4 ms·

Why Entrepreneurs Should Reconsider Working From Home

24 points by quadedge 16y ago

junklight 16y ago
Perhaps the moral of that cartoon should be "why Entrepreneurs should reconsider having partners and children that can't tell the difference between play and work" My 4 year old daughter woke me up the other day saying "Wake up you've got to work. That's what grown ups do".
- michael_dorfman 16y ago
  I've got 4 children, and while they can tell the difference between play and work, it still confuses them when I am around and visible, but not available to help, or talk, or whatever. Having an office outside the house is well worth the expense; it makes it the distinction between "work" and "home" very clear to everybody, and when I am in either place, I am able to give my full attention to the task at hand, be it work or family. By the way: you might want to ask your 4-year-old for some details concerning what she thinks "work" is all about. When asked what job she wants to have when she grows up, mine says "Tinkerbell."
  - davidw 16y ago
    I work at home and it's not ideal. I think the ideal thing would actually be to have something that's very close, but physically a separate building. Part of the problem is that, if you're anything like me, computer time isn't all work time. Sometimes for instance, my 2 year old and I look at videos of animals on youtube or talk to grandma and grandpa on skype, and at 2, she's just beginning to acquire words like 'work', let alone fully understand the implications.
    - krschultz 16y ago
      I've always thought about the idea of turning a barn style building into an office. The biggest issue for working from home is meetings. You can't have people into your "office" and be taken seriously, and there are just some things you can't do at Starbucks.
- nkassis 16y ago
  Actually, that's a terrible criterion for choosing a partner in my view.
  - yummyfajitas 16y ago
    I think it's a reasonable criterion. A person who can't understand the concept of "physically present but working and unavailable" is likely a person who is stuck in their own head and can't appreciate that you have your own life. That can be a real problem. At least, that's my experience. YMMV.
    - davidw 16y ago
      > A person who can't understand the concept of "physically present but working and unavailable" is likely a person who is stuck in their own head and can't appreciate that you have your own life. That can be a real problem. That, or they're a perfectly normal young child. And it works both ways: when you hid your kid crying (which you'll hear even with the door closed), it overrides pretty much everything else in your head.
- edanm 16y ago
  I'm a case of a still-living-at-parent's-house entrepreneur. I do this to keep down on expenses, which is the reason I can work for so long on my stuff without worrying about financing. But it is hard. It's impossible to explain to your parents that it's not ok to ask you to "just drive your brother somewhere, it will only take 10 minutes". From their point of view, it's entirely reasonable. From your point of view, it's a waste of maybe an hour, considering switching costs and everything else.
quadedge 16y ago
Yeah, I find it hard to help them understand what I'm trying to do.
mgkimsal 16y ago
I typically just close the door, and my wife knows not to disturb me when the door's closed. It's pretty darn simple, really. I agree with the other post - have partners and family that understand "when I say I'm at work, do not disturb me". Perhaps a 'do not disturb' sign would be more effective?
- wilig 16y ago
  I also both close and lock my door. The problem stems from the fact that while my wife intellectually understands I'm at work, she has trouble accepting it on a more emotional level. When kids are acting up, or she is having a rough day she tends to get resentful that I get to "relax" in my office while she deals with the various disasters. Actually one of the biggest challenges is meals. Do you take your lunch in your office? Eat with the family? Eating with the family sounds great, but it can really derail your train of thought. The only thing that seems to work for me is to be really strict about it, and deal with any resentment head on at the end of the day.
  - noverloop 16y ago
    I think you have more accurately described the problem the article was trying to point out. It's counterïntuitive to be physically present but mentally away, so it doesn't make emotional sense to your social circle to not help out when the need arises. I don't think it's a good idea to disregard the basic fact that we're human for an extended period of time, we haven't adapted (yet) to support this unnatural state called 'work'.
nkassis 16y ago
I spent 6 months working at home this past winter and I personally found it hard to seperate work and house work when I'm at home. I'll be working on stuff then random things need to be done. the issue with people bothering you is usually because it's so much easier when you are there. If you are gone, or close the door(lock it) then it's more work for them to interrupt you. It's still not the same as an office. An office or starbucks fixed that.
grannyg00se 16y ago
All of those scenarios would be less likely to happen if the "entrepeneur" had an actual office in the home. A separate room. With a door. That can be locked. During working hours in the office, people can contact you through instant message, phone, email, etc just as though you were not there.
mrbird 16y ago
I find it much harder to take breaks when working at home. This is good and bad. You can slam through a long uninterrupted coding session, but sometimes this goes past the point of diminishing returns. Interruptions (if not too frequent) can help re-focus your mind (e.g. the Pomodoro technique). Physical exercise is another one. Sometimes at home I'll forget to move (or even eat) for many hours. That can't be healthy.
quickpost 16y ago
I recently rented a small office in a coworking space and I can't recommend it enough. It's increased both my happiness and my productivity. For me it makes it much easier to separate home life and work life - when I'm at work, I'm working. And when I'm at home, I'm spending time with my family. There is no more confusion for me or for them. I also used to get really lonely working from home, and I've found that just having other people working near me makes me significantly less so. It also makes me feel like I'm still connected to the bigger capitalistic machine and not so isolated from everything.
Ixiaus 16y ago
I work from home too, luckily I don't have a family to deal with, just my girlfriend and she works 9-to-5 every day. The only stickler that's annoying for me is uncleanliness in the house, I generally spend a lot of time picking up because I can't work with a messy home (even the kitchen). This is a case for having an office to myself, now doubt. Oh, and having the opportunity to work late and not be interrupted when she comes home...
robryan 16y ago
It's even worse when your not following a fixed schedule and freelancing is the only constant going on in your life at the time. When I've had this I'd occasionally get up thinking I'll spend the day working, have my girlfriend come over and want to go out or something else come up and convince myself I can put things on hold to later/ tomorrow. The other thing I find, working out of home, if I hit a tough coding/ design problem I tend to get distracted doing something else. Whereas working out of home I can stay focused and get it done.
kristiandupont 16y ago
I bought a USB lamp that is controlled with my pomodoro software. Whenever I am in pomodoro, it goes red (and skype/msn switches to do not disturb). It works surprisingly well - people know not to disturb me when it's red and they respect it because they know that it will max take 25 minutes before they can talk to me.
- barkingcat 16y ago
  which pomodoro software do you use? I've been looking for a good one, but the ones I find are all kinda crappy from a ui point of view.
  - kristiandupont 16y ago
    http://www.beatpoints.com/cherrytomato http://www.beatpoints.com/cherrytomato Windows only, but I am making it open source so hopefully somebody will port it
    - barkingcat 16y ago
      cool I'll give it a try.
  - danilocampos 16y ago
    I just released a lightweight work/break time manager for OS X that can be easily configured for Pomodoro. It's freeware: http://www.burstling.com http://www.burstling.com
bcl 16y ago
I've been a telecommuter for the last 4 years. The key to being successful is learning to say no and having an office with a door. Working from the couch with a laptop doesn't work -- you have to be out of sight of the rest of the family. You also have to learn to say no when they ask for your attention during those trips to the bathroom, or the fridge. Eventually they will realize that you are working. That being said, I do usually eat lunch with the family, or at least not in the office. It gives me a chance to let my mind relax and sometimes come up with a new way of looking at whatever problem I'm working on.

