Diary of a 'Work From Home' Man - Part I
Okay, it's been exactly 14 business days since I became a free agent, and by my estimation, I have officially been working ten times harder than I ever did at a "real" job...at least it feels like that. For some reason I had it in my head that I would have eight hours a day now to purely dedicate to coding; my bubble has been burst, however, as I find that, unless I'm willing to put in extra hours in the evening as well (which I am and have been doing), I really only have about four hours of coding time, at best, during the day. Of course, every day is different, and there have been a few where the phone was quiet, I was disciplined enough to stay logged out of Meebo and gmail, a nearby relative who equates working from home with not having a job didn't try to hit me up for a ride, and I actually got FIVE hours of work done. But typically, it's four or less.
I do realize that there's always going to be a "settling in" phase where I get into a routine, learn my way around a self-employed day...stuff like that. But man, I've got to tell ya, at this point I find myself LONGING for a regular day job again! Ah, the comforts of being salaried! The peace of earning money even while "seeing a man about a horse" (colorful metaphor my ex coworker used when referring to quality restroom time)! These days the old truism "if a man will not work, neither shall he eat" holds absolutely valid, as my livelihood is dependent on precisely how many billable hours I can churn out in a day. But no matter how hard I try, it seems I always come up just a bit shy of what I hope to accomplish. I am not discouraged, however, and have been consistently improving on when I begin my daily commute up the stairs, when to pencil in nature's call, and how to organize my tasks. Eventually I'll have it all down pat, but for now I feel like I'm just working constantly. I have even started to DREAM about my projects! (consequently, I'm considering billing for a portion of my REM time as well as any other miscellaneous technical meditations).
So, working for myself so far isn't the life of luxury and ease I thought it would be. On the other hand, however, I do get to choose which robe I will wear to work on a given day and shaving is an option (as long as I do it before Jen gets home).
I do realize that there's always going to be a "settling in" phase where I get into a routine, learn my way around a self-employed day...stuff like that. But man, I've got to tell ya, at this point I find myself LONGING for a regular day job again! Ah, the comforts of being salaried! The peace of earning money even while "seeing a man about a horse" (colorful metaphor my ex coworker used when referring to quality restroom time)! These days the old truism "if a man will not work, neither shall he eat" holds absolutely valid, as my livelihood is dependent on precisely how many billable hours I can churn out in a day. But no matter how hard I try, it seems I always come up just a bit shy of what I hope to accomplish. I am not discouraged, however, and have been consistently improving on when I begin my daily commute up the stairs, when to pencil in nature's call, and how to organize my tasks. Eventually I'll have it all down pat, but for now I feel like I'm just working constantly. I have even started to DREAM about my projects! (consequently, I'm considering billing for a portion of my REM time as well as any other miscellaneous technical meditations).
So, working for myself so far isn't the life of luxury and ease I thought it would be. On the other hand, however, I do get to choose which robe I will wear to work on a given day and shaving is an option (as long as I do it before Jen gets home).
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Re: Diary of a 'Work From Home' Man - Part I
That catcha was f'ing HARD! Need to drink more...
Yeah dude, feel your pain. Been in W2 now for 3 months after being 1099 for 2 years. It is a NICE break from all the stuff 1099's have to deal with.
If you're having problem concentrating, get an office away from home. That's what I did. I paid too much, but if I did it again, I'd find a cheaper one; working at home full-time sucks. My family ignores that I'm on the clock. They can't screw with me when I'm away.
Regarding separation of work and home, yeah dude; I'd carry my work with me everywhere. That was yet another reason to get an out of house office; if I had a bad day, I hated being home because I couldn't stop thinking about work. Same with sleep.
Choosing clients, only having to live with not-so-savory projects for a short time, and making tons more bling made it worth it, to me. I just recently became a traitor because I really dug the product work; they gave me more control as a W2 employee and I'm wiling to sacrifice money for control.
It'll get better; you're still feeling things out. You need to find your rhythm. BTW, WebWorkerDaily.com has some good articles for freelancers and dealing with the stuff you're dealing with.
Yeah dude, feel your pain. Been in W2 now for 3 months after being 1099 for 2 years. It is a NICE break from all the stuff 1099's have to deal with.
If you're having problem concentrating, get an office away from home. That's what I did. I paid too much, but if I did it again, I'd find a cheaper one; working at home full-time sucks. My family ignores that I'm on the clock. They can't screw with me when I'm away.
