Comments on: How I Mastered The Challenges Of Working From Home

By: vanderMan

vanderMan — Thu, 21 May 2009 20:24:45 +0000

I have been working from home since February this year… The biggest challenge for me was to spend less time with my guitar. She keeps staring me in the eyes begging me to play her! :)

I’m have moved from a corporate software developer job to a freelancing php web developer working from the comfort of my room at my parents home…

I am still very young, but determined to make a success of my passion and opening my own business!

I’m from South Africa, a great country indeed, but discrimination is turning from what use to be against blacks, now against whites and it is very hard to land a proper job! This made me decide to work hard to become a web developer and along with my freelancing web design and development work, I am dreaming of opening my own online shopping business…

By: Monit

Monit — Tue, 19 May 2009 20:21:34 +0000

Hi there

That’s very true what you wrote. I am facing the same challenges in my life as well. I also work from home and a freelance graphics designer, and I also babysit my 3 year old nephew. Its real difficult, I end up working very late night hours. For relaxation I take small breaks where I play with my kid or tell him story etc. Its fun, also it gives me some breathing space to think over upcoming projects and develop new ideas.

I agree with you I wont give up my work at home lifestyle a break for anything, I simply love it. I am FREE.

I liked your article very much

Monit

By: Jeannie

Jeannie — Sun, 17 May 2009 23:08:49 +0000

Great ideas here. I totally relate to needing outside childcare for my busy little monkey a couple times a week. Right now I don’t have it and I’m so stressed and exhausted it’s crazy.

Jeannie @ The Adventures of Mr. Busypants, http://mamabusypants.blogspot.com and @ The Writer in Me, http://jeannieanderson.blogspot.com

By: picohax

picohax — Sun, 17 May 2009 21:55:36 +0000

Time-tracking desktop programs do help a bit in some situations, like mine :-)
Workrave is an awesome program – a must-see – it just works!(TM)
Elsewhere on the blogosphere (codinghorror.com) “pair-progamming” and “peer code-review” is advised for many people.
Developing online friendships with simple, like-minded geeks or programmers is not as easy as it sounds because many people sound way nicer than they actually are, and equally the other way round. This is a socializing issue I guess, which boils down to your nature, so treat it on case-by-case basis.
Keeping away from gadgets and electronic devices for brief periods of time actually increases sharp thinking, productivity and understanding of the problem. Contrary to easy conclusion, using pen and paper to devise solutions works much much better than using keyboard and mouse – Flow diagrams, for example. Unless you have the power tools – like a pen Tablet and some cool CAD/drawing software.
IMO, there is a huge case for a VOIP conference portal for home-workers.(Skype, Gizmo, GTalk, Yahoo! messenger) But the revenue model might be trouble to work out.
Of course, nothing can substitute a true friend or a down-to-earth honest geek in your close contacts circle :-P

By: stikkybubble

stikkybubble — Sun, 17 May 2009 09:27:09 +0000

For me the biggest problem in working from home is that there is no such thing as ‘time off’. I tend to be the last in the ‘production line’, turning docs into web content, and every deadline comes down to me.

By: moxsum

moxsum — Sun, 17 May 2009 04:23:22 +0000

For me the biggest challenge in working from home has been keeping focused and not distracted. The problem is, I would say the biggest distractions are on the computer.. namely facebook and other social networking type sites and forums.. and instant messenger. I find my mind wandering and wasting time messing about on stupid websites instead of focusing.

By: zainabSULE

zainabSULE — Sat, 16 May 2009 21:47:42 +0000

I also work from home. Quite challenging, I must say. But I do believe that you can do simply anything if you put ur mind to it. I don’t ve any kids yet, but am a movie freak, as well as a guitar nerd. How can you combine THAT with computers?
Its been hard, but we need to eat. so we need to work.
zainab

By: Czaries

Czaries — Fri, 15 May 2009 19:04:28 +0000

If you're working from home facing isolation (#2), you should check out co-working, and consider it as an option for at least 1-2 days a week. If you're in the Oklahoma City area, drop by the okcCoCo, which just opened up on May 1st. You can get a free day pass to check it out. You get to hang out and work with a bunch of other smart, creative, and talented people instead of just yourself.

By: phpballer

phpballer — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:49:36 +0000

The kids are my biggest challenge. I have kids that go to school and one that doesn’t. Sometimes it can be difficult to get them to understand that I’m working and can’t take time to look at the TV every 5 seconds. I’m thinking about moving my office (it’s off the kitchen now) to another less traveled location in the house.

By: sergeb

sergeb — Fri, 15 May 2009 17:29:12 +0000

Twitter has been of a tremendous help with my Isolation challenge. Not only I’m not feeling lonely as much anymore, I also made new friends and connections. Of course, this doesn’t entirely substitute the face-to-face networking, so I’m trying to get out to as many conferences and get-togethers (free or paid) as I can afford to.