Working from home is both completely awesome and astonishingly terrible at the same time, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I’ve been working from home for five years now, and in that time I’ve realized that it’s the best and it’s also the worst. I wouldn’t trade it for a “regular” job, but there are definitely ups and downs. Strangely enough, some of the best things about working from home are also the worst things.
The best
Your clothes. No more do you have to actually think about what to wear to work — you don’t have to get dressed at all. Seriously. You can work naked if you want — just make sure you’re cool with whoever randomly drops by, because it will happen.
Your hours. Often, those who work from home can choose which time of day they can get their work done. If you’re not into early mornings, you don’t have to be. Hate your alarm? Toss it into the garbage.
No boss. You might have a boss far away in a virtual land, but if you work from home, there is no boss to wander by and stare at you when you’re not really working.
The food. You can keep your fridge and pantry stocked with what you need, and you can eat it whenever you want.
Sick days. You might not have to worry about calling out with a sick day or trying to find a replacement to cover your shift.
The freedom. Since you can often dictate what hours you work, you can devote your non-working time to your family, your garden, your hobby or streaming Netflix.
The worst
Your social skills. Your ability to interact with others may start to degrade. One of the things I miss terribly is interacting with other adults on a regular basis that aren’t related to me. I have to make an effort to interact with other human beings, and it can be startlingly awkward.
It’s distracting. With no set schedule and no boss looking over my shoulder, I can find myself falling into an internet rabbit hole of hell, only to realize an hour later that I’ve been watching bloopers on repeat instead of actually working. Oops.
The taxes. Often, when you work from home, you’re an independent contractor who gets paid in full. This means that you have to think about taxes instead of having all that dealt with by your employer, and if you’re not careful and don’t file quarterly, you may poop your pants when you file your return.
The food. While this is also a huge bonus, it is also a huge downfall — because you *can* eat whenever you want. Shoving candy and other crap into your mouth because you can will lead to things you definitely don’t want.
Staying on task. Setting your own schedule is a dream come true, unless you keep putting your tasks off, and dammit, it’s too late in the day to start, so how about tomorrow? It requires some pretty significant motivation and drive to adhere to such a schedule, which can be a bummer if you can’t swing it.
Sick days. Ah, yes… while you may not have to worry about taking a sick day, you also might not get paid for taking a sick day. So, basically, don’t get sick and you’ll be fine.
So, while working from home is amazing and free and perfect, it can also suck really bad. But no matter what, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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