Thoughts on Working From Home

 

Just wanted to start off your Monday with some pretty images. :)  These were all taken at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center here in Austin, which is in FULL bloom right now! My mom and I sneezed our way through there the other day, and managed to snap some pretty pictures of the flowers in the process.

In other news, this morning I�m starting Day 1 of �business hours,� which I�m hoping will help me to stay disciplined and on task throughout each day.  I am someone who thrives on structure and always did well at school and work when I had someone to answer to, but now that I answer to myself? Well, let�s just say the rules and regulations are fairly lax around here.  I�m often not proud of myself at the end of the day, and always feel I should have accomplished more and wasted less time on this or that. 

It�s many people�s dream to work from home, and it truly is mine, too.  At this point, the thought of going out and getting a �real� job makes me cringe, because I feel my passion is for writing and photography and social media, and working for anyone but myself would be stifling to me.  BUT, every day I worry that I�m wasting this opportunity I�ve been given, to be my own boss and make my own way.  I witness people like my husband and like Edd and like others I know who have this unyielding drive that pushes them forward, and I want that!  But I think for some people, myself included, it doesn�t come naturally.  I have to work at it, and really hard.  The habits need to be formed.  The natural tendency to be a lazy ass needs to be understood and then battled daily.  And stuff needs to get done.  Checked off the list.  Progress made.  For me, progress has been slow lately.  And I have no one to blame but myself.

So, business hours! Structure!  There�s no one here to create it for me, so I�m trying really hard to create it for myself.  We only get one life, you know?  And I want to enjoy mine, and be proud of myself and what I�ve poured my time into.  So I wrote out these business hours explicitly, and even made myself a list of what business hours include and what they don�t.  I want the luxury of being flexible and being able to make my own schedule, but I know I also need to give myself more direction than I have been.

What about you?  If you work from home, what ways have you found to stay disciplined and on task throughout the day?  Do share