Your home working horrors – and how you make them into hurrays
Last week I asked about your personal horrors and hurrays of home working. Kyle Newman is the founder and director of The Move Beyond Group, which includes Beyond Health, a health and wellness consultancy that specialises in helping people improve their health, both physically and financially. Here he describes his own home working horror and how he overcomes it:
‘I think loneliness is often the hardest part for many, especially if like me you also live alone. It’s easy to go for days without seeing or speaking to anyone, especially when I’m having a bit of a down period. I also really miss the interaction with and bouncing ideas off of other people.
‘My guess would be that those that tend towards being more extroverted would find this more challenging than those that tend towards being more introverted… but that assumption has yet to be proven.
‘A few of my top tips would be:
a) develop a routine, so you get in the same habit as getting up, dressed and going to the office;
b) set a finish time, so when you hit a certain time, say 6pm, that’s it work is finished for today;
c) make sure you have a laptop and or smart phone, so you can get out and work from anywhere, and
d) I get out to a few networking breakfasts each week to interact with other business owners – 4Networking is my favourite choice, but there are plenty of options out there…’
There certainly are, and the number of options is increasing all the time, as workhubs and Jelly events proliferate around the country.
Many thanks to Kyle for sharing his insights and helpful advice, and I look forward to hearing more horror stories and how you cope with them. And a few tales of triumph and celebration wouldn’t go amiss!
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My horror is trying to fit work around my family and I guess turning it into a hurray is that I can still go to sports day, end of term assemblies etc
Yes, that’s a huge advantage you have over all those people who work elsewhere and desperately scramble to get away on time for family commitments without feeling guilty. But the art of juggling is essential for the home worker too, I think!
Hey, you’re most welcome Judy. It’s great that you’re getting people to open up about some of the stuff they find hard about working from home. We all struggle with running our businesses in some way shape or form and anyone who’s started their own business goes through a multitude of challenges as they get started and continue to grow, yet we rarely talk about them. We merrily go about our day doing our best to keep them hidden and put our best foot (and face) forward, whether it be meeting with clients, or out networking.
This is completely understandable, of course we all want to show our best side and create the impression that we’re on top of our game and can deliver an excellent product or service. Yet, I believe that if we were all a bit more honest and open about some of the challenges we face then we’d probably get more support and move through past them much faster.
Now does that mean that I’m suggesting that we all start yabbering on about our woes and telling all and sundry about our deepest challenges and fears. Absolutely not! However to really increase forward momentum and get better results in our lives and business it is important to build a strong support network to cheer you on when you’re charging towards the finish line, and also help pick you up, dust you off and get you back on track when you stumble, hit an obstacle or get stuck in the mud…
I couldn’t agree more, Kyle, and I wonder whether that’s a reason coworking has become so popular recently. Naturally one wants to create a good impression at a networking meeting, but coworking events are more casual and people feel more able to talk about problems they’re facing in getting a business going, finding new clients, coping with isolation etc.
The funny thing is that once you admit to these challenges, other people reveal they do too, and offer lots of help and support! So, yes, I hope this site is a place people feel comfortable to share all kinds of feelings about working from home. At the very least if they go away thinking ‘Oh, thank goodness it’s not just me who feels like that’, I’ll be pleased!
My only real daily deadline is imposed by when the post is collected, so as long as I get to the Post Office by 4pm, how I do it is up to me:)
The best part of being self-employed is being able to do things at random times like food shopping, Vet visits, hairdressers etc and not have to cram it all in “after work” or at the weekend. Bunking off for the odd afternoon is also good fun.
I have several close “virtual friends” that I can email or phone when I need to a break / have something to share / bounce ideas off / need a rant!
My only Homeworking Horror is trying to run an Internet business when my broadband breaks down. That has mostly been solved by having a BlackBerry phone which I now couldn’t live without.
I like being able to mix up so-called work and leisure as well. I’ve been lucky enough to do it for so long that I don’t know any more how non-home workers manage.
I’m also very fond of an afternoon (or even a whole day) off if things don’t seem to be going well, and I’m perfectly happy to catch up in the evening or at weekends.