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WORKING FROM HOME- It doesn't work for me. How do you all do it?

By
Title Insurance with Key Title Corporation 63078

I am forced to be working from home today as a result of a well malfunction. Oddly enough when I woke at 5 a.m. all was well with the well.  (no pun intended)

After reading some news and checking and responding to e-mail, I went to take a shower and much to my surprise found that the well pump was not working at all.  So.. a quick and angry call to my husband at work yielded an argument between us and a phone call by me to a well specialist.   Luckily the well specialist will be able to come out today to hopefully correct whatever the problem is and I will be able to get back to normal in short order.

That leaves me though working from home today.   I am able to do most of what I need to do from here because I have a wonderful assistant who truly runs my office and is able to handle most anything that might crop up. E-mail is an invaluable tool in this circumstance.  But it just not the same as being there for me.

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I know a lot of people who work from home, and they are very productive, but, I am just not wired that way.  How do you not get distracted by other things? I applaud those who are focused enough to be able to work out of thier home offices daily. It is harder than you might think

BUT... I am one of those people who needs to actually be in my ofice to focus on the tasks at hand. I know this about myself and I readily ackowledge that fact.

I made the mistake of turning on the TV tuned to CNN. Big mistake.  The headlines are all about the tragedy unfolding in Japan and the concerns of nuclear meltdowns. I find myself glued to this unfolding story.  I need to turn the TV off for sure.  But then, I wonder what else will I find to distract myself?  It won't be difficult for me to find something here at home that needs my attention I have no doubt.

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I am going to go into my home office, turn off the TV and the radio and try to focus on a few thing I can do from here. Wish me luck!!

Posted by

Charlene Perry
Key Title, Inc. 
35 Fulford Avenue
Bel Air, MD 20104
410-803-4800

Comments(125)

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CHARLENE PERRY, CLTP
Key Title Corporation - Perry Hall, MD
Insuring the Past to Protect Your Future

Again,I do want to thank you all for your insights and opinions on this topic. It really is nice to have choice in this matter and I applaud all of you who are focused enough to be able to work from home, save gas money, dry cleaning bills and still focus on your family during the "off" hours.

Mar 15, 2011 04:21 PM
Anonymous
Brad Bigelow

I've been working from home for about 20 years and cringe at the thought of going into an office. For me the office drama and distractions would bother much more than my home disctractions. After a while the ebb and flow of the daily routine kicks in and you anticipate that distraction time, like 3:18 the kids get off the bus, time to stop for a bit and take a break. But like now it's 11:45 I'm getting a ton done without distractions. As to showings and the other business of real estate you just operate on a well defined appointment book. And don't watch CNN or Fox.

I know it's not for everyone though. A friend of mine just got laid off and he's just started "working from home" and it's not for him either. He's constantly going out, eating out, hitting the coffee shops etc. No focus. That's my motto Focus!

Mar 15, 2011 04:49 PM
#108
Dagny Eason
Dagny's Real Estate - Wilton, CT
Fairfield County CT, CDPE Homes For Sale and Condo

I am totally functioning out of my home with my "virtual office" - how else does one function nowadays? 

When I worked for a larger brokerage, I would try to go into the office once a week to stay in touch, and would go crazy with all of the socializing!  

Now, I have my own brokerage, and LOVE working from home!

Mar 15, 2011 05:01 PM
Marte Cliff
Marte Cliff Copywriting - Priest River, ID
Your real estate writer

As a copywriter, I work alone and I work at home. The biggest problem is that I want to work all the time, but get distracted by the dogs, who bark any time someone has the nerve to drive by our house, and by my husband.

My office is in the basement, and he doesn't realize that when he comes in the house and walks around in the kitchen, he's thumping on my head! It is really hard to focus and write good copy with "thump, thump, thump" going on overhead. I've learned not to get frustrated, but to take a break then... but some days it turns into far too many breaks.

