For five and a half years, I had the opportunity to work from home, and it went really well. I could sleep in, work the hours I wanted to to work and I made pretty good money. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I had to return to a 40-hour week job about three months ago, and it was definitely an adjustment.
The first hurdle for me to get over was the anxiety I felt about returning to a regular job, because I had worked on my own for so long. I did not know how I would fit in or how I would deal with criticism from my boss. When you’re working out of your own home you are your own boss, for good or bad.
I was also not looking forward to the commute every day. I would have to drive more than 13 miles each way to get to and from work, and it was quite a drag at first. I put more miles on my vehicle in the first three months on the job than I did in the previous year when I was working from home. When the traffic was thick, more often than not, those 13 miles might take over 30 minutes and sometimes an hour.
Besides having to drive that distance, there is the stress that goes along with it, such as traffic jams and bad weather. When I would work from home, I never had to deal with any of that stuff. My “job” was basically to decide on a topic, create a domain name, build my own website, and then promote it. Nothing there that needs a commute.
It also really took me a while to adjust to somebody else’s schedule. It may not seem like it would be that difficult, but I really had a hard time completing certain tasks at certain times. When you’re working for yourself, out of the house, you have the luxury of setting your own schedule. You also have to have the discipline to set that schedule.
I had never really appreciated how much of a luxury it was to work out of the house, but it has been good to get back to working a “real job,” as well. I have made a number of new friends, gotten a valuable real world refresher course, and more.
I don’t have as much time to dwell on negative thoughts now that I no longer work from home, and that has generally made me a more happy person. As I mentioned above, a certain amount of discipline is required and it’s sometimes easy to let the negative thoughts creep in.
Another good thing for me about working outside of the house is that I have become more active and lost some weight. While I actually had more time work out or go to the gym while working from the house, somehow I never managed to do it. I feel a lot healthier and more energetic because of this.
There are benefits and downsides when you work from home, and I certainly have run the gambit in both regards. While I really did enjoy being able to do my own thing, I am probably better off now that i have a “real job.” It’s just easier to have someone else provide the discipline and direction than to do it for myself. Maybe I should get one of those goal setting courses and try again… today’s commute was 80 minutes for those 13 miles.