Help Desk: One is the Loneliest Number
Q: How do all you people out in freelance land deal with the isolation of working from home a lot? I’ve been freelancing for five years now and still haven’t found a good solution–aside from pulling ALL of my hair out. Got a tip for me?
A: This is a very good question, and one I’ve been thinking about the last week as I’ve been working from home, which was initially fabulous but now kind of fat-inducing.
I do have a day job myself, but I think some of the advice I got from friends when I was unemployed can still apply to those working from home.
The first thing to do is to try to keep work hours. Don’t stay up to late or get up too late. If you confine your work as much as you can to 9-5, you’ll be able to separate your work from your leisure. Even though it sounds great to be able to work when you want to and play when you want to, I find that it’s harder to concentrate on both work and play when they spill into each other. It’s harder to focus on work when you’ve been halfheartedly working all day and it’s harder to enjoy your leisure time when you’ve been leisurely all day. Set a schedule. And don’t work on the weekends either, if you can help it. So at 9, turn off your TV, and at 5, turn off your computer.
Also, as much as I hate enforced exercise, go for walks if at all possible. When I work at the office, I’m so jealous of people who can go enjoy the outside without worrying about their enforced lunch hour, so take advantage of it. It helps to get up and move around plus it’s a great way to either clear your head or brainstorm, whatever you need that day. Plus, make errands your friend. A trip to the post office to mail resumes and clips can be your fresh air and contact with people for the day.
In addition, and please forgive me if these seem a little too basic or insulting, try to eat the way you would if you had a day job: three meals a day, healthy snacks, etc. No ‘weekend eating.’ Also, I should really take this tip myself because as I write I’m wearing an inside-out t-shirt and pajama shorts: get dressed and shower every day. Put the office in home office.
I spoke to another freelancer about how she beats the home alone blues. “I felt the isolation most at first, since I went from working in the newsroom of a major daily newspaper to working solo at home. I’d say the online writers’ community I joined helped me a lot. Phone calls with pals are also good.
“Working out someplace other than home is also a good idea so you at least SEE other human beings. Lunches or drinks are all good in theory, but freelancers tend to stand other freelancers up if something better or more urgent comes along. I also go somewhere else to work sometimes, particularly if I have to concentrate (I get very distracted at home). Coffeeshops that are friendly to lingerers and the library are options. I’m trying to get out a little more now and just make quick lunchdates and workout dates with other freelancers. But I have kids and plenty of people “underfoot” at home, so I’m not as isolated as some.
“Another writer I know sometimes organizes lunches for not just writers, but anyone she knows in the area who works from home. I like this idea — I’m sure I have plenty of neighbors in the same boat, but we’re all isolated from each other.”
So enjoy, and stay with us in the faux-real world.
Got a question? Holla.
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