The result is, I come back to work after dinner at night and stay until I get things done. (And that's OK, because I'm a night owl.) My clients don't care when I do my work - just so I get it done and in their hands on time.

TV is not a distraction - I turn it off in the morning as soon as my husband goes out to his shop.

When I was a real estate broker, the distractions in the office drove me wild - and when I think back on it I can't imagine how I got anything done at all with people talking all the time, stopping by to visit, etc.

Mar 15, 2011 09:24 PM
Robert Courtney
Lihue, HI
Century 21 All Islands, RA, CDPE, MCRE, CIAS

Good Luck Charlene!  I have an office at home.  I have a Business Plan and calendar.  I hold myself accountable to them.  I find working from home gives me the right location to make sure I follow through on my personal time scheduled for each day.  I drive my business and will not let it drive me.  When I work with a client I schedule around my calendar and where my work might have me on any given day.  I use a phone interview process before scheduling with clients.  To me work is where work is whether an office or home.  It has to be scheduled.

Mar 15, 2011 10:28 PM
Lynn M. Bower
John R Wood Realtors - Naples, FL
PA, ABR, GRI, RSPS, AHWD, PMN, CNE

I love my HOME office. I am social by nature and the "other" office was way to distracting for me and the one hour  commute was a time waster.  I do have the radio or TV on, it's white noise to me...kinda like the office. The best part is when a hit a rough patch or something very stressful happens..I immediately go out to our lanai and just sit by the pool for a few minutes and exhale (yes I live in SW FL) . Much better than a cup of coffee. I really use my Outlook calendar to keep me on track.

Downside...I work many more hours than I should.

Mar 15, 2011 11:16 PM
Torgie Madison
Quicksilver Real Estate Solutions, LLC - Portland, OR
Websites and Contact Management

I do a lot of work from home and it does take a lot of focus. There definitely are more distractions for sure! (Having a cat that always wants to be on the keyboard for example!) I find that sticking to a strict schedule helps.

Mar 16, 2011 03:19 AM
Sarah Pearce
eXp Realty LLC - Wiscasset, ME

Just want to add that it is important to do what works for you, and I found that offices are a time waster for me so I gave it up. I then switched companies, which gave me a better split. My agency is almost an hour away so I work at home, my office is set up with anything I need, including all the files. We have a digital office system (docstar) so there is no need to go into the office. I only go in for classes. I do have another real estate-type job so it is more efficient to stay at home and cut the commute.  I love petting the cat in off times and have learned to leave the laundry on the bed for later. After a year I have become efficient in doing the right thing at the right time. I also love having my talk radio cranked at home with no one looking down their nose at me for it.

Mar 16, 2011 03:49 AM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

Working from home has worked for me as I get a lot more done.  I've had an office in my office before and the socializing didn't stop there. I literally had to shut my door to get anything done.  Then I found myself carrying my files home anyway.  I work very well at home as I've made it a priority not to have anything staring me in the face that needed to be done, ie no laundry to do, dishes are done, everything is neat and tidy.  If that weren't the case I would be distracted.  If working from an office works for you - go for it!

Mar 16, 2011 06:43 AM
Anne Edwards Johnson
All City Real Estate - Austin, TX
Austin Realtor | HookemhomesATX (512)917-5260
I envy those who can work from home -- I can't stay on the business of real estate while home and my office has so much to offer with printing equipment. There is a great deal of instant gratification at the office. I enjoyed reading about the different work styles.
Mar 16, 2011 07:16 AM
CHARLENE PERRY, CLTP
Key Title Corporation - Perry Hall, MD
Insuring the Past to Protect Your Future

 I have learned so much from all of you.  So many opinions and reasons for and against working at home.  It is so good to have CHOICE.  

Mar 16, 2011 07:46 AM
E. Bail
Hawaii Life Real Estate Brokers - Kamuela, HI

Working from Home is much more productive for me, too.  At the office people drop by, interrupt with irrelevant conversation or gossip or requests to do their job so they can recreate.  I tend to socialize more than I should in the office so its not all their fault.  One thing when working at home is that I never turn on the TV! 

