Re: telecommuting - advice needed

[Elaine Garnet <2egarnet -at- rogers -dot- com>]

Hi Lev:

I work from home in Canada as a consultant for multiple clients and  
just love it. I get up in the morning, eat breakfast, get my coffee  
and head downstairs to the office that has a lovely bright view of my  
back garden (some natural light is important to me). I have a comfy  
chair, a good desk, a reliable desktop computer and laptop, printer,  
fax and blackberry. All of my business-use-of-home expenses are a tax  
deduction here in Canada.

It requires some discipline, especially during my busy season when I  
have to work seven days a week (the downside). Other than that, I  
manage my own time. I do not work in pajamas as I would just want to  
go back to bed. After lunch, I take a walk in the fresh air and work  
until dinnertime. I never work in the evening.

Since you have to work to set hours, your time is more circumscribed  
than mine. However, I still have to be available at the drop of a hat  
and that is why I have a blackberry and a high-speed internet  
connection. Oh, and by the way, I keep offsite backups in a safety  
deposit box at my local bank. We can't afford to lose data since the  
handy IT professional does not exist.

This has been my experience, Lev, and I hope it will help you.

Elaine


On 23-Apr-09, at 1:56 PM, Lev Abramov wrote:

> dear list -
> After having been a nine-to-fiver for the past three years and a  
> recent
> lay-off, I have just been offered a three-month work-from-home  
> contract
> (with a chance of becoming permanent). Decent pay and benefits. I  
> will be
> collaborating with two teams in two totally different time zones (the
> Philippines and the US). Set hours (8 + 2 with a two-hour break in
> between).
>
> Not that I have never worked from home - but I have never worked as  
> part of
> a geographically distributed team. Apart from the cross-cultural
> communication problems (and I could use a lot of advice in this
> department!), what should I take into account? How should I brace  
> myself for
> this new experience? Any and all suggestions and advice will be  
> accepted
> with gratitude.
>
> Best -
>
> Lev
>
> -- 
> Lev Abramov
> http://myblog.schiffman.biz/
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ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing 
solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor,  Microsoft Word or 
HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. 
http://www.doctohelp.com

Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/

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