Telecommuting: Three Things

I've just caught up with my Google Reader, finally, and came across this article on Telecommuting by Shelley Fralic, a local columnist I follow.

She is right on the money.

Three things pointed out:

1. Separation anxiety: when I started this business I went from survive to thrive - and I think my friends wanted to wring my neck. I never thought of it as "separation anxiety" but boy, did I talk their ears off when on the phone or over coffee! Moving from an office setting to working from home is a huge shift. No longer were people popping into my office to ask how the weekend was. No longer was I joining colleagues for lunch every day. No longer was I really in touch with alot of the people I had seen on a daily basis. So after a few months, I realized that I rambled on and on (and on and on) to friends because sometimes I hadn't talked to anyone all day. Hadn't gotten "caught up" with their lives. It was quite the revelation. Lesson? Touch base with at least one friend daily. Even a 10-minute phone call can save your sanity. I usually do mine over morning coffee or a late-afternoon stretcher.


2. Distractions: I started with a schedule. I got up at the crack of dawn, did yoga, read the paper and browsed my Google Reader. Until I didn't anymore. Until something shiny would float by my line of sight and it'd be all over for a few hours. I'd be off on a tangent of research, of writing, of social networking... anything and everything that took me away from my list of things to do. Until I stopped. Until I didn't get distracted (as much!) anymore. One thing that really helped me was that this isn't a 9-5 job. This is an all-the-time job. It's right in front of me 24/7. And so it's ok to work hard in the morning and stop for a few hours and resume later in the day and evening. Which brings me to her 3rd point:
   
3. The 24/7 shift: No matter where you go, there you are. My office is my dining room. I have an open floor plan. So, yeah, I'm pretty much always in my office. Or can at least see it. Can see the open laptop. Can see the four word documents that are open with works-in-progress. Can see my to-do list (pile of things stacked on top of each other in order of importance!) The bad thing? Laptop is always open. Four word documents are always on the go. To-do list gets bigger and bigger. The good thing? Laptop is always open. Four word documents are always on the go. The to-do list? Yeah...not so much. And there have been quite a few times where I've completely forgotten about supper because I'm in the middle of a frenzy of work. Lately however I've come to a place where I make sure I shut down everything "Scratchpad" for a few hours and concentrate on myself. Whether it's making a lovely dinner or simply tuning out and recharging for a few hours. It truly goes a long way.

What are your thoughts on Telecommuting? How do you get past the so-called pitfalls? Leave a comment, let us know your thoughts and ideas!