I have a home office. As a result, people always think I am unemployed. When all the dads go to work and many of the moms in our neighbourhood stay in the local bakery to drink coffee and chat, I rush home to start working. Then, when I rush into the grocery store to get a couple of things for dinner before picking kids up from school in the afternoon, people would look at me and say, “Didn’t you go to work today?”
While a lot of people have to spend hours on the road between work and home everyday, true, it only takes me three seconds to arrive at the office. While even more people have to work eight hours per day, however, they may find it hard to imagine a life of working whenever you can, generally from 9am to 1pm, from 1:30pm to 3:30pm, from 4pm to 5:30pm, and then from 9:30pm to 1am, 2am or even 3am the next day, until all the things get done. You are always fighting desperately for time.
I am my own boss, but I am also my own slave. Trying to wear several hats in one go is not easy, and I am very grateful for all my clients, customers and friends who are very patient with me. The good thing about working from home is that you do not have to dress up all the time. While this does not necessarily mean you can dress down, at least there is no need for expensive business suits and high heels. Another good thing is you can have your desk as messy as you want. A disorganised work environment forces you to have an organised head — that is what I believe.
And the bad things about having a home office? You need really good Internet connection, or you are completely stuffed. There is also a sense of isolation, sometimes, which makes you want to talk to people online, and to check out what everyone else in the world is doing. This is obviously an excuse for procrastination, but it also helps to broaden your horizon.
Personally I find isolation is a great contributing factor to the sustenance of my writing and translation career. Luckily it only takes 70 minutes to travel from my home office to the bigger, much more complex and chaotic office that is the City, where I can visit real places and interact with real people. Then it is time to rush home — I mean my office — and settle down to do some good work. Ah, sweet. Office is where the heart is.
Voices under the Sun 陽光下的聲音 