Why Working From Home Can Suck (And What You Can Do About It)

I think theoatmeal.com's Why working from home is both awesome and HORRIBLE sum's up a lot of the social considerations to keep in mind. I'll breakdown my opinion of these thoughts and how to combat them below.

Degradation of social skills

• Work from co-working spaces.

• Be an extrovert on evenings and weekends (e.g. go to Meetups or other social gatherings.)

Distractions

• Close Reddit/Facebook/Twitch/etc.

• Don't play games.

Stress on relationships

• Have an honest conversation about this with your significant other to clear this up. If they don't get it, go to a co-working space on days they'll be home, or send them away.

• Working from home can sometimes give the impression you have time to do errands you shouldn't do.

  • fold laundry

  • rotate laundry

  • do dishes

  • clean the floors

Loss of regimen

• It's crucial to have a set of hours you're working and then stick to it.

• This tells you when you need to get up and when you need to get out.

Lack of employee banter

• Physical interactions with people.

• They don't have to be co-workers, but anyone.

• Go to a co-working space.

• Your cat/dog cannot provide this.

Stay active

• Go for a walk on break, get away from your office when you do.

Don't skimp on equipment

• I'd suggest having;

  • Computer Chair (you'll be logging hundreds, if not thousands of hours in this thing, get one that's comfortable)

  • Active Noise Cancelling headset

  • Webcam (sometimes you need to see someone's face, sometimes someone needs to see yours)

  • Mouse and Keyboard (again you'll be spending a lot of time with these devices, make sure they are great for yourself to use)