5 Things I’ve Learnt from Working from Home

It’s been nearly eight months since I left the corporate world, and ventured into the much less complicated realm of ‘working from home’. I think it’s safe to say, I’ve learnt some stuff:
#1 – Talking to your dogs is not a real conversation, sadly
Don’t get me wrong, I love talking to my pups but no matter how you play it, it isn’t a real conversation. They look at you with their big brown/blue eyes and – this I truly believe – understand every word you say. Sadly though, this isn’t a good enough supplement for human convo. I try and get out of the house to a client meeting, or just a coffee with a friend, at least once or twice a week just to make sure I can still speak English and am making some form of sense.
#2 – You can get your best work done in track pants
My life motto is comfort is key, but this can get taken to a whole new level when you work from home and don’t need to conform to any standards or dress codes out there. One piece of advice though, go as comfy as you want on the bottom but I always try to wear a bra, a clean shirt, and some make-up just in case a client Skype’s or FaceTime’s. You don’t want to look like a homeless Mad Scientist (which otherwise I normally would).
#3 – Fridges can talk
My fridge sounds like a mix of Gru from Despicable Me and Father Christmas, so a little ominous but kind. It reminds me of the ice-cream in its bottom drawer and the left-overs that are dying to be eaten. I try reason with it and let it know that I will visit it during appropriate mealtimes, but I won’t lie it doesn’t always work.
#4 – Its amazing what you can get done in 4 hours
Honestly, before I worked from home, I used to wonder each day how I would get all my tasks done. But now that I have yoga classes and Wine Friday meetings to get to, I am amazed at how truly efficient I can be when I have to. I now find much more reward in short, intense bursts of work then long, drawn-out, never-ending full days.
#5 – Networking is important
As a work-from-homer, the appeal might be that you literally never have to see random people on a daily basis if you don’t want to. I have learnt that by attending networking events and putting yourself out there in order to meet new peeps, you open yourself up to the possibility of meeting like-minded people (who you actually might like) and you might even get some good work out of it too.
Be careful of becoming a prisoner in your home-office, it can be a lonely place. Use the comfort and flexibility of your home to create great work, but make sure you juxtapose that with a shower, some clean clothes, and a forage out into the real world to meet, connect, and talk to those creatures we call “other people”.