Mar 16, 2011 01:17 PM
Karen Crowson
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - Rancho Bernardo, CA
Your Agent for Change

Hmmm.  What would distract me at home - cooking, housework, laundry?  Uh, no.  So that leaves me plenty of time to get my work done.  At the office, the chit chat with other agents and industry visitors is just too tempting.  I get so much more done here!

Mar 16, 2011 01:38 PM
DeeDee Riley
Windermere Real Estate - El Dorado Hills CA - El Dorado Hills, CA
Realtor - El Dorado Hills & the Surrounding Areas

That's funny, Charlene!  I am the opposite.  I feel like I get more done at home.  I will go to my office for paperwork, meetings, floor duty.... but I do most of my blogging and any webinars at home.  I think I get more distracted visiting with all of my coworkers at the office!

Mar 16, 2011 06:36 PM
Jamie King
Hoty Enterprises, Inc. - Huron, OH
Sandusky, OH

Hey, Charlene!

I understand your viewpoint, totally. Different strokes for different folks. I detest working in an office. The noise, the conversations, doors opening and closing, phones ringing are all distractions to me. I'm a social person that gets sucked into conversations and that keeps me from staying focused. There's no one in my house during the day but me and I have total peace and quiet, with the exception of the dog barking at someone walking down the street. (She thinks she owns the whole block!)

I never turn on the radio or TV. I am most productive in the mornings in my robe and bare feet. (No bunny slippers for me. I'm just a simple country girl!) Now my phone still rings, but at least it's always for me and I don't have to overhear loud conversations others have, often spilling confidential information I should not be hearing. And when I finish my phone conversation, I jump right back to what I was doing. I don't have to respond to comments someone wants to share after "overhearing" my conversation or something they were dying to tell me once I got off the phone...distraction, distraction, distraction! I love my home office!!!

Mar 17, 2011 02:11 AM
Bridget "Mortgage Mama" McGee
SWBC Mortgage 410-960-2061 - Baltimore, MD
Maryland Mortgage Mama NMLS#196068

Charlene, I am blessed to be able to work both at home and in the office.   I get a lot done at both places, there are just some things that I can't do from home.  The interaction with others is key and must be managed to be productive.


Congratulations on the feature!  It looks like you have lots of folks willing to put in their 2 cents, maybe you can collect enough to pay for the well!

Bridget "Maryland Mortgage Mama" McGee

Mar 22, 2011 11:26 AM
Patricia Beck
RE/MAX Properties, Inc., ABR, GRI, SRES - Colorado Springs, CO
Colorado Springs Realty

I personally find that I am more productive working from home since there are less distractions.  A good balance of both is probably good since agents can learn a lot from each other at the office. 

Mar 22, 2011 07:09 PM
CHARLENE PERRY, CLTP
Key Title Corporation - Perry Hall, MD
Insuring the Past to Protect Your Future

I am just so very honored that you all stopped by my blog to offer your personal thoughts on this question.  I think that the general thinking is that there is no right or wrong, simply what is right for you!  I do think though with spring here now I may have to make an effort to "work" from home a little more often.  (^_^)

Mar 23, 2011 03:21 AM
Sandy McAlpine
RE/MAX EXECUTIVE - Cornelius, NC
Search Lake Norman Homes For Sale - Lake Norman NC

Some folks can't put distractions aside. Some folks declare an office or another bedroom and lock themselves inside. Personally, I have 2 laptops and an office, and I work from the car, the bed (on my cell), from the living room couch, and outside on the porch at times too! I just have to keep up with things as they come, wherever I am!

Mar 23, 2011 04:22 AM
Matt Robinson
Professional Investors Guild - Pensacola, FL
www.professionalinvestorsguild.com

I have 4 small kids, so working from home is NOT an option.  I may try it 15 years or so, but right now, I am held up in my office from morning until night. 

Oct 11, 2011 06:12 AM