FreelanceFolder: "Isn’t working at home great? That’s why so many of us are either already doing it, or dreaming about doing it. We know it’s just the thing for creative types who don’t like structure and hierarchy. Working at home has its perks.
However, working at home also brings many temptations that can sabotage our productivity, creativity, sanity, happiness and even our health.
Below are what I consider to be the five most common pitfalls of working at home, why they’re bad for us, and how we can avoid or overcome them."
17 comments:
For occupations such as designers, when you're working project to project and probably in your own home or are in control of your own work environment, its really hard to make yourself discipline and productive. And I think that these suggestions are really true, especially the part about wearing pajamas or sitting on your butt all day because those are both linked to making your work space more comfortable than it should be and therefore less efficient. I've seen so many people in both my studios who eat, watch tv and sleep in their work spaces and although at times that may help be productive, I think for the most part it lets you think of your work environment in a really relaxed way that is less effective. For me, I like to work in an isolated clean space and only work in that space.
We've all heard these suggestions before, but its amazing how many people still do it. However, although these are all true, I find that having a TV show playing while I'm painting or drafting can be helpful and will allow me to work longer, even if the task time gets drawn out a bit. If one is working on a relatively mindless job, then sometimes a distraction is essential to completing it. Otherwise one just becomes fed up with it and will lose focus.
For college students, these habits apply to us in an interesting way. Very often, our home is also our primary workspace. So all of these rules become increasingly important. Even when working in the studio, the temptation is to have music or a tv show playing all of the time. I find that this helps me significantly with productivity during projects that do not need much "analytical" thinking- painting, drawing, etc. But for anything requiring the analytical focus, any music or movies breaks my concentration. However, the studio space does fit many of the other descriptions. It is a designated workspace, is well lit, etc. These habits are all things we need to be aware of though.
Almost all of these tips are quite important when working in college. For me, my bedroom is my office and many times I don't want to sit in my office chair at my desk, but sit up in bed. I don't know why, but sitting in bed or on a couch is always more comfortable for me and I feel I am more productive. I try not to work in my pajamas and I try to give myself breaks. Although my work hours are from after crew until it is done, they are still hours set aside to so the work. As for vacation, well that is what snow days are for.
Everyone above has pretty much said it all, working at home has it's dangers, but working in a relaxed atmosphere does one good. I'm usually always in the studio not only because I always find myself working, but because I can't work in my room. I just can't, I will never do work there. I will be on facebook. Going to the studio, even though it's sometimes distracting and has it's drawbacks, is like going to my office. It sounds dorky but my favorite thing in the world is to grab some coffee, really early on a Saturday morning, sit down at my desk, and work. I need that location as a destination to keep me motivated and going, so that I don't just sleep all day.
I have found that it's too cold to work in my basement studio, and there also isn't any natural light. That is the biggest struggle for me, I do SO much better in a naturally lit setting, so my bedroom has become my work location. What I do though is keep all my materials down in the basement, and only bring up what I need. This keeps my work space from getting cluttered and still provides some separation between my life and my work. I've acquired a good amount of table space (I do better being able to spread everything out), but what's keeping me from working at my desk all the time is the height of my chair. I prefer to sit higher up most of the time, but the one I have now is just a tad too high, and so I end up doing a lot of my computer work while sitting in bed. And since I'm usually sitting cross legged and in some other weird position, I'll get out of pjs but into something I'm still flexible in, like yoga pants or leggings.
Like Sylvianne said, we hear these suggestions so often, but there are so many people that do not follow them. For me personally, I'm like Shar. I can not get work done in my room. However, for me, the studio has become another space that is getting more and more distracting all the time. There's usually people talking, playing music, coming in and out, plus, it is SO unorganized and messy. I am one of those people that can not work in a messy space. When I was at home in high school, I would always go to the panera that was near my school and work there. With somewhere like that, it is still a structured place to go where you need to get dressed and drive to, but at the same time, it's a relaxing atmosphere where you can sit and get work done.
I find all of these great suggestions to keep your self working more efficiently at home. For example, dressing as if you are going to work -- not working in pajamas. I find myself working much better whenever I am dressed for the day. Additionally, having set times that you work is great, because then you can plan your life and not just always work. I find myself working nonstop for days, or weeks, on end without doing anything fun. When that happens I don't recognize I am doing it but after I do something fun I work so much more efficiently. The other things that they talk about are useful and I will try some of them and see how they work.