24 points by quadedge 16y ago

Perhaps the moral of that cartoon should be "why Entrepreneurs should reconsider having partners and children that can't tell the difference between play and work" My 4 year old daughter woke me up the other day saying "Wake up you've got to work. That's what grown ups do".

michael_dorfman 16y ago
I've got 4 children, and while they can tell the difference between play and work, it still confuses them when I am around and visible, but not available to help, or talk, or whatever. Having an office outside the house is well worth the expense; it makes it the distinction between "work" and "home" very clear to everybody, and when I am in either place, I am able to give my full attention to the task at hand, be it work or family. By the way: you might want to ask your 4-year-old for some details concerning what she thinks "work" is all about. When asked what job she wants to have when she grows up, mine says "Tinkerbell."
- davidw 16y ago
  I work at home and it's not ideal. I think the ideal thing would actually be to have something that's very close, but physically a separate building. Part of the problem is that, if you're anything like me, computer time isn't all work time. Sometimes for instance, my 2 year old and I look at videos of animals on youtube or talk to grandma and grandpa on skype, and at 2, she's just beginning to acquire words like 'work', let alone fully understand the implications.
  - krschultz 16y ago
    I've always thought about the idea of turning a barn style building into an office. The biggest issue for working from home is meetings. You can't have people into your "office" and be taken seriously, and there are just some things you can't do at Starbucks.
nkassis 16y ago
Actually, that's a terrible criterion for choosing a partner in my view.
- yummyfajitas 16y ago
  I think it's a reasonable criterion. A person who can't understand the concept of "physically present but working and unavailable" is likely a person who is stuck in their own head and can't appreciate that you have your own life. That can be a real problem. At least, that's my experience. YMMV.
  - davidw 16y ago
    > A person who can't understand the concept of "physically present but working and unavailable" is likely a person who is stuck in their own head and can't appreciate that you have your own life. That can be a real problem. That, or they're a perfectly normal young child. And it works both ways: when you hid your kid crying (which you'll hear even with the door closed), it overrides pretty much everything else in your head.
edanm 16y ago
I'm a case of a still-living-at-parent's-house entrepreneur. I do this to keep down on expenses, which is the reason I can work for so long on my stuff without worrying about financing. But it is hard. It's impossible to explain to your parents that it's not ok to ask you to "just drive your brother somewhere, it will only take 10 minutes". From their point of view, it's entirely reasonable. From your point of view, it's a waste of maybe an hour, considering switching costs and everything else.

