Startup Life: The perils of working from home

I love running our startup from home. I was never a big fan of office life. I went mute by the water cooler, longed to be outside in rainy London and went brain dead every morning that I had to plan what to wear. There was something unnatural to me about the sunny open plan office that I last worked in. I dreamed of a cramped home office.

writing at home

Today my dream has come true. I work from home, along with Jeremy and the rest of our team. We have lunch together every day and banter conversations down the halls of our little flat. I couldn’t ask for anything better. And yet it does have its perils.

It is hard to look professional with towels hanging from the clothing line outside the kitchen window.

The temptation to work in trackie bums is, at times, too great to resist.

I have forgotten how to walk in high heals.

Business calls compete with the impressive shuddering of our washing machine.

Midnight has become a normal time to stop working.

Without office intrigue to keep me busy, work chat has kidnapped my banter.

Still, I’m not complaining. Working from home suits me. I’m just confused, I’m not sure where my home begins and my office ends. I’ve escaped the 9 to 5 and entered the 9 to midnight. Someday soon we may have to move into a ‘real’ office but I’m reluctant. My home may be covered in brown box ‘installations’ but my commute is pretty impressive and every day feels a little bit like a stolen holiday. I’m not too keen to give it up.

5 thoughts on “Startup Life: The perils of working from home

  1. I think office outfits might be a bit easier for us blokes than the ladies. Enough pairs of black trousers and white shirts to last a week usually does me. Oh and a few smart sweaters for the winter months, like now!

  2. I work at home and have for going on 9 years now. The greatest peril for me is the isolation at times. Sounds like you have a pretty good set up with daily lunches.

  3. John – I totally agree that the isolation is the worst part. I have definitely felt that in the past. What kind of work are you doing?

  4. I have to agree, in your home environment the surroundings can make you feel a little bit unprofessional, but since setting up a garden room as a home office i have never loved my job more, i’d definatley reccomend it, you get to work from home with that feeling of a proffesional space, these guys were great for me http://www.room4-you.co.uk/

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