It's not all beer and skittles

Ooops, I didn't mean to abandon this blog for quite so long. Blame it on the rain... or maybe just the holidays, the new house, the visitors, the pondering of new directions, the month of birthdays, anniversaries, rememberings and celebrations. Nah, blame it on the rain.People often ask me what it's like working from home. On the whole, I can recommend it. But more specifically:Pros of working from home

1. My light comes in the window, the fire keeps me warm.
2. I can make my own coffee and my own food.
3. I'm sitting on the sofa, wearing my slippers. Right now.
4. I can play whatever music I like at whatever volume suits me.
5. Or I can listen to the wind in the trees.
6. There are no meetings, no-one saunters to my desk or waylays me in the lobby.
7. When it's warm, I take a break in the garden.
8. I don't have to frock up.
9. I can lose myself in thought, hit absorption point on a task.
10. I can put big bits of paper ALL over the floor.

 Cons of working from home

1. I have to wilfully ignore the toys on the floor, the dishes in the sink, the need to buy groceries.
2. If I play Hay Day for half an hour, that's half-an-hour I don't get paid for.
3. Likewise, the time I spend organising contracts, meeting new clients, gaining new skills, exploring editing philosophies, sorting finances, and tidying my office.
4. When my kids are sick or off school, the childcare defaults to me. My partner steps up pretty often, but it's a more deliberate move for him.
5. Little Rabbit steals my stapler.
6. Big Cat hacks my email.
7. There's no-one to chat to in the kitchen, at my desk, in the lobby. What am I talking about? There's no lobby. Not that I want a lobby.
8. I don't have colleagues, people to bounce ideas off, flick a document to when it needs another pair of eyes, a different brain.
9. The toys are on the floor.
10. The dishes are in the sink.