Teleworking

Family, friends, countrymen, 

We are facing one of the greatest challenges I have seen in my lifetime.  The Wuhan Coronavirus.  Tronster, as many of you, has been forced to change his methods.  One of those changes has been not going to the office.  However, it is not paid time off, it is TELEWORK.

Why do we telework?  In my case, I generally do not telework unless there is a specific reason.  Right now, the reason is social distancing from my co-workers.  So of you may be thinking, thats great, I don't like those people anyway.  In the past, the only reason I would work from home, was to receive so great purchase I made online.  You know, the magical box from your favorite retailer.  Other not so fun reasons I have used is to get my vehicle state inspection or a dentist appointment.

I wanted to go through some of the good things, bad things, and challenges I have faced with telework.  

The Pros for me may not be the same for you, but you can mention them in the comments if you like.  I live 27 miles from my office.  On any given Sunday, I can drive there in about 35-40 minutes.  However, my normal commute is closer to an hour to hour and ten minutes.  In addition, I have a flexible schedule.  Being an early riser means I can start working earlier.  Which means I can finish earlier.  Combine these all together, I can be done with work for the day around 2 PM.  With no commute.  That is definitely a plus.  

With any given work situation there are always challenges.  For me, those challenges force me to try and remove distractions.  Like my two puppies.  Seen here taking a break from barking at my neighbors. This makes it difficult to focus on the task at hand.  I have found, mixing the stuff in my office from work and office from home to be a bit of a challenge as well.  At work, I have a clean work area with dual monitors and a printer.  I make it at the house.

I have also faced a few cons when working from home.  My job is very person to person.  The phone sometimes just does not communicate as well as if I were standing in front of my client.  Email is great, but being a horrible writer, details are occasionally missed.  The other con, is my refrigerator full of great