WACHOO!

Sunday, it's a Sunday!

So, it's Edith! Sniffing and sniveling.
I've had the most dreadful cold of my generation this week!
Honking, sneezling, wheezing and coughing.
Autumn = allergies + a cold or flu = Chaos.
But I'm on a deadline.
So how did I write?

With my fingers, which were unaffected.
The book scrolls in my head, untouched by germs.
I write on.

I work at home.
I am my own boss. So I can't call in sick. I can't tell me that my grandmother died.

Do you think it's a lark to work at home? Most people I meet think so.

HA!

I can't ask for pity from my coworkers.
I can't look for sympathy, because my only coworker is my dear Daisy. And whatever happens - fire, flood or famine: Daisy knows when it's time for her to eat, go for a walk, or play with Mommy.
And nothing gets in the way of a dog's timetable.
I can't ask someone else to cover for me either. (unless I need some barking done.)

It's true I don't have to wear panty hose, every day or any day.
There's no commutation costs, and lunch is cheaper.
And it's been so long since I had to "dress for work" that by now I feel like I'm in drag when I wear a skirt.

But I can't call in sick.
I can't make excuses.

Could you be as hard on yourself as a tough but reasonable boss would be?
A writer has to be.
And in spite of all the problems, I must confess - it suits me.

Knowing that, I'd love to know: what about you? What would you prefer? Work at home, or away?

Comments

[Val Jones]

I work both in the office and at home. And in the car. And in the grocery store. And on vacation. And....

With today's "electronic leashes" (pager, cell phone, email, etc) many employers expect employees to work 24/7/365.

Me? I want to win the lottery. :)

[Nina P]

Goodness, Edith. I'm so sorry you have a cold.

I definitely understand the 'working from home' thing. Did it for about 15 years wearing every form of electronic leash available. When I traded working from home with working in Corporate America, I thought things would be different. Ya know, there're not. I still wear the leashes and check email at 11 pm. Not because I have to but because, that’s me. I’ve tried to fire myself several times. But, it doesn’t work. The dang woman keeps showing up in the mirror every morning. Ah, well. What can ya do?

Feel better, Edith.

Nina

[Cathy]

At home!

I imagine it's got to be one of the best side benefits of being a professional writer.

[Mary Jo Putney]

All true, Edith! Except the Worst Cold Part--I think I had that after coming home from Portugal, and it's only now just lifting.

I ADORE working at home, being a certifiable introvert, but it's true that one has to be a self-starter. Or more likely, be capable of producing when in deadline panic mode.

On the plus side are the lack of pantyhose, the pets (Grady is half an inch from my trackball), and the fact that one can take naps whenever one wants. Especially if one has a cold. :)

Mary Jo, whose Muse doesn't work through colds as well as Edith's does

[DeniseM]

At home. I found myself getting distracted when I worked in an office. I like to chat with others and had a hard time disciplining myself to get my work done and quit visiting. At home I wouldn't have that distraction, just a 5-yr-old sitting in the study with me constantly asking questions and saying "Look at this, Mom" or "Isn't this cool, Mom, see?" or "Watch this, Mom." He's a trooper, though, and waits for me to finish all my msg board business and web surfing, except for the constant dialogue.

[susannac]

Home, if I have a separate space where I've not got my sewing projects and stacks of cookbooks and decorating magazines and TV remote and...and... you get the idea. I've actually worked quite a bit at home, successfully, so I know I can do it. I'd probably do better if at least a couple times a week I went to the library or something. I find that I work best during the day with the murmur of others in the background; libraries and coffee shops are good. If I'm home, late night/early morning (10p.m - 3 a.m. or so) is my best time to work. But then, I live alone.

But I'm also an inveterate introvert. Even when I go into my office, I close the door so my colleagues aren't even sure I'm there (since some days I do work from home). The entire outer wall of my office is glass, overlooking a nicely landscape area in front of my office building, and a busy intersection just beyond. I find that combination just enough people contact to keep me going, most days :D. Periodically I go visiting to other offices, which does me for a week or so.