Work From Home Mustachians- What makes it work for you?

[NorCal]

So I just got a job offer for a work-from-home position.  It's a good offer, and I plan to accept.

For those of you that work from home, what routines keep you productive and on-task?  How do you organize your stuff and your day to separate work and home life?

I do have a bedroom I can use as an exclusive home office in order to claim the tax deduction.  However, I'd have to buy some new office furniture.  I'm pricing out the ergonomic stuff that my employers used to pay for and getting a bit of sticker shock.

[joonifloofeefloo]

For me it changes all the time. Sometimes the best trick was a coffee shop. Sometimes a cowork place. Currently it’s blocking off mornings. For other reasons, I rarely make a commitment before 1230pm and I do the bulk of my work in the morning. Love it. That flexibility, the willingness to change it up in terms of time, place, ambience, etc, has been key.

Always I need some live contact with clients in order to be most inspired and productive.

I’ve rarely needed more than a laptop and filing/organization system at home. I did need a large folding table for one project, but that’s been it.

[PhilB]

The key for me is to schedule a longish lunch break and use it to do something energetic in the open air - cycle to town for food shopping or chopping wood / gardening.   That makes it much easier to then sit down at the laptop for a rest!

[TomSelleckJR]

I have a work from home position.  Some things that I have done to keep my head in the game, and make this position work for me:

- Set dedicated business times.  It's easy to start putting in more and more of your personal time when you work from home. 
- Have a dedicated office, that is properly set up, and efficiently laid out.  For me that means a reasonably sized desk, very reliable internet, a decently quick printer, and a filing system. it also means keeping office supplies on hand.  Paper, ink, filing supplies, etc.
- I dress business casual, same as I would be required to if I were going in to our office.  No working in pajamas.  When I get off work, I usually change into more comfortable clothes.
- For me,  since I am in sales, it's very apparent via my numbers if I'm not staying on task.  There's really no way for me to get too far off of task without some red flags being raised.
- Develop morning routines.  Get up, get ready, have coffee and breakfast, exercise, etc.
- Keep in frequent contact / communication with your work colleagues. 

A few work from home challenges that people may not think about:
- It can become weird to have minimal human contact throughout the day.
- As mentioned above, sometimes is hard to turn things off and separate your business life and home life.
- My wife works outside the home, and when she comes home, she typically wants to kick back and relax since she's been out all day.  I on the other hand, am ready to get out and interact with people.  This is more of a concern than some people would realize.

I still think the pro's outweigh the con's.  Best of luck with the new job!

[aurorarouge]

Congrats on the new job!

Absolutely agree with the comments about setting work hours, putting on "work" clothes, and having a specific work space. Set boundaries for when your work hat is on, and more importantly, when to take it off.

Be prepared to encounter some home-based distractions that you may not have noticed if you've been going into the office everyday. For example, who knew that my next door neighbor cranks up his leaf blower every Thursday at 10AM? Now I schedule around it. I also do some general picking up in the mornings before work to minimize housework distractions.

Scope out a backup workspace in case you lose power, etc. Consider judicious use of video meetings, so coworkers/clients can see that you're available and engaged. Definitely get out for a walk at lunch, if you can, and look for after work professional meetups so you still get some face time in with others in your field.   

And of course, stockpile your hot drink of choice. Good luck!

[big_slacker]

First of all, congrats!

I personally hate the idea of set hours, work clothes and all that stuff. Today I got up at 4am and banged out some tech work in my pajamas. Then I played some video games. Then I got the kids ready for school. Then did some meetings, then more gaming till it was time to pick the kids up. Checked e-mail a little later and signed off for the day. I LOVE to blend work and life and have zero issues because I'm task/output focused and not hours focused.

Others NEED the structure or they screw off all day and get nothing done. Or they go the other way and work their entire day away.

It comes down to knowing yourself and how you work best.

[Altons Bobs]

I don't think you can legally claim tax deduction unless you're 1099, not a W2 employee.

[OtherJen]

First of all, congrats!

I personally hate the idea of set hours, work clothes and all that stuff. Today I got up at 4am and banged out some tech work in my pajamas. Then I played some video games. Then I got the kids ready for school. Then did some meetings, then more gaming till it was time to pick the kids up. Checked e-mail a little later and signed off for the day. I LOVE to blend work and life and have zero issues because I'm task/output focused and not hours focused.

Others NEED the structure or they screw off all day and get nothing done. Or they go the other way and work their entire day away.

It comes down to knowing yourself and how you work best.

I am much the same. I think it also depends on the type of employment. A traditional employer might demand that the employee be available and ready for all work tasks during set hours. By contrast, I’m a freelancer. My clients don’t care when I do the work, as long as I meet their deadlines and specifications. The motivation to do the work is driven by the fact that I’m paid on a per-job basis. If I screw around, I get no money.

[big_slacker]

First of all, congrats!

I personally hate the idea of set hours, work clothes and all that stuff. Today I got up at 4am and banged out some tech work in my pajamas. Then I played some video games. Then I got the kids ready for school. Then did some meetings, then more gaming till it was time to pick the kids up. Checked e-mail a little later and signed off for the day. I LOVE to blend work and life and have zero issues because I'm task/output focused and not hours focused.

Others NEED the structure or they screw off all day and get nothing done. Or they go the other way and work their entire day away.

It comes down to knowing yourself and how you work best.

I am much the same. I think it also depends on the type of employment. A traditional employer might demand that the employee be available and ready for all work tasks during set hours. By contrast, I’m a freelancer. My clients don’t care when I do the work, as long as I meet their deadlines and specifications. The motivation to do the work is driven by the fact that I’m paid on a per-job basis. If I screw around, I get no money.

True enough, some employers will want 'bankers hours' or shift work so the job plays into this as well.

