Thoughts on Working From Home

 

Just wanted to start off your Monday with some pretty images. :)  These were all taken at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center here in Austin, which is in FULL bloom right now! My mom and I sneezed our way through there the other day, and managed to snap some pretty pictures of the flowers in the process.

In other news, this morning I’m starting Day 1 of “business hours,” which I’m hoping will help me to stay disciplined and on task throughout each day.  I am someone who thrives on structure and always did well at school and work when I had someone to answer to, but now that I answer to myself? Well, let’s just say the rules and regulations are fairly lax around here.  I’m often not proud of myself at the end of the day, and always feel I should have accomplished more and wasted less time on this or that. 

It’s many people’s dream to work from home, and it truly is mine, too.  At this point, the thought of going out and getting a “real” job makes me cringe, because I feel my passion is for writing and photography and social media, and working for anyone but myself would be stifling to me.  BUT, every day I worry that I’m wasting this opportunity I’ve been given, to be my own boss and make my own way.  I witness people like my husband and like Edd and like others I know who have this unyielding drive that pushes them forward, and I want that!  But I think for some people, myself included, it doesn’t come naturally.  I have to work at it, and really hard.  The habits need to be formed.  The natural tendency to be a lazy ass needs to be understood and then battled daily.  And stuff needs to get done.  Checked off the list.  Progress made.  For me, progress has been slow lately.  And I have no one to blame but myself.

So, business hours! Structure!  There’s no one here to create it for me, so I’m trying really hard to create it for myself.  We only get one life, you know?  And I want to enjoy mine, and be proud of myself and what I’ve poured my time into.  So I wrote out these business hours explicitly, and even made myself a list of what business hours include and what they don’t.  I want the luxury of being flexible and being able to make my own schedule, but I know I also need to give myself more direction than I have been.

What about you?  If you work from home, what ways have you found to stay disciplined and on task throughout the day?  Do share…