One of the big problems for me was that I spend a lot of my recreational time on my computer at home. When I worked from home, it was the exact same environment for both work and play. Now that I have two separate places, my brain understands what I expect from it as soon as my hands touch the keyboard.

It is a trade off.

There are distractions at the office too.

The work is in quotation marks because the reality is on those days I don’t get much ‘work’ done.

Sure I will answer the phone, log in and do some emails (or do them on the blackberry while out shopping) and I will be on various phone hook ups. But as for writing up a document or a submission, no chance of that happens as there is too much fun and games at home.

The worst component though is the times I have to go away for nights on end and work out of conference rooms, hotels, airport business lounges etc. It is during those times I would give anything to be back at home being interrupted constantly to play dress ups

Granted it can be a challenge depending on family and such, but I do whatever is necessary to maintain an effective home office. Also, I still have to remember to take time for family, but quite frankly, that would happen regardless of my work location.

The problem I really have is that there is a lot more distractions at home. DVDs, home projects, chores and other distractions that sometimes look more promising than work. My wife seems to always think I’m available to do a little chore like taking out the trash or checking the mail. While they don’t take long, they break focus.

I’m having a new daughter in February which will be taking over my office. I can’t imagine the distractions that will be when there is a new born, an energetic son, and a wife in the house while I’m working. I’m getting a prefab building next week installed in my backyard that I’m going to finish out for my new office. I’m hoping it will allow me to get more work done.

Advantages:
- No commute and no high fuel bills
- Don’t have to dress up
- Can take a break and spend time with wife and kids
- Take lunch whenever I want
- Can save money by eating real, healthy food at home
- No silly meetings and co-workers that can be more distracting that home issues

Cons:
- Kids and wife are a distraction
- Comforts of home are a distraction
- Don’t spend much time with co-workers, mostly via IM, email, and phone
- Hard to separate work and home time

Overall I love working at home. I think it improves my overall quality of life. I can eat better, healthier lunches. I save money on food and gas. No stressful commutes. No stressful bosses watching over your shoulder making things slower. I see my family more than I possibly could working away from home. I think having family time, healthy food, and less stress will make me much happier in the long run.

Separating my office from the home should allow me to be more productive and still allow me to take advantage of being at home. Unfortunately I may have to put on more than shorts and a t-shirt during the winter to get to work.

One last thing I have noticed is the impact on my son. I don’t think he knows what going to work is. He knows that when I’m in my office I’m doing “work” which consists of staring at a screen and moving a toy around. Almost what he does when watching PBS. I’m not yet sure if this will be a good or bad thing for him.

My wife is a stay at home mom and neither of our kids are in school yet, so they are always at home. My kids (nor my wife) understands the concept of working from home…lol. I am definitely not complaining. It just doesn’t work for me – unless they are asleep .