Working From Home: Harder Than Ever

Working from home today. Foolish idea.

Have to do this time to time: better access to certain research tools that the company won't authorize for purchase; sometimes just need to eliminate the 3 hours round-trip commute in order to make a deadline and the immediate boss-woman understands the time press. Plus the company has set up offsite access to company files for the field personnel - not fully functional for moi but gets the job done. Plus, oh Alexander Graham Bell, we are never out of touch with the office.

Which is why it's a foolish idea to work from home today: never out of touch. Thanks to the miracle of modern communications, the "concentrated time" needed to finish The Project has been dissipated so far by 2 telephone calls and 3 "must answer now" emails (and it's only 8 a.m.). 'Been working for the past hour and a half and haven't even started on the planned task.

And . . . That's the way it will go all day. 'Know this from experience. 'Will work 12 hours to get 6 hours of work done, won't get the regular breaks, will eat at the home desk - and will have everyone jealous tomorrow for "the day off."

When you work really hard, you want the "Oohs" and "Aahs" of credit and impressing people. There is no audience at home, except for a dog that thinks I'm God anyway and a cat that's absolutely certain I would be her dinner if only she were the tiger in fact that she is in her heart. Spouses and lovers don't count: they want you at home, not your work brought home.

'Think I may goof off for a few hours this afternoon and work until midnight. 'Might as well: at home there is no one to hear you yawn.