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Organization and The Eternal Saga Of Working From Home

I work from home. I had a conventional office job (albeit in a creative and interesting environment) and, for reasons that need not be mentioned here, I opted to give it up, drop out of an external paycheck-granting office environment, and work from home.

I was ready for many of the usual challenges. Dealing directly with clients for payment, finding said clients in the first place and earning enough money to make it worthwhile and contribute to my family's financial success. For the most part it is going quite well. But there are days when all of a sudden it is noon and then three and I have not been able to finish all of the things that need doing.

Today has been a very productive day. I have set up several assignments, answered all of my work related emails and prioritized according to due dates and deadlines. The article writing machine in my head churned out many articles and my output has been quite good. And all before noon. Which is the reason why I have been able to justify taking time to post.

However, there have been a few unexpected challenges to working from home. One is finding a way to work when my children are around and demanding attention. Luckily, they are older so their issues can be dealt with and they are also capable of getting food for themselves on the weekend when they are home all day.

The other challenge is working when I am all by myself and there is nothing to prevent me from taking a little longer for a lunch break or watching just FIVE minutes of a favorite television show. Or even help with setting up a reasonable number of hours to work per day. I know my husband just shakes his head when it is midnight and I am still working blearily away at the computer. I hate those days.

I am beginning to learn why working from home can be so challenging. If you are thinking about doing the same thing... think carefully. It's taking a lot more discipline and self control than I would have ever thought. Being able to stay in my pj's until late in the day notwithstanding.

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