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Life as a Telecommuter

© Leslie Truex

Telecommuting or working at home sounds like an ideal situation. You can get up when you want (unless you have to get kids to school), you can work in your most comfortable clothes, you can take care of household errands and chores, you can attend your children's functions, and you can work your own hours. It's too good to be true!

The reality is that while telecommuting does offer many wonderful perks and benefits, it's not without its problems. While each situation is different, I thought I would chronicle one of my days so you can get a feel for what telecommuting is like.

MY OFFICE

I have a home office that takes up a significant part of the area that would be a formal living room. I'm not as organized as I should be so my desk is frequently covered with papers, pens, books, articles, and whatever of my children's treasures that happen to end up there. Oh, and frequently there is a cat sprawled across it all.

I have a filing cabinet, which I put folders in about once a month when I get the energy to organize. The majority of my filing involves stacks of paper and some magazine boxes into which I put receipts or other important information. There are bookshelves over my desk and a ledge under my desk where I keep the books I'm most likely going to need to refer to during the course of my work.

I use a laptop but when I'm at home, I connect it to a monitor, keyboard, mouse and laser printer. Behind me is the family "workstation" which contains a desktop computer, color printer, scanner, and web cam. I do occasionally use it for work as well.

MY WORK

I have telecommuted in several different jobs. Currently I do freelance work for an online publishing company. I have in the past worked for several companies. I also run a work-at-home resource site and have written a book on telecommuting. I have recently started my own "Virtual Office Help" service as well as another side business both of which more accurately fit in the home business category. Nevertheless, the bulk of my time is spent working for the publishing company.

My job entails researching (using online databases, books, etc) and writing documents of all sort and sizes. I enjoy the variety and from it I learn many new things.

MY DAY

Each day is different depending on the day of the week but all days start by getting my son up and ready for school. Once I get my son on the bus, I go straight to my office, check email and organize my day. If it's a Monday, Wednesday or Friday, I get my daughter up and take her to pre-school. Because it's a thirty-minute drive, I usually stay in town. I take care of town errands such as banking or grocery shopping. If there is time, I go to Kinko's (with my laptop) and make use of its free laptop stations.

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