10 Things About Working from Home...that maybe you didn't know

10. When I call you at 9:00am, odds are I am in fact still in my pajamas.


9. I save money and time by not driving to work everyday, or going out to eat. Which over all makes me more efficient and more productive - in all aspects of life.


8. Boundaries are erased. Work, Housework, and Dad Work all start to blur. I may be working at 6:00am, but through out the day I rotate to baby duty or housework. Just as I might be sorting laundry at 9:00am (in my PJ's while talking to you on a headset), or playing with my daughter at 3:00pm, I will place a work call at 7:30 pm my time or looking at emails on Sunday morning. I believe there is good and bad in this. But I believe it makes your job a more organic part of your life - its not compartmentalized in a different town, in a different office. But haven't laptops and cell phones already broke down those walls a little?


7. Its very strange watching all the people on my street drive to work in the morning, while I sit at my desk in my PJ's going through email.

6. I feel very weird picking my son up unshaven, and wearing yesterday's clothes right at 5:00 - everyone else is all business casual. I feel like everyone thinks I am unemployed and too lazy to watch my own kid. I'd almost rather be wearing a McDonald's uniform.

5. Having both ran out of toilet paper and been the victim of a massive toilet malfunction while at work - I can not stress the importance or put a value on using your own bathroom, with your own supply of TP and sure knowledge of where the plunger is. Nothing is worse than taking the walk of shame through the office with a plunger in your hand, as you head towards the bathroom. Nothing. Except maybe asking the VP where the plunger was....that was pretty bad too.

4. Calling someone to talk about the game or the upcoming draft is not the same as having the conversation in the elevator or at the copy machine. I miss casual office banter. I haven't gone so far as to paint a face on a volley ball with copier toner, name it Wilson and talk to it, but there is a certain amount of loneliness.

3. The fact that there is no one to keep you on task, no roving manager to tell you what to do or when to do is great. But, that means you accept the full responsibility for getting your job done. I remember that when I see that the Spice Girl's Reunion Tour is on VH1. While I have been wanting see "2 become 1" performed live for like 15 years maybe I should tape it and save it for later.

2. Lots of people think bringing animals to the office is a great way to relieve stress. I say, and I have 5 animals in my office, they are a huge pain in the ass. Sure, you gotta feed them, give them water, let them in and out. But then you get to listen to three cats simultaneously cough up hairballs while you're on the phone. Or try fill out quote sheets to the frenzied, rhythmic sounds of your dog licking her genitalia like its a best thing she's ever had. Its disgusting and distracting.

1. If something is due in an hour and you are feverishly trying to complete it, that is when the Dog will shit on the carpet (too close to your desk to ignore it...), the cat will barf on your papers (what do they eat that is that color?), the kid will wail for no reason and your Internet will go down. Do the best you can to stay ahead, stay calm and stay flexible. (The other flexible, not flexible in the slutty Romanian gymnast way...although that's good too)