Sunday, February 22, 2009
Any advice?
I haven't blogged again lately and that is because I have nothing much to blog about. I go to work Monday to Thursday. Before and after work I work on my businesses (shopping, convoing, preparing orders, etc). I basically work at either my business or job from noon~3am. Friday~Sunday I get a bit of space and go down to my studio in my office and work on my newest etsy shop. I love working down there. It is amazing how time flies.....5 hours feels like 1. The other night I finished down there at around 2 am but I wasn't tired. Working down there refreshes me and gives my honey and I some space. The thing is.....I realized I'm becoming too much of a homebody (don't get me wrong....I LOVE my businesses and my job). I realized that I haven't left my little town in forever!! I do go out shopping but I do a fair bit around here or near here. This is what worries me about doing this full time. We are not ready for that yet (he is full time with our businesses but I'm not) but it still worries me. Am I the type that is ok to work from home only? I'm a pretty social person or at least I used to be....man when I first came to Japan I spent every Friday and Saturday night dancing at a local bar...for at least a year! Sadly, there are no good bars where I live now but that isn't really the point. I guess I'm wondering how you all do it! For those of you who stay home and work...how do you deal with it? My honey is a very shy quiet guy so he is LOVING staying at home and not dealing with people but I'm not that way. Do you go stir crazy? Any advice?
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10 comments:
Hi Sofia. Your questions are definitely valid ones. And, something worth researching. There are many things that people gain from working outside the home - emotionally/psychologically and these have been studied and documented. It's a good topic to read up on. What you have to do is identify what needs of yours are being met in the outside workplace and figure how these same needs could be met were you to work fulltime from home. Perhaps meeting with other vendors in your area regularly, joining a cooperative, teaching crafting classes, and so forth... If you don't have the right personality for being a stay-at-home vendor it can really play havoc on your creativity, home life, health, and such. And, your honey needs his space too. It's ok to keep your other job, plans for everyone can change. Perhaps cut down one more day per week and teach only 3 days per week for a while and see how it goes. It's ok to ease into things, and ok to change your original plans. I'd also suggest that you talk to some of the vendors at ETSY too, you know? Best of luck!
i had the exact same problem, but my husband had a fulltime job in a company. so i was all day alone at home working on my business and sometimes teaching. one year ago i finally made the big step to rent an office so i could get out of my home and enjoy some time outside. additionally i joined a gym after work to i could meet some new ppl there. now i feel sooo much better, have new friends and lost some weight ;-)
would it be a possibility for you to rent an office?
If you can justify the extra expense I suggest separating work from home. My wife and I used to work out of our apartment for a couple of years until it became too much. Now we have an office and it makes home feel like home.
I'm the kind of person who isn't social at all, the less I see people the better I feel. Right now, I'm working from home while studying. I can imagine myself doing that a lifetime, but I'm somewhat special.
So I just assume people working at home are a bit like me, they LOVE staying at home :D
As you describe yourself, if you ever start working only from home, you really need to find some outsides activities which keep you happy (as coffegirl suggested it)
Renting an office would also be a good idea.
I wish you all the best in your decision and take your time, you don't need to make a decision in a week :)
Hi everyone! Thanks for the advice. First...I do have an office...we rent the apartment belows ours. That is where we keep our inventory for all 3 shops, do all our packing and where I have my studio. It is acutally perfect because we often work down there at midnight and we would hate to travel to get to the offce and we didn't have to pay "key money"(equals 5months of rent as basically a gift) since we were already in the building.
I also LOVE being at home but ...only at home? I won't be making the decision soon but my honey and I were talking about the future and of course it came up.
Coffeegirl...I can totally see cutting down to 3 days at some point first rather than just leaving. Teaching crafting would be interesting....something to think about.
Sandra, I would love to take some kind of class....sad thing is where I live...there is nothing.But there might be in the city.
Billy...as I wrote above we have an office but this is the thing....my honey works up in our apartment from the living room and I work out of the computer room in our apartment if I'm working on the computer. We use the downstairs for inventory, packing and my studio. Home and office have blurred and most of the time it is totally ok.
Stephanie...yes,....I would need something outside. Who knows...maybe I will get involved in some other business here that takes me out of the house.
Thanks everyone!! It is great to hear how others handle it!!
Oh wow, you have your own studio? That sounds lovely - but I can see how you might become a bit stir crazy. I work from home on my crafts and freelance work for my own health *laugh* and I would not change it. But I get out during the week. I visit a friend whom does crocheting, we learn from each other and often spend an afternoon together. There is a bookstore in town where a few friends work and I pay them a visit when I can. We have a spare bedroom as our home office, I have a big cabinet of craft supplies (and one closet full). As for what else to blog about... perhaps you have wanted to blog about something but never got to?.. I'm not sure what to suggest :D I'm sure something will strike your interest and you'll just want to share. Personally I've always been curious as to what the big holidays are out there, what celebrations go on *perhaps pic's to share* and if you enjoy them. I have a blog just for my crafts (check it out if you'd like) and thats it for me. I'm rather lazy with it, but I do enjoy it.
Hi Sofia. I know what you're feeling. I have been working at home for a few months now. I used to help my cousin out at her store for a long time, and I enjoyed the contact with other people. I really do miss the everyday interaction with people other than my boyfriend.
I used to work at home before, but had a little more contact with people than I do now. And I'm finding I'm totally a homebody. It can be days before I get out of the house. And that is because I'm doing a project here at home.
I make sure I spend time with family and friends outside of the house. And I've been spending a lot of time at the library here looking for different books and things. Or even just going shopping helps.
But I admit that I do enjoy being at home. We usually have our spaces that we go to in the house to do our hobbies. So we don't get at each others throats.
I guess you just have to find what is going to work for you. Just make sure that you go out and enjoy time with people if and when you can.
Good luck!
honestly, sofia, i am an introvert like your husband, so i never thought working from home would ever get to me, but maaaan! i have to admit it's been a lonely year since i quit my job and started doing my business full time. it's VERY rewarding, and i love it, but i am starting to get a little stir-crazy and socially-deprived. i do make the hour-long drive into austin, tx (where i'm from) once a week with my husband so we can be around people, run errands, shop, see friends, whatever, but really i'm starting to feel that one day a week isn't enough :/. my advise is to keep at least several connections to the "world at large". have you and your honey considered moving to a bigger town/city? i feel for ya, girl! i hope you can figure something out!
As you know I have two little girls, so working from home becomes a necessity for me as I try to juggle it all. But with the combination of being a mum and working at home, there is a great temptation to never go outside your own little world. Except, that is, I am a very social animal. So I instituted a plan of attack. When you are creative you need to find new places to draw inspiration from. People, experiences and places. They don't just arrive at the door step. So I make it a rule to attend different functions related to my areas of interest, meet new people through these and develop new friendships. At first it can be hard having an orchestrated social life, but after a while you begin to see that the benefits of working in this manner outweigh the randomness of most social lives - which begin and end with the same group of people all the time.
I do have to work to a schedule to make sure that everything gets done, but I allow it to be a bit rubbery, so I can be more reactionary. However, I set deadlines and work to goals. I find I actually work less than I did in an office, as I am more focused about getting things done before I have to change hats again.
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