5 Things No One Told Me About Working From Home

Updated on: by Amy Kennedy

I can't believe no one told me working from home would be like this!I Can’t Work With My Kids Around

I decided to pursue a work at home career after having kids. I couldn’t take the idea of dropping my baby off to a daycare full of strangers. However, every work at home job I’ve done was nearly impossible to do with my kids around. Even blogging. They needed my attention and even now that they are older, they are very distracting. I’ve had to get pretty creative and sacrifice things like sleep in order to make working from home work for me.

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When I worked as a sales rep for a virtual call center, I had to be sure to find a flexible company that would allow me to schedule my own hours, around my husbands schedule. Although we didn’t get a lot of quality time together, at least I was able to still work while he was home to care for the children. It was hard – but we survived.

I’ve done other work at home jobs that did not require the complete silence that a phone job does, but I couldn’t accomplish much with them around. I had to limit my work time to after they were in bed. Now, my kids are in school and I have a lot of time alone.

I Have No Idea What I’m Doing

There is very little support for those of us who work from home. Even the companies that I’ve worked with that had chat systems and forums in place to help guide me through and provide support, it never felt like enough. When I worked brick and mortar jobs, I was able to get direct confirmation and correction during training.

Working from home, however, I have been faced with many times when I felt as if I had no idea what I was doing.

Specifically when I began working as a freelance writer. I over-thought every step of the way.With some encouragement from members at  WorkPlaceLikeHome.com’s forum- I pushed through and just did it to the best of what I knew and everything turned out okay.

There’s Still No Time For Dishes

I thought working from home would open up some time for me to better keep up with the house work. Although, I do save time on commuting, I feel the need to work in every possible moment I have alone. Plus,  I am now making more of a mess since I am home all day.

I have dropped the idea that my house would become better organized. Now I am just more comfortable with my mess.

I Am Not a Highly Self-Motivated Person

If you would have asked me 8 years ago, before I began working from home, if I was a highly self-motivated person, I would have said YES with complete confidence.

Now that I have the freedom to either walk to my computer or walk to my fridge….I realize I am not naturally self-motivated. It takes a lot of mental effort to keep myself on track.

Jeans Became Part of My “Dress Up” Wardrobe

Long gone are the days I wore slacks, dress socks, leather shiny shoes and curled my hair daily. Jeans were weekend wear before I began working from home. Now, my dress attire is a cotton t-shirt, a pair of pajama pants and I throw my hair up in a pony tail. Jeans are for going out! This is not a complaint! I love it!

Struggling with Work-Life Balance

Finding a proper work-life balance has been a constant challenge for me since transitioning to working from home. Without clear boundaries between my personal space and workspace, it’s easy to blur the lines between work and leisure time.

The lack of a physical separation often leads to extended working hours, making it difficult to disconnect and relax. I find myself checking emails or working on projects late into the evening, which affects my personal relationships and overall well-being.

Establishing a structured schedule, setting designated work hours, and creating a dedicated workspace have been crucial in mitigating this challenge.

Feelings of Isolation and Lack of Social Interaction

One aspect that took me by surprise when working from home is the overwhelming sense of isolation and the absence of regular social interaction. The absence of colleagues and face-to-face interactions can be quite lonely, especially for extroverted individuals like myself who thrive on social connections.

While virtual communication tools help bridge the gap to some extent, it’s not the same as in-person interactions. I miss the spontaneous conversations, team collaboration, and the overall camaraderie found in a traditional office setting.

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To address this, I actively seek out virtual networking opportunities, join online communities, and make an effort to schedule virtual meetings or coffee chats with colleagues or fellow freelancers to maintain a sense of connection and combat the isolation.

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Caroline Gauthier

December 4, 2014 at 11:53 am

Neighbors also have no respect for your time and you have to set them straight that this is a full time job and if they want to yack at you and will not leave you alone that I will charge them for my time. Yes I have said that.

Miranda Grimm

December 4, 2014 at 1:51 pm

So true. I find myself giving in too many times to friends wanting to go out for lunch, shopping or chatting. It’s usually my own fault – part of my self-motivation. If there is something else more appealing, I tend to talk myself into it. I need to stand firm like you do!

wahmof1

December 4, 2014 at 10:50 pm

I used to work from home for a call center back when my now 1 year old was first born. Child care and a constantly changing schedule were the most difficult parts. The job I have now out the home has finally agreed to let me work from home after about 8 months in office. I’m excited but glad that my son is in daycare this time even though my job is non phone. I think I work better when I don’t have to feel like I’m not spending quality time with him.

Miranda Grimm

December 5, 2014 at 7:42 am

Yes! I had a lot of guilt when I would work instead of being involved with my kids. How awesome the company you work for is letting you do it from home!

Minerva

January 10, 2015 at 1:52 pm

What are the names of the work at home programs that you sincerely think is great to do? I am in desperate to start something but don’t know how to weed out the scams. Please help out thank you

Corina Ramos

December 5, 2014 at 2:40 pm

I can totally relate to you Miranda! Who would have thought putting on a pair of jeans would be considered “dressing up” but I wouldn’t change it for anything either. And no one would know when I’m not wearing make-up :).

My main distraction is family. I love them to pieces but they don’t take me working from home seriously. I’m slowly learning how to say no more often :).

Great post, passing this one on! Have a great Friday and weekend.

Rebecca @ LIvewellthirivemore

July 21, 2015 at 2:45 pm

a lot of these are true, but it is also for me extremely rewarding to have a part time work from home job (I currently work full time and have a blog, cake business and helping my husband get his side photography business off the ground too!). To know the cakes I make put smiles on someones faces, and the my blog could possibly be changing someones life for the better is exceptionally rewarding and no matter what I sacrifice to be able to put my best foot forward for my side jobs, they are well worth it! 🙂 Plus I figure if I get established now, I can prepare for months ahead when we start having kids and put in a plan of attack for maintaining the blog at least! 🙂

johny blake

April 14, 2020 at 2:06 pm

In fact, there are many ways to discover the ideal way to start working from home, but in the beginning you must define the appropriate field in which you can work and the preferred field should be the one you excel in and then after that you must define your goals accurately in terms of goals and obligations that you will provide from the project With specific mechanisms that will help you start the project in a professional manner.
Believe me, I started in a difficult way due to the lack of experience and the lack of evidence to guide me through the road, but I learned quickly and I am now on the right path.

Dev

June 18, 2020 at 8:11 am

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While the industry is full of “theory based training”, this is far from that.