quadedge 16y ago

Yeah, I find it hard to help them understand what I'm trying to do.

mgkimsal 16y ago

I typically just close the door, and my wife knows not to disturb me when the door's closed. It's pretty darn simple, really. I agree with the other post - have partners and family that understand "when I say I'm at work, do not disturb me". Perhaps a 'do not disturb' sign would be more effective?

wilig 16y ago
I also both close and lock my door. The problem stems from the fact that while my wife intellectually understands I'm at work, she has trouble accepting it on a more emotional level. When kids are acting up, or she is having a rough day she tends to get resentful that I get to "relax" in my office while she deals with the various disasters. Actually one of the biggest challenges is meals. Do you take your lunch in your office? Eat with the family? Eating with the family sounds great, but it can really derail your train of thought. The only thing that seems to work for me is to be really strict about it, and deal with any resentment head on at the end of the day.
- noverloop 16y ago
  I think you have more accurately described the problem the article was trying to point out. It's counterïntuitive to be physically present but mentally away, so it doesn't make emotional sense to your social circle to not help out when the need arises. I don't think it's a good idea to disregard the basic fact that we're human for an extended period of time, we haven't adapted (yet) to support this unnatural state called 'work'.

nkassis 16y ago

I spent 6 months working at home this past winter and I personally found it hard to seperate work and house work when I'm at home. I'll be working on stuff then random things need to be done. the issue with people bothering you is usually because it's so much easier when you are there. If you are gone, or close the door(lock it) then it's more work for them to interrupt you. It's still not the same as an office. An office or starbucks fixed that.

grannyg00se 16y ago

All of those scenarios would be less likely to happen if the "entrepeneur" had an actual office in the home. A separate room. With a door. That can be locked. During working hours in the office, people can contact you through instant message, phone, email, etc just as though you were not there.

mrbird 16y ago

I find it much harder to take breaks when working at home. This is good and bad. You can slam through a long uninterrupted coding session, but sometimes this goes past the point of diminishing returns. Interruptions (if not too frequent) can help re-focus your mind (e.g. the Pomodoro technique). Physical exercise is another one. Sometimes at home I'll forget to move (or even eat) for many hours. That can't be healthy.

quickpost 16y ago

I recently rented a small office in a coworking space and I can't recommend it enough. It's increased both my happiness and my productivity. For me it makes it much easier to separate home life and work life - when I'm at work, I'm working. And when I'm at home, I'm spending time with my family. There is no more confusion for me or for them. I also used to get really lonely working from home, and I've found that just having other people working near me makes me significantly less so. It also makes me feel like I'm still connected to the bigger capitalistic machine and not so isolated from everything.

Ixiaus 16y ago

I work from home too, luckily I don't have a family to deal with, just my girlfriend and she works 9-to-5 every day. The only stickler that's annoying for me is uncleanliness in the house, I generally spend a lot of time picking up because I can't work with a messy home (even the kitchen). This is a case for having an office to myself, now doubt. Oh, and having the opportunity to work late and not be interrupted when she comes home...

robryan 16y ago

It's even worse when your not following a fixed schedule and freelancing is the only constant going on in your life at the time. When I've had this I'd occasionally get up thinking I'll spend the day working, have my girlfriend come over and want to go out or something else come up and convince myself I can put things on hold to later/ tomorrow. The other thing I find, working out of home, if I hit a tough coding/ design problem I tend to get distracted doing something else. Whereas working out of home I can stay focused and get it done.

kristiandupont 16y ago

I bought a USB lamp that is controlled with my pomodoro software. Whenever I am in pomodoro, it goes red (and skype/msn switches to do not disturb). It works surprisingly well - people know not to disturb me when it's red and they respect it because they know that it will max take 25 minutes before they can talk to me.

barkingcat 16y ago
which pomodoro software do you use? I've been looking for a good one, but the ones I find are all kinda crappy from a ui point of view.
- kristiandupont 16y ago
  http://www.beatpoints.com/cherrytomato http://www.beatpoints.com/cherrytomato Windows only, but I am making it open source so hopefully somebody will port it
  - barkingcat 16y ago
    cool I'll give it a try.
- danilocampos 16y ago
  I just released a lightweight work/break time manager for OS X that can be easily configured for Pomodoro. It's freeware: http://www.burstling.com http://www.burstling.com

bcl 16y ago

I've been a telecommuter for the last 4 years. The key to being successful is learning to say no and having an office with a door. Working from the couch with a laptop doesn't work -- you have to be out of sight of the rest of the family. You also have to learn to say no when they ask for your attention during those trips to the bathroom, or the fridge. Eventually they will realize that you are working. That being said, I do usually eat lunch with the family, or at least not in the office. It gives me a chance to let my mind relax and sometimes come up with a new way of looking at whatever problem I'm working on.