I consider myself a fortunate person.
Every day, I sit in a beautiful office, surrounded by great people and look out of my window towards a fantastic view of the Rockies.
I think it's a great thing.
Not everyone agrees with me.
I know that lots of people want something different. They want to work from home.
They don't want their commute to be longer than the walk from the bedroom to the study. They want to be able to step out to the fridge whenever they feel like it and make themselves a sandwich. They want to work in their pajamas, their shorts or their bathroom robe-- who knows?
They want to feel like they're not working at all.
That last point I can understand.
The working from home bit though is a lot tougher.
Internet publishing is certainly one of those jobs that you can do from your spare bedroom. In fact, when you're just starting out, that's probably the best way to do it. It might take a little while before you have enough revenue to meet the expenses of running an office so starting from home is usually the best idea.
But once you're able to work on your sites full-time, working from home can carry its dangers. Instead of never being in the office, you can find that your home becomes your office -- and you're never away from work.
That's a quick way to suffer burn-out, get fed up with publishing and start to wonder if there isn't a better way generate income. (I haven't found one.)
You can feel that frustration most at this time of year, when the workload drops and you're away from your computer for longer periods than usual.
The secret to long-term success at Internet publishing isn't just good content, careful optimization and solid marketing.
It's a good work-life balance.
If you're spending all day on your blog, then make one of this year's resolutions to work less, achieve your success slower... but make it last.
It's Del.icio.us!
Furl It!
February 13, 2008 10:40 AM
hi joel, for the first and foremost I really want to say that I do agree with you in this posting. People is different in their point of view. There is the pro and cons of working from home for some people.
I know it really nice to be home most of the time but for me I need my own space which is I don't want to be in my house for my working time although I love to write and making money with publishing ads.He he he
since, i'm going to further my studies (I can't do my job as a software engineer for some time), I know the publishing field is the best way to make the ten fold although my total adsense earning is less than 4 bucks! --> i am a newbie and I know something wrong with it which I must do something to rock my earning. For this time I still learn a lot on adsense.
Last and not least, thanx for million joel, for sharing for adsense buddy. I know it will help me a lot!! :)
February 13, 2008 10:50 AM
I couldn't agree with you more Joel. You know that I am definitely the "work from home" type, and I think that the balance thing can be a real challenge.
One of the reasons I interviewed all the people that I did.
Thanks for your example and for posting this reminder.
Warmest,
Jonathan
February 13, 2008 10:56 AM
Very tuff. I do this stuff part time. I still have a job that I communte to. Someday I'll have a work at home office. Hopefully I will not forget this post!
Paul
February 13, 2008 11:52 AM
I loved this post, Joel. My husband and I are living the dream of 'working from home'. We do work, but we have flexibility of time and are making great income from home. We a BLESSED!
I encourage everyone out there not to give up, the dream is possible!
February 13, 2008 01:37 PM
Hey joel,
I ve been a regular reader of your blog and I look forward to reading your posts. I operate from home alongwith a full time job, there is always this dream of working full time from home making good money. i am working towards it and hopefully it should not be long before i replace my present income from the online business.
February 13, 2008 10:50 PM
Hi Joel
I agree with you. I just made a lifestyle change and it includes walks on the beach and quality family time.
Effective Time management and hard work is also a part of my life.
All work and no play ....
Christo
February 14, 2008 04:39 PM
I do contract programming (Mac software) and websites from home. There is no reason why most software work can't be done from anywhere. Still, there are lots of pointy-hairs out there who think work isn't being done if they don't see Butts-In-Cubies. (Projection, if you ask me :-)
It's a good filter for bad workplaces- if they are flexible enough to be comfortable with results over physical presence, chances are you won't have to put up with a Lumbergh.
The only downside is that I have to spend some time getting contracts, instead of spending all my time crafting code. Still. Small price to pay for being able to work by the pool all summer.
February 14, 2008 04:45 PM
Hi,
Yes i do dream the work from home life , but that hasnt happened yet.
I am still stuck in my textile factory job that i hate so much.
But i will keep plugging away at it as they say.
steve
February 14, 2008 05:53 PM
Joel, excellent point about work-life balance. Without sanity, there's just no life, which is the whole point about having to work to pay the bills.
I'm in the beginning stages of my side-line that I hope to grow with diligence. I feel like I've finally found a way to work out my passions with measurable results to be proud of. You're lessons aren't just useful from a business perspective. I think you've figured out a lot about life, in a way many Zen masters would find enlightening.
Enjoy your year, and thank you for your kind pearls of wisdom!
phil
February 14, 2008 06:38 PM
We used to have an office where we'd go to work every day. It was optimal while we did it. But when our son turned two, we decided it would be better to forgo the commute, keep our son with us all day, and convert a few bedrooms into offices. It's been working exceptionally well for three years, and we plan to continue this way for the foreseeable future.
It can be harder to have a definitive end to the day this way, but the beginnings of our work days are pretty fuzzy too, and warm sunny days, or great snowman building days are automatically declared holidays for at least one of us.
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June 23, 2008 05:45 AM
I've been working from home for quite a few years, sometime it is just quite lonely when you don't have the social interaction from other people. There is one remedy that get me appreciate to work from home more than anything else, and that is that i only have to commute 8 steps from my bed in the morning and I arrive to my 'office'.
I put my computer on and walk in to the kitchen to make a cup of tea, look out from my office window at all the car drivers going to their offices..