Why it’s important to take some personal time when working from home

So you’ve found a job that allows you to work from the comfort and convenience of your home, or you’ve convinced your boss to allow you to telecommute on certain days of the week. Yes, what you have been dreaming of all these years is finally a reality. Looking back 12 years ago, I was over the moon when that day finally came. Before that, I had a normal 9-5 office job where I got up a couple of hours early and left a couple of hours late, just to avoid traffic. I was living my dream or so I thought.

With about 3 months under my belt, I started to feel like the walls of my home office were closing in on me. I’ve never been one to socialize too much, but the lack of daily communication and interaction, aside from email, with co-workers was getting to me. I came from an office where I was the manager of the department, with 7 workers in my charge and before starting this work at home, I was directly involved in the training of two interns. Yes, I was very involved.

At least I didn’t have to beat daily traffic like I used to and it was the dead of winter so I didn’t have to deal with shoveling snow off my car and driving in wintry conditions. But something more important developed. My clothes started to fit differently and the scale proved my suspicions correct. I started gaining weight and we all know how quickly that can lead to health problems.

There I was, bored, feeling overworked as I had to do “work” and help around the house since I was home, but the weight gain is what forced me to take action. I had to get out of the house for a while “for myself” while also being a little more active to nip this weight gain in the bud. The first step I took was joining a gym. Yes, you probably couldn’t afford it at the time, but you’d be surprised how you can find the means when your back is against the wall.

Today the gym and being active in general is part of my daily routine. Not only am I no longer gaining weight, but I feel great overall. I made friends with a group of people who walk a lot and walk a lot, so now I have a little time to socialize and have fun away from home. I find that I am less stressed, get more done with work and on the home front, and my mood is generally better than it was looking back at those early days.

As I have pointed out on the work from home blog, it is important that you enjoy working from home and enjoying the work from home lifestyle or you may as well go back to the corner office at your old JOB!