Still working from home and have been for 15 years. Two truths remain – I still miss the agency water cooler moments and I still believe I have more time and space to do better work in-home than I did in-house. I’m lucky enough that working from home has been a choice rather than a rule.
The signs were always there. I didn’t like school much, not because it wasn’t an excellent school (it was) but because of the constant routine and repetition of schedule, driven by others. Working from home requires much discipline, but the discipline is mine to play with. I even like being able to start at 7am and work through the weekend if needed. Only once in 15 years have I mistakenly hit video answer and been caught out in a mahoosive airline snooze suit with dirty hair and a sizeable chin spot. I told the client how it was – in about 8 hours time I was going to get straight in to running kit and hit the roads, so the shower seemed redundant for now. At which point he visibly breathed out, replaced his toddler on his knee and declared himself a runner. We met up at the start line at the Great South Run soon after and I still work for him on ad hoc matters strategy and naming.
I offer the following working from home thoughts. Nothing philosophical or clever about it, but three items that have always been there for me and always will be.
- The radio. A constant best friend. Dear clients, I obviously don’t Stop For PopMaster but let’s just say if I’m “booked” in early December it might have something to do with the Champions League…
- A pair of trainers by the front door. A promise of freedom once the brief is delivered to the required standard and preferably quite a bit beyond
- A picture of the Four Mile Beach at Port Douglas in Queensland. A reminder of some happy days, my ‘other’ homeland and a shot of sunshine during those longer freelance hours.
These simple things are enough to remind me why working from home has been a privilege, every single day. I think it’s let me be a better strategist and creative. It’s let me step up to some hard family responsibilities. It’s let me squeeze in some voluntary work. And now it’s become strangely comforting – a touch of familiarity amidst the re-written routine. Yep, still here.
