It's critical to establish boundaries and a routine. Otherwise, I'll never 'leave'.

Apr 18, 2007

Iteration 04/18/2007

Next week I start my new job, working from home (yay!!!). I've done this before, when I spent two years freelancing (which I eventually stopped doing because while I rock at getting the work done, I'm not so good at marketing - which gets me the work in the first place); so I know a bit about what I'll need in terms of environment and habits. Working from home carries its own challenges and benefits:

1. Even though I will be going in occasionally (though definitely on the first day), my daily commute will be measured in footsteps.
2. Of course, this does mean that I'll have to invent errands at least twice a week, so that the car doesn't just sit there and seize up.
3. This is a nice apartment...but if I just stay here all the time, I'll get horrible cabin fever. To offset this, I'll resume the routine I had in Canada: wake up, quick shower, put on my sweats, go walk for about an hour, come back, shower, start my day. It energizes me, it wakes up my mind and body, it gives me exercise, it gets me thinking, and it gets me out of the house.
4. The cats will have me all day, every day. I think they're going to love this arrangement as much as I do, if for a slightly different reason. (I will have to work on Ursa's Creep Mouse attacks, though. He leaps up onto the desk, sits down near my mouse-hand, and over time, slooowly sidles closer and closer to the mouse until I can't move it without moving him. He's a sneaky one.)
5. I work best when my environment is clean and tidy. I'll have to start vacuuming and dusting regularly, or I'll be distracted by the mess. It's not a gigantic mess, and when I've worked outside my home I've been able to ignore it until the weekend (or the next weekend); but it will annoy me if I see it every day.
6. This job, like any other job, will have its downtimes and slow zones. It will be easiest if I don't break the work routine: no TV, no reading, not even if I'm right there to answer emails/IMs/phone calls.
7. I tend to eat several smaller meals rather than one large lunch and dinner. I'll need to stock up on fruit, cheese and crackers, and smoothies. (Safeway periodically has sales on one brand of smoothie or other. Those help me re-stock.)
8. This apartment got incredibly hot during the day last summer. The air conditioner will help keep the temperature semi-sane; and the clothes I bought yesterday will keep me from wearing my bathing suit all the time. But I sense that I'll be using the Discouragement Bottle (a spray-mister) on myself as often as on the cats.
9. I can't find peppermint-scented non-synthetic essential oil. Anyone know a good supplier? That scent perks me right up. I'm looking for the essential oil, not a scented candle.
10. I'll have to see about claiming part of my internet bill and my rent as tax-deductable, since I'll be working from home. While the company will be supplying the computer, they won't have to pay for the office space nor the electricity I'd consume while on their property. This will be tricky, since I don't have a separate room with space dedicated 100% to work. (The Seattle apartment I've been eyeing has a den, which can be completely separated from the rest of the house by unfolding a wall. Until I get into that, though, I've got to work with what I have.)
11. When I met with the agency this past Monday, I found out that my insurance costs are going to be doubling - because this company pays less of the insurance than other agencies do. I'm taking an hourly pay cut, and my insurance costs are doubling...good thing I'll be working from home and a) won't have the high gasoline expense; and b) can more easily supplement my income with small, quick freelance jobs. Copywriting, editing, proofreading, web design...plenty of things I can do from home that won't interfere with my contract.
12. Anyone want a free JavaScript quick reference? The other day, I picked up The Book of JavaScript from No Starch Press and the JavaScript quick reference by O'Reilly. Unfortunately, I got rid of the receipt before realizing that I'd already bought this quickref about half a year ago...so now I have a spare copy. Anyone want it? Just leave your name in the comments, or drop me a linethe spare copy will be going to Fruitcake. This book won't help you learn JavaScript; but if you already know JavaScript or are learning it, it's an excellent, easily portable reference for all the commands and functions.

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