The 8 Tips in Dealing with the Work-at-Home Blues
One of the hardest things I had to deal with when I first started working-at-home was what I call the work-at-home blues.
For over 10 years, I worked in the corporate world where I was constantly surrounded by people. I had a boss and I was a boss myself, so upper management and my direct reports were always seeking me out for one thing or another. I remember how I dreaded coming back from a vacation to an inbox with a hundred emails, numerous urgent voicemails, and IMs popping up as soon as I turned on my computer.
All that slowed down a lot once I went part-time and started telecommuting in my last trimester. After I had my son and started my own business, the constant interruptions from my boss, coworker, vendors, and employees that used to drive me crazy, were what I craved. In fact, the lack of it gave me the work-at-home blues. That feeling of being needed gave me a sense of accomplishment and frankly, power. With post-partum hormones raging, a new baby, new city, and new business, I felt so isolated. I wished I had that work friend to grab lunch with or colleague to bounce ideas off of, but I joined the ranks of many out there working-from-home – alone.
I finally told myself that there are so many advantages to working from home and these work-at-home blues were not going to get the best of me. Here’s what I did to overcome them:
1. Join a gym or workout group – I did both. In addition to helping me work off the baby weight, I met a bunch of good people whom have become friends.
2. There’s a reason why they call it Happy hour — Happy hour does not have to end because you work by yourself. Meet some friends online, join a MeetUp group, and call your friends and neighbors and invite them to a happy hour.
3. Shower everyday – You laugh, but I’m serious. Treat your work-at-home career as a real job. Whether you’re doing it part-time or full-time, make sure you take time every morning to shower, get ready, and “report” into work at a set time.
4. Establish a structure and schedule for your day – Write down a to-do list at the end of the previous day. These 15 minutes spent the day before while the information was fresh saved me about an hour the next morning.
5. Reach out and network – When creating your schedule and writing your to-do list, make sure to include two things every day that require you to interact with a real person.
6. Take advantage of technology and make friends online.
7. Team up with other home-based businesses in a referral partnership – You will see in this win-win relationship that you send additional business each other’s way through referrals while establishing professional relationships.
8. Turn on the radio. One of the easiest things I did to help combat the work-at-home blues was turn on the radio. I like hip-hop and top 40, but had to be careful not to turn it on too loud for two reasons: 1) so I would not wake my son up and 2) wind up jamming to it instead of working.
The transition from corporate life to working-at-home was not an overnight process. It took me a couple of months to realize that the work-at-home blues had taken a hold on me causing me to dread “going” to work the next day. I remember I would get so sad when my husband left for work leaving at home with a baby, empty house, and new business I wanted to start. I did everything I could to avoid going into my office and realized I wasn’t getting anything done.
Once I sat down and decided to do something about it and did everything I mentioned above, my attitude changed and work became something I looked forward to. Remember, it takes times to transition into this new work environment. As you can see, there are many things you can do to stay connected and you do not have to do it alone. Contact me via my groups or contact page below.
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