This pretty much describes EVERYTHING I did during our snow week. And, considering that I didn't get much done, this makes perfect sense. Joe Pino actually said almost the exact same stuff during our Metaskills class. The pajamas thing is really true though. I don't get much done when I'm in my pjs. Sweatpants though, I don't think are that bad. Aside from that, setting specific work hours works really well. Next time I have time off, I'll try to apply these and see if I'm more productive.
I know that I am guity of every single bad work habit you can possibly think of. At home, i would take hours for me to complete a simple task. But I feel that while, as Slyvianne said, we have all hear these tips before, that each people differs. That every person has a different way of working and that different techniques work differently from person to person.
wow. Looking at those rules, i have broken every single one, but the vacation one. And i know that those things are true. For me though, i do work better in more comfortable clothing i wear. I dont set times for when i work, but i know i work the best at like 12:00 am.
This article is very applicable to pretty much every college student. Many of us use our living spaces in our dorms to read articles, write papers, and do other work, and it can be very easy to fall in the habit of working in pajamas or starting work late at night. While this is sometimes an advantage in that it's a more comfortable environment to work in, it's good to have a place to go to for just work, like a studio where you work among other people can be good in terms of getting you motivated because it's a space devoted to doing work in. Working at home can have it's advantages, it's just usually a question of disciplining yourself so that you treat it as a work environment to a degree so that you still have the ability to get a decent amount of work done.
It is really great to work at home, because it is just so darn convenient. One major issue I run into though is distractions. I have TV and a fridge, and a comfy bed at home. These factors, along with others, create an environment that is much more relaxed than one I find in work environments at school or the workplace. I do notice that working in bed can be nice, but because it is such a relaxed environment, it doesn't promote productivity. Another thing, if working at home, you might assume that getting up to do something else in your house is a break, whereas you're not getting outside at all. Getting fresh air is a huge help when working. Even a short walk to work is helpful. Not having set working hours is something I struggle with on the weekends. I love to sleep in, so I'll wake up late, and not be as productive as I could have been earlier in the day, forcing myself to stay up late, which throws my sleep schedule for the rest of the week. Working at home...it is convenient, but not always the most effective location to get things done.
For most people in theatre, besides the work done “in the room” is done pretty much on your own time, and wherever we want. This is dangerous. I know that if I sit on my bed at night, no work is going to be done before the next morning. However, I know that while I am sitting at my desk, it is work time. And while the time devoted to work is unfortunately from 11:00 pm until finished, I still try and be as productive and efficient as possible (which includes taking scheduled breaks). I also try not to have multiple projects on my desk at the same time (that is what filing folders are for). These are all the ideals that I set in place. However, when life happens, sometimes these guidelines are ignored. As is life.
I think that at one time or another I have been guilty of doing all of these things. When working at home I try to set hours that I will work because if not then I probably won't get much done. I think that all 5 habits are bad for working at home. The article really hit it out of the park. I would think that all five of these things would prevent work in most people. I completely agree with Grace in that it doesn't matter what the space is, whether it is at home, in our studio, or anywhere else. I have seen all five of these things happen at least once. It doesn't matter the environment. Now that I have read this article I am going to try to be more aware of my work habits involving these 5 things.
I commit about four of these regularly but, I've found that I'n still pretty productive at home. It may take some time to separate yourself from the association that you have while doing some of these things but, after you do, you'll be a lot more comfortable and still productive. Still though, I would have to say that working in the right space is a big help when your not really motivated. You would have to be motivated in the first place in order to overcome some the associations that come with these bad habits.
I totally agree with this article and every single point it makes. Right before writing this comment, I was fighting the urge to move my computer from my desk to my bed. I gave in, and now I’m having a hard time finishing up all of my comments. I definitely feel like I become more productive when I am dressed in something besides my pajamas, so most days when I know I’ll just be working in my room all day, I still get dressed so I do not feel sluggish and sleepy all day. I also completely agree with the “do not work in an unproductive space” thing as well. If I really need to make myself study and focus for a couple of hours, I will leave my room and go out to either bubble tea or a coffee shop so that I can work and enjoy the atmosphere and a nice drink.
Post a Comment