk has tweeted to say her new website is up and running and providing ‘funky tech bags for women’. She has a colourful selection of bags, cases and sleeves that’s much more interesting than most of the stuff you find in shops, and a good range of prices.
I’ll take a picture of my smart, ladylike bag soon, but in the meantime do let me know if you’ve discovered any clever solutions for home workers on the move.
