Do You Have a Home Office?
Do you telecommute or work from home?
Maybe you are a blogger, like me, and all of your work is done from your dining room? Or do you have a room all to yourself?
When the twins were infants I started working from home for a local company and I used one of our spare bedrooms as my office. I have a file cabinet, phone system, printer, desk, computer and even a cheap leather office chair that was a hand-me-down. Â At the time I was also serving on our PTA Executive board and needed room to store, sort and prepare for meetings, fundraisers and upcoming events. Â We had the extra space to designate an unused bedroom and convert it to this office, and while it gave me privacy and a great deal of space to get serious work done, I was also tucked away in a room while my family and kids were continuing with life. Â This was not a big deal if I got up and worked before all the kids got out of bed, or worked on things once they went to sleep at night, but during any daytime hours it just did not work.
When I had Matthew I continued the work-from-home-gig until he was about 3 months old and then naturally a break from PTA and my work-at-home-job just kind of happened.  And it was needed even though I may not have acknowledged it right away.
When I got serious about blogging it was not a big deal to publish my posts from the kitchen table. I needed few supplies and little space than my precious commitments had required. It was really ideal to be in the same room with the kids while I blogged, so the kitchen table worked just fine.
Recently Lenny and I agreed it was time for me to have some space, but we both agreed that it needed to be space here in the open. There is a lovely little nook of space off to the side in our dining room and it was just the right size to hold a small’ish desk. It was easy to covert the space and find an inexpensive work space that just slid perfectly into the nook. We even found a swivel chair for my home office area. Â I could probably even find a small contemporary guest chair and use it as a time out space when kids are misbehaving. They can be my office assistant while they regroup.
The only down side to this layout would be that little fingers have access to everything on my desk.
And yes, I do need and use both of those laptops. IÂ really could use a third one- I want an Apple desktop. I keep so many windows open and going I clog computers up. With multiple computers going I can still do many tasks at one time, yet use one computer for social media tasks and then have the other computer uploading and editing photos without freezing things up and slowing me down.
How do you make your home office work for you?
Yes, I work from home and have been doing it for about 15 years. I have always had a space separate from the daily hub bub of the household because I talk to customers on the phone, but my kids know that they can invade any time they want to. Right now, I have the entire basement of the house for myself. I have a bedroom area, a sitting area with a TV and fireplace (really nice when you are working in the winter) and my office area. Since I have worked from home for most of my kids’ lives, they have been brought up with the rules. They know that during my set work hours of the day, I can’t get up and leave at the drop of a hat, unless it is an emergency. They also know that when I am on the phone, they TV has to go on mute and they have to be quiet. They also know that if I am not on the phone they can come talk to me and
have fun. (Sorry, I don’t know what happened there – hit a button I wasn’t supposed to – LOL). Oh, and just so you are not misled and think I have some huge luxurious space to work in, my total house is only about 1300 square feet. I just like to use space efficiently.
I love working from home, except for the not being around people (adult people – single Mom with 2 kids) on a day to day basis. I really have to work at not being a hermit and make myself get out there in the world every once in a while.
Oh, and I am a Virtual Administrative Assistant for an online company and I also am their Distance Manager (new lingo for Office Manager). I have been with DrivingUniversity.com for the last 5 years. I am new to the blogging world on SunshinePlusStyle.com. It’s more of a hobby than anything.
Well, I blog from home or the dorm room. My dorm room already has a desk which works perfect. At home, I usually sit on the couch. Things are a bit more hectic at home, which I why end up doing most of my blogging late at night.
I started blogging on the couch then we built a narrow desk in the bedroom so I could work while the boys played Wii or watched TV. Last year when my laptop died I was given a brand new laptop with a 17.3″ screen. This laptop is too large to fit on the desk in the bedroom so I moved back to the living room. Right now my 16yo son and I are giving the den/school/music room a makeover. It will become our shared office space for my work and his homeschooling when it is finished. Right now we are saving for new flooring so we can get rid of the 1970s carpet that is still in that room!
A laptop makes it all possible. For example, I feel like crap right now, so I am blogging from my bed. Otherwise, the couch in my living room. Though I’ve blogged from my kitchen table before.
My home office is out in the open as well, but it works.
It is great to have your own designated space even if the kids can reach you! lol
I love having my home office so I can shut the door and get to work. A laptop is also helpful because I can sit and watch TV, be with the family or work when I’m not feeling well.
I blog from my computer desk. I wish I had a laptop. I’m saving up money I earn from blogging to buy myself one. I hate asking hubby for big items so I’d rather earn it myself than ask for it. I blog when my boys are asleep, napping or gone. Like right now they are spending a week with my Mom camping so I can hopefully get some stuff finished and scheduled.