Regarding separation of work and home, yeah dude; I'd carry my work with me everywhere. That was yet another reason to get an out of house office; if I had a bad day, I hated being home because I couldn't stop thinking about work. Same with sleep.
Choosing clients, only having to live with not-so-savory projects for a short time, and making tons more bling made it worth it, to me. I just recently became a traitor because I really dug the product work; they gave me more control as a W2 employee and I'm wiling to sacrifice money for control.
It'll get better; you're still feeling things out. You need to find your rhythm. BTW, WebWorkerDaily.com has some good articles for freelancers and dealing with the stuff you're dealing with.
Posted by JesterXL on February 1, 2008 at 10:18 PM
Re: Diary of a 'Work From Home' Man - Part I
Hey Jester, thanks for feeling my pain! And thanks for the info and encouragement, too. Very much appreciated.
Doug :0)
Doug :0)
Posted by dougboude on February 2, 2008 at 12:39 AM
Re: Diary of a 'Work From Home' Man - Part I
I've been freelancing for more than 2 years now. Initially, I too thought I would be able to code all the time, and I went through the same bubble-bursting experience of realizing how tough working a full 8-hour day as a contractor can be; it takes a lot of discipline. When you're on salary, you can take half an hour to surf or do something non-work-related. When you're a contractor you can't.
I recommend trying to find a gig that gets you out of the house for a day or two each week. That way you can still enjoy some of the benefits of being in an office without the drudgery of having to be there full time. I usually go in to my main client once or twice a week, and it's pretty fun. I'm like a special guest in the office.
I recommend trying to find a gig that gets you out of the house for a day or two each week. That way you can still enjoy some of the benefits of being in an office without the drudgery of having to be there full time. I usually go in to my main client once or twice a week, and it's pretty fun. I'm like a special guest in the office.
Posted by adampasz on February 2, 2008 at 1:29 AM
Re: Diary of a 'Work From Home' Man - Part I
I've been working freelance from home for about 3-4 years now. It was easier before I got married, now I don't have nearly as much free time. But even then, with some discipline I'm still managing 6-8 hours most of the time. But yes, when you become a contractor you discover that what they say is true: people at regular full-time jobs only work 4 hours on average (a generalization, of course). You just need to focus on the good things: you can work when you feel like it, if you need to go run errands you can usually manage more easily, you can be at home for deliveries if needed, etc. Overall I'm quite happy working at home.
Posted by Thomas Messier on February 2, 2008 at 9:29 AM
Re: Diary of a 'Work From Home' Man - Part I
I've been freelance at home for a little over 5 years. Once I got over the billable hours hump (somewhat, I still only hit 5 hours on good days), the next challenge was keeping work from invading my life.
If you work at home then you live at work. I have found that it helped to put a lock on my office door. At the end of the work day, I try to turn off all computers and lock the door. Otherwise, I am likely to end up back at work in the evening.
Good luck!
If you work at home then you live at work. I have found that it helped to put a lock on my office door. At the end of the work day, I try to turn off all computers and lock the door. Otherwise, I am likely to end up back at work in the evening.
Good luck!
Posted by Steve Bryant on February 3, 2008 at 8:52 AM
Re: Diary of a 'Work From Home' Man - Part I
As computer programmers, we should be using computers as tools to do our work for us.
I liken it to working on a car.
We're the guy with the hood open, up to our elbows into the engine. Why? Because WE LOVE IT!
But we're working on someone else's car (or truck)! In fact, the rich guy owns a fleet of trucks and has them working for him to produce an income.
If he doesn't come in to work the next day, the trucks still go out.
What if you made a penny per click-thru instead of $120 per hour?
What if Bill Gates had negotiated with IBM for $100 per hour as opposed to maintaining ownership of MS-DOS?
A. Own your own software.
B. Charge per customer, as opposed to charging your client.
I liken it to working on a car.
We're the guy with the hood open, up to our elbows into the engine. Why? Because WE LOVE IT!
But we're working on someone else's car (or truck)! In fact, the rich guy owns a fleet of trucks and has them working for him to produce an income.
If he doesn't come in to work the next day, the trucks still go out.
What if you made a penny per click-thru instead of $120 per hour?
What if Bill Gates had negotiated with IBM for $100 per hour as opposed to maintaining ownership of MS-DOS?
A. Own your own software.
B. Charge per customer, as opposed to charging your client.
Posted by Phillip Senn on March 16, 2008 at 7:59 PM