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The Dream Commute
Writer trades in high heels for bedroom slippers when working from her home
By Moryt Milo
In another life I worked in an office outside my home. My concerns were similar to those of many going about their workday. I needed to show up at a reasonable time, dress appropriately, get along with my fellow employees and be successful in my job. I liked the ebb and flow of being with people and I enjoyed the clothes part. But there were days when getting along with certain individuals was really trying. The stress, competitiveness and long hours slowly took their toll on my psyche.
Today it's different. I work out of my home. My commute is a dream--just a few paces from the kitchen to the library. It never matters what I wear. Slippers and sweats are perfectly acceptable. The fellow workers I have to get along with now are my family (who, like my former working peers, are very often in need of something). Of course, success is still important, but the method I take to reach that goal would drive the people in payroll crazy.
As I switched venues, the term "getting results" took on a whole new meaning. At first I thought I had the perfect situation. I saw myself in complete control. No one to interrupt me and flex hours to die for. Then I had two small children who needed a drink while I needed to make phone calls, or who got hungry just as my creative juices started to flow. I was forced to leave my writing mid-thought.
Of course, when I returned I couldn't flow back into the great idea I was writing about and BAM, back to square one. Well, I accepted all that. It was part of parenting young children. I kept telling myself it would change once they were both in school. So I did the majority of my work in the evening after my kids were asleep. It was my only block of guaranteed noninterrupted time.
When my kids started school full time, I was confident I could finally leave my swing-shift hours and start working during the day. But it's funny how things don't always go as smoothly as planned. Call it priority confusion, separation confusion or simply the inability to focus, but working out of one's home definitely muddles up trying to maintain a professional life.
For example, you pour the coffee, but instead of heading straight to your desk you notice the morning dishes are still in the sink and the dishwasher needs to be emptied. So, you get that done. Then you turn the kitchen corner, faithful coffee cup in hand, and notice that your flowers on the porch are screaming for water. So you proceed to water all the flowers on the porch and in the garden. Then you finally get back inside and notice your living room is a mess. Suddenly you're cleaning the house. The morning starts to go by and you haven't even turned on your computer!
It's all because of the "Big D," and we're not talking pro football defense. We are talking distraction! When you work at home you discover more ways to be distracted. The laundry, the dishes, the beds, the garden, the morning paper; it's an endless "to do" list. Throw in a little procrastination, and voila! You have the perfect blend of a nonproductive person working at home.
I had to solve this problem and fast. I had to step back, take an honest look at what was important. I couldn't do my work and meet deadlines if I was making beds and doing laundry. Once I accepted what was important and clarified my priorities, the solution was really quite simple. I had to ignore all those "nonoffice" jobs and after dropping my kids at school return home and head straight to my computer, turning a blind eye to all else, and start working.
That's not to say it's easy, especially if a disorganized home drives you crazy. But I can multitask with the best. I'll throw in a load of laundry to stretch my legs, or water the plants to help an idea germinate. I'll make the beds to flex my tired keyboard-abused fingers, along with the countless other things my family needs. But it's all a matter of when and how. Sure, there are still days when I can't get started, when my mind seems stalled and I wander around the house. But it does feel good to be stalled in my slippers instead of on the road in commute traffic.
Campbell resident Moryt Milo is a freelance writer whose column appears every other week in this space. Contact Moryt at morytb@aol.com.
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Campbell, California
