RE: Telecommuting Advice?

["Barbara Philbrick" <caslon -at- alltel -dot- net>]

Track your hours. (I use HourzPro on my Palm Pilot, but pen and paper work,
too.) I work in 50 minute chunks (on the advice of  a chiropractor, who
recommended moving 10 minutes out of every hour.

This works for both problems that can arise from working at home -- working
too little and working too much. I work odd hours, so keeping track of the
actual hours helps me keep things in balance. I have found that working 30
to 35 billable hours is my max; it might seem like you're not working as
much at home, but remember that you don't have water-cooler conversations
and some of the other stuff that eats up time at the office.

Depending on your social needs, you are right to be concerned. I make sure I
go to lunch with a friend once a week, plus I have a dance class on Monday
nights and attend most STC meetings.

For face time, I find that once a week at each client works well, though I
have long-time clients where it's more like once a month.

Also make sure your work space is separate from you home space. I nearly
drove myself crazy with an office in the dining room --- I never really left
home and never really left work, so the pressures of both were always on me.
You need a space you can close the door on and say, "Now I'm at home."

I love working from home and have found a balance that works, but you might
need to experiment a bit.

Good luck,

Barb




-----Original Message-----
From: bounce-techwr-l-199665 -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:bounce-techwr-l-199665 -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Jones, Donna
Sent: Monday, June 13, 2005 11:35 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: Telecommuting Advice?


Next week, I'm starting telecommuting part time (every other week on site)
and eventually moving to full-time (on site when needed, maybe a week or so
every month). I'm wondering if I'm doing the right thing even though it will
eliminate a 2+ hour daily commute and will allow me to move closer to
family. I almost dread the thought of not being in the middle of things
every day (see my previous post about our work environment). 

Anyone have any advice for someone about to start telecommuting and how to
deal with the usual stuff--boredom, distractions, lack of "face time" with
others? How do I keep from getting so starved for adult conversation that I
latch onto strangers at the grocery store or talk my husband's ears off? How
do I keep from rearranging the furniture in the house or doing my spring
cleaning when I'm supposed to be working? I'd like to know what's worked for
other people.

Thanks in advance,
Donna


Donna L. Jones
--------------------------------------
Technical Writer II
Zebra Technologies Corp.
Vernon Hills, IL
djones -at- zebra -dot- com
 


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

New from Quadralay Corporation: WebWorks ePublisher Pro! Easily create 
14 online formats, including 6 Help systems, in a project-based 
workflow. Live, online demo! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l

Doc-To-Help 2005 now has RoboHelp Converter and HTML Source: Author 
content and configure Help in MS Word or any HTML editor. No 
proprietary editor! *August release. http://www.componentone.com/TECHWRL/DocToHelp2005

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.