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I've had a similar problem after working for 10 months for a company in Scotland (from Vancouver). Unfortunately, I didn't have any co-working/café/library opti

by danudey 16y ago

I've had a similar problem after working for 10 months for a company in Scotland (from Vancouver). Unfortunately, I didn't have any co-working/café/library options because for security reasons I had to be connecting from my static (home) IP address. It didn't help that because of my coverage time, I needed to be at home on weekends and during the evenings - all the times that my friends were available. Basically 10 months without a social life. On top of that, I never had the feeling that I could 'go home' and relax. I was always at home, so I could always work, so no matter what I was doing (reading, web browsing, watching TV) I always felt like I should be working instead. This ended up carrying over to other activities, even when I was out in the mornings before my shift, and I ended up feeling constantly guilty for not being as productive as I could have been, which led to me feeling more and more depressed and being even less productive. It became a reckless downward spiral that I just couldn't deal with. In the end, I took a pay cut ($20k loss in take-home) to start at a local company so that I could shake the depression I was dealing with and stop being so squirrely. Some people can do working from home, and some jobs are worth doing from home, but personally I couldn't deal with it.

mthoms 16y ago
I went through a similar thing as a one man startup (also in Vancouver). Like you, I've come to realize I simply can't do it. The funny thing is that people often think you're living the dream by working from home. After all, you can work in your underwear if you want to! Indeed, I thought I had it pretty good and couldn't understand why I was so unhappy all the time. It's my opinion that people who can work from home for long periods of time and maintain a healthy mental and physical state are the exception and not the rule.
- danudey 16y ago
  Definitely true. I found that after a few weeks, I was waking up, stumbling out of bed, sitting in my chair, and taking a look at what was going on. After a few months, I realized that I felt awful every day, because I'd gone from bed to work without any break in between, and it was getting close to 4 PM before I was showering and having breakfast. Enforcing an actual schedule on yourself makes a significant difference, and it's the only reason I managed to keep myself sane as long as I did.

by danudey 16y ago

mthoms 16y ago

I went through a similar thing as a one man startup (also in Vancouver). Like you, I've come to realize I simply can't do it. The funny thing is that people often think you're living the dream by working from home. After all, you can work in your underwear if you want to! Indeed, I thought I had it pretty good and couldn't understand why I was so unhappy all the time. It's my opinion that people who can work from home for long periods of time and maintain a healthy mental and physical state are the exception and not the rule.

danudey 16y ago
Definitely true. I found that after a few weeks, I was waking up, stumbling out of bed, sitting in my chair, and taking a look at what was going on. After a few months, I realized that I felt awful every day, because I'd gone from bed to work without any break in between, and it was getting close to 4 PM before I was showering and having breakfast. Enforcing an actual schedule on yourself makes a significant difference, and it's the only reason I managed to keep myself sane as long as I did.