[Writer Blog] Adjusting to Work From Home
Most writers look forward to the day when they can quit their day jobs and write full time. However, the adjustment from the typical idea of a full-time job to full-time writer can be daunting – especially if it comes on the heels of an unexpected layoff or job loss. It’s not always an easy transition to make. Many of the writers I aspire to who are full-time writers are a lot more established than I am. They have major publishing deadlines, so they have motivation. Others, like me, may have to go through some mental adjustments to working at home.
Make no mistake, working from home is WORKING from HOME. It’s not all sleeping late and goofing off. It’s not watching TV and eating bon bons. I’ve been doing the work from home thing off and on for several years now, and I maybe -just maybe have made the mental adjustment (my husband will be relieved). I’m not a full-time writer at the moment – I have a work from home part-time job while I look for a more permanent solution to being a “responsible adult” in the traditional sense, which is also something many full time, work at home, writers do.
It’s not easy. Don’t let anyone try to convince you it’s easy. It’s not. One of my writer/convention friends has something she tells people who think working from home means you don’t work. Working from home means YOU NEVER LEAVE YOUR JOB. Work is ALWAYS there. You never get to be rid of it. There are actually MORE distractions that you have to tune out – dogs, laundry, dishes. Yes, you can do some of those things while you’re working from home, but that’s also considered lunch hour, breaks, etc.
A couple of times while I was doing the job search while working from home, I’d go to Starbucks and hang out there with my computer and notebooks. This time is different. I have to be different. That’s where the adjustment comes into play. Since I’ve been there while between Responsible Adult jobs in the past, it feels more like admitting defeat. There’s also the expense of it – Starbucks isn’t cheap and neither is gas. I considered the library, but I like to work first thing in the morning with coffee. I think libraries frown on that, so going to the cute little library down the road would be a huge disruption of momentum.
Where does that leave me? Learning to deal with being at home pretty much all the time without snarling at my husband when he comes home from work and wants to relax in quiet. It’s not easy. I haven’t been able to do it before. But since others have, I know I can, too. I just have to adjust my thinking and expectations. I also need to make some adjustments to my workspace so it’s more comfortable for longer term use. That’ll help.
Fortunately, I’ve had things to do – and still have things to do. I’m actually behind in what I need to be doing. ROTA revisions are more than halfway done – and are due on Saturday (ulp). I’m working on some book reviews – which means the reading I do on the treadmill and later in the day IS WORK. There’s this blog and some non-fiction work I need to do — on top of the “responsible adult” job hunt and the part-time job.
There are some perks to this work at home thing. I’ve actually been working out more consistently. I will have the flexibility to help my mother celebrate her retirement as it looms closer. And my four-footed “co-workers” are cuter, if not as demanding or more, than anyone else I’ve worked with. Now… back to it.