Living the Dream: The Work from Home Life

Ah, to work from home. That would be living the dream, you think to yourself during your mandatory staff meeting about workplace safety. Just think of the possibilities: you can nap when you want, not wear pants, take a break to go for a walk (maybe opt for pants at that point), or decide that you want to get out of town for a while. As long as you have your laptop with you and decent access to WiFi, you can make a living working whenever and wherever you want. After all, not everyone has a Jim Halpert-type around to point out the hilarity of the mundane. If you don't, it may be that working from home is the right thing for you. Before you jump ship, though, there are some things to consider about the reality of such a move.

Okay, here's the thing. I'm not going to write about how you really have to hustle if you want to be a freelancer with that level of freedom. I'm going to talk about some of the things that seem like selling points, but can actually be a shock to your system if you are used to living your life on someone else's schedule. Having a 9-to-5 job does have lots of perks, even if the monotony can bring on an overwhelming sense of existential dread. It's a comfort to not have to think about how you're going to bring in new work or exactly how much money you'll be bringing in every week. Then there are the health and retirement benefits that are laid out for you by HR. Out here in the wild, wild west of freelancing, nobody does that shit for you. You have to get creative.

My main point here is that, if you aren't careful, working from home can allow you to slip into a lethargy that prevents you from taking care of things like preparing for retirement and making sure you have the means to get your teeth cleaned.

A few days ago I was in Kroger with my boyfriend. It was my birthday and we were picking out some wine to take home for the evening. He picked out Mad Housewife because 1. it was reasonably priced at $7.99 (they're not paying me, I swear) and 2. He said "That's you now!," to which I said, "Stop making shut-in jokes, already!" Because I have considered the fact that pairing my introverted nature with working from home could be a bad move. So far it hasn't been, and I would like to impart some advice on the day-to-day minutiae that you might think doesn't matter, but really has an impact on the newly liberated freelancer.

Hopefully these tips will help prevent you from going mad once you decide you can't take your office job anymore.

1. PUT ON PANTS - and no, yoga pants do not count. Even if it just means putting on some jeans and a respectable T-shirt, you should put on something you wouldn't be embarrassed to be seen in. Who cares, though, right? Trust me, you will care when you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror looking like that basement-dweller from I, Tonya.

2. EXERCISE, FOOL. This one is especially tough for me as I tend to be a pretty sedentary person. If working from home requires a lot of sitting at your computer, as most of these jobs do, make sure that you get up every hour and at least stretch. More than that, you are going to want to do a little workout every couple of days to get your heart-rate up. Trust me, even if you are young and healthy, you could find yourself out of shape fast if you slip into the habit of not moving around from time to time. Even committing to doing some housework every hour can make you feel like a living human and not an extension of the machine that is now your connection to the outside world (just kidding, more on social isolation next!).

3. SAY YES WHEN PEOPLE INVITE YOU TO SHIT - Gone are you days of water-cooler talk, girl. You can't go to your friend's office to drink coffee and vent about your shared workplace angst. I'm not kidding when I say that you are going to miss that if you don't prepare yourself mentally. To do that, make sure that you are open to new things. Yes, maintain your existing social circle by making an effort to continue hanging out with your existing friends. It is also important to be open to new experiences, though. Don't get too comfortable binge-watching The End of the F*****g World only to realize that you haven't been out of the house for 3 days straight.* You've ignored your texts or told people that you are "sick." Don't do that.

*Actually, it takes way less days to binge watch this. Watch it. It is very romantic and truly original.

4. USE GOOGLE CALENDAR - Or use something like it. After leaving your job, you might have a fleeting thought about whether or not you should put your 401K money into an IRA, or other such adulty things. Even though this is something that is not pressing, it is important to keep it on your radar either as a reminder or a scheduled event. I opt for the latter; even if I have the flexibility to push it back, it works psychologically as a thing I have on my itinerary for the day that I just have to get done.

Most importantly:

5. BE REALISTIC - This encompasses many things. You want to be realistic about how much work and what kind of work will fall to you when you are first starting out. In my case, I decided this was my goal well before I quit my traditional job, so I picked up a couple of side hustles before I left. Having something, even if it is small, in the beginning will help you out financially. You are probably not going to be a travel journalist for Condé Nast Traveler right away, okay? No one's going to pay you right now to go to Morocco, so don't get all snooty. It's my ethos that all work is good work unless you are morally opposed to it or you are being paid less than you know to be your worth. You can get more choosy when you no longer consider shaving cream at Costco to be a "pleasure buy."

Whether you are already a housewife/stay-at-home partner or someone who is looking to make the switch to work at home, it's important to be honest with yourself. It is a big change, and it is important to go into it with a plan and some structure. If you work from home, or are considering it, let me know what your thoughts are on the subject. Maybe you just want to talk about The End of the F*****g World or I, Tonya. I am up for that too.