Working From Home a Q&A!

Many of you have asked what it is like for me to be working from home since we moved to Marshall.....alright strike that - none of you have really asked...but I imagine if you did you may have asked me some of the questions below. So sit back and enjoy a little peak into my day!!

1) So what does a typical day look like for you?
         I am up at 5:15am, get myself and the kids ready to go to school and daycare - with Dominic's help of course!!!, leave the house around 7:40am, drop Gabriel, drop Elijah and Karlena and back at home ready to work by 8am. I eat a quick lunch when I think about it at my desk and then take my "lunch break" when it is time to go and get the boys from school. We come home and I work for another hour or so until it is time to go get the little ones from daycare at 5.

         When my (then) boss and I started talking about this transition he had said that he didn't care when I got my work done...just that I got it done. But with his "exit" and my conditional 90 days it is clear that I needed to be available between the traditional 8-5 hours(understandable). Most days I am logged onto my computer and have read e-mails before the kids even get up and some evenings I have Isaac watch the little ones so that I can finish up a few things...but for the most part I am working here 8-5.

 2) So let's be honest here - do you work in your pj's every day because if it were me I would!
        Actually no! I am one of those people that needs to take a shower first thing when I get up in the morning or I just feel gross. So I shower right away and get ready just like I would if I were going into an office...except I get to wear jeans every day instead of dress pants!

3) What is the best thing about working from home?
         I think the best thing is the access I have to a few of the "little things". Every morning before I leave to take the kids to daycare and school I start a load of laundry. Before it would have sit wet all day long in the washer but now I can run and throw it into the dryer when I get back home from dropping them off. Also in the summer Gabriel, Isaac and I would sometimes run out to garage sales over my lunch hour. That's something I couldn't have done before and we had fun on our little hour long outings! I also love working in the same community as my kids go to school/daycare. If there were ever an emergency I could be available immediately and not have a commute to worry about!

4) What is the worst part about working from home?
          I think the hardest part is the isolation from all of the people I used to see and talk with on a daily basis. I talk with my co-workers by phone throughout the week but it is nothing like seeing them in person every day or sharing a cubicle wall with them. I think that I miss that most of all.

5) What surprises you most about your new situation?
          Surprisingly enough that I don't eat more! I did worry that being at home, always having access to food, snacks etc. that I would be eating non stop. But I probably snack less than I did when I was in an office.  Some days I have to remember to go and grab something to eat quick for lunch!

6) What, in your opinion, is the biggest misconception that others have about people who are working from home?
           This is interesting because I probably had these misconceptions before as well...until I was able to be in that situation myself. I would say first that my kids don't actually go to daycare and that I spend my day working a little and mostly playing with them. The truth is that I wouldn't get anything done if they were here so they HAVE to be at daycare. The second would be that I only work a few hours a day and the rest of the time I am watching tv...or whatever else. The truth here is that my work space is in an area completly separate from our family room and so our tv is probably on less than it ever was when we lived in Beresford. And I just don't allow myself to do "other things" because I do feel the pressure to prove that I can do this and be of benefit to my company.

7) So you have mentioned before about a "trial period"....when is that done and what happens then?
            I was given 90 days to try this and to see how it worked for my company and I am grateful for that. That 90 days is up October 1st.  So what then? I am not really sure. I am praying that they want to continue to keep me on and trusting that if they don't, God has the details of that already figured out. The stress of the "what-ifs" were really hurting me so I have really had to let all of that go and just trust God with the outcome.  Time will soon tell I guess! I will keep you posted!

So there you have it....is there anything I didn't ask and answer that you'd like to ask? Leave me a comment and I will try to address it!! Looking forward to Friday tomorrow! :)