There are many reasons why you don’t want to set up a home office and only one good reason. And I’m watching it fall with a vengeance outside my kitchen window. There’s a wonderful calm that comes over you when you look at a three-foot pile of snow and know that your morning commute consists of putting on your “dress” slippers and heading downstairs to the office. I greet my children and myself another cup of coffee.
So what is the downside of working outside the home? One word… food. It’s RIGHT THERE… ALL THE TIME! And the problem is, I know where the bagels and Ritz crackers and granola bars are, and they whisper my name all day long. So I closed my door, but who are we kidding? As the day progresses, I open the door and look outside, hoping a celery stick will jump out at me, but no, once again, fries are the first to greet me. I have no chance as long as we all live in the same house…
Many “experts” will tell you that another problem many people have with home offices is distraction from household chores. You know how to fold the laundry because you walk past the dryer or empty the dishwasher on the way to the fries. Actually? I never have an overwhelming urge to do laundry on the weekends, and these experts think I’ll suddenly develop an urge to mop the floor on the way to the bathroom? Apparently I am more professional than I thought because I have never ironed during work hours.
Deciding to move into home offices was an exciting move for my business partner and me. After reading “You Can Work From Home Too,” I began to transform our family’s office into MY office. I looked around the messy room and opened the closet…to find everything imaginable. a sneaker; a Kodak 35mm camera, because you never know when film will be back in style; and a cell phone bag. Do you remember those? State-of-the-art technology at the time when “Men at Work” was topping the music charts and girls were discovering Michael J Fox on Family Ties.
So while my office is a room that wasn’t meant for much more than a crib and changing table, it’s all mine, and I had decided that this office would inspire me in ways that were creative, fun, and original. In other words, “Where do I hang my Christmas lights?”
No driving to work on a snowy winter day, your furry friend, whether cat or dog, at your feet or on your lap, and The Young and the Restless keeping you company over lunch in your comfortable kitchen. There is a lot to be said for having a home office.
Working from my home office is pretty much how I envisioned it… except maybe better. Who wouldn’t want to just walk downstairs to work on that stormy winter morning? Or close the computer for the day and “boom” you’re home. Having a home office can have its downsides, but I’m having trouble thinking of one right now.