[Marley09]

Congrats on the new job!!  I have been working from home since February and I LOVE it.  I have two little kids, so not having to get myself ready, pack my breakfast/lunch/snacks, coffee, etc and then get the kids ready for daycare makes my life a million times easier and less stressful.  Also, my kids actually make the work/home transition easier, I drop them off at 7:50 every morning and then pick them up at 5 daily, so I know that I need to stop working at a set time everyday due to my obligations to them.  They basically set my "business hours" for me.  When I walk out of my home office I shut the door and I don't open again until 8 am then next morning. 

I work for a traditional employer, so I need to be logged in and reachable from 8am to 4pm, but a caveat is that I typically do not have enough work to last me all day.
- I am most productive in the mornings, so I will block off times for anything I need done that day starting at 9am (8-9am is my drink coffee, eat breakfast and catch up on news time).  I try not to schedule calls or meetings before 1 pm.
- Everyday during lunch, I go for a walk or run followed by a dip in the pool (in the summer- not sure of my winter routine yet)
- After 1pm, if I have no calls/meetings and I completed everything work-related, I "allow" myself to do anything around the house- starting dinner, cleaning, laundry, etc. 

Even though I allow myself free time after 1pm, there are a couple things that I will not do, such as watch tv or take a nap (even though I am exhausted).  These are my triggers that once I start doing them, I know that they will become habit.  I also try to limit the amount of snacks and junk food that I keep in the house, because I walk/move a lot less than I did when I was in the office and do not want to gain a ton of weight snacking all day.

@TomSelleckJR brings up a good point about human contact- it can be strange to have minimal human contact during the day.  Some days the only person that I talk to  (other than my kids) is their daycare teacher. Because of this, I will try to get out of the house every so often to meet friends for lunch or meet them for a drink on Friday afternoon.

Finally, about your office furniture- I am not sure about your new company, but when I moved to my home office my company gave me a decent sized budget to buy a desk, filing cabinet and desk chair of my choosing and then they provided a specific shredder and printer.  I also get a stipend monthly for my home internet, so that might be worth looking into.  Good Luck!!

[eav]

Just chiming in with my experience working from home *what I'm doing currently while browsing finance blogs*

It honestly doesn't work well for me and I want out ASAP. I relocated for personal reasons and took my job with me. I had every intention of working in an office which we have in the house, but have been glued to my living room sectional every day. I never believed I'd actually get dressed every day, so at least I'm not missing expectations there. I've been in my pajamas all day every day since the transition, and no matter how productive I am....I still look like a slob doing it!

Also, for me working on a team where we don’t take lunch breaks and just eat at our desks has me feeling guilty if I want to go grab a coffee or something.

I wish I had better things to say about it, and the worst part is I would consider staying just due to laziness and not having to get dressed in the morning (my job also has a 9:45 sign-on time which I roll out of bed for.) I envy all of you with positive experiences!

[mld]

Posting to follow! I already work from home on a part time basis but will be moving to full-time remote work from home soon :).

On the days I do work from home now, and keep in mind this may change when I will transition from a couple of days home to full-time home, what works for me is:

- I stick to regular office hour specifically mostly for the same reasons as:

I have two little kids, so not having to get myself ready, pack my breakfast/lunch/snacks, coffee, etc and then get the kids ready for daycare makes my life a million times easier and less stressful.  Also, my kids actually make the work/home transition easier, I drop them off at 7:50 every morning and then pick them up at 5 daily, so I know that I need to stop working at a set time everyday due to my obligations to them.  They basically set my "business hours" for me.  When I walk out of my home office I shut the door and I don't open again until 8 am then next morning. 

- I make sure I tidy especially the kitchen area before my day starts as this would annoy me until I get to it.
- I work where I feel more productive depending on the days (mostly either kitchen table - it's a bit brighter than our office on days I am more tired I find it helpful- or our office).
- I also have music in the background.
- I make sure to spend at least 30 minutes outside on my breaks (+ the drop off and pick up of kids at daycare).

As for the other things, I'm good in almost pyjamas lol (joggers/yoga pants or leggings make me really happy lol), and have not had any issue with switching from personal time to productive work time.

[fatchad]

- Set dedicated business times.  It's easy to start putting in more and more of your personal time when you work from home. 

This one always gets me. Please understand this is not a judgement of the person, but I've NEVER held a position where I'd be so tempted to even check email outside of "normal" hours. We're also on a rotational after hours support schedule and many of us take our laptops home with us just in case...but I can say, I've never thought I'd just pop on and do some work real quick or check the status of something.

Anyway, that's just a short, meaningless rant to say I wish I worked remotely because I have zero issues with shutting off the work day and leaving things until the next day. I guess I wonder if the people who can't pull themselves away simply because they love their job, or they feel the need to stay attached and are classic workaholics. 

[NorCal]

Thanks for the inputs everyone!  This is all very helpful.  It seems like there are as many successful work styles as there are people.

Here's what I plan to try based on how I've worked best in the past:

-Set up a good home office in our un-used bedroom, with a good quality desk, and everything I need to work.  This room will have minimal distractions.  My last corporate office had a standing desk that I REALLY liked.  I am sorely tempted to buy one, but they are pretty expensive.

-I will be doing software implementations for numerous different clients, so my "boss" will change every few months.  I will try to keep normal business hours for the most part, but this will certainly have to budge for some client projects.

-Find some daily out-of-home routine, which might be a bike ride, walk, or something else.  There's a few other work-from-home types in the neighborhood.  Maybe I'll try to set up a semi-recurring lunch.

I did look into the home office tax deduction, and my knowledge was pre tax reform.  Aaaannnd that's no longer deductible.  Annoying.  (Although I still come out ahead from tax reform, so I shouldn't complain too much).