Life as a Telecommuter - Page 2
© Leslie Truex
At noon I pick my daughter up from school and head home. I get her settled with lunch and an activity and by 1 pm I'm back working in my home office. If I don't need to be online, I may bring my laptop into the same room my daughter is in. At 3:25 I head out to get my son off the bus. Once home, I have him work on his homework while I check his book bag. I spend some time with both of them but I try to be back working by 4 or so. I work until 5 when I head to the kitchen to start dinner.
The evening I spend with the family unless I'm on a deadline in which I may go back to work after dinner. Otherwise, I wait until the kids are in bed and then go back to work if needed (there is always something I can do). All in all I work somewhere between 5 and 7 hours per day. I do work some over the weekend, usually only a few hours though.
MY CHALLENGES
While I have outlined my day above, it rarely flows as easily as suggested. Particularly during the holidays, I attend my children's school parties or other events. Unplanned errands often pop up at inopportune times requiring a drive back into town. And my children rarely make it an entire afternoon without fighting, needing help finding something, getting hurt, or otherwise needing to interrupt me. In fact, I think having children at home is the greatest challenge. I am fortunate that the companies for which I work don't require set hours. Some companies not only require a set period of uninterrupted work but also childcare arrangement for telecommuters.
WHY IT'S WORTH IT
Despite the challenges, working at home offers me so many advantages. The flexibility to be able to take my daughter to a good school in town instead of locally, as well as not having to send her to childcare (although I do have a friend she visits if I absolutely need the time and solitude to complete work) is really wonderful. I can go to my children's special functions and sports events. I don't have to call into a boss if my kids or I are sick and need to stay home. I can travel at anytime to almost anywhere because with my laptop and phone line, I can work anywhere. I have to say the best part, is not having to get dressed up in the morning as well as getting my kids ready to get us all out to jobs and school.
Go To Page: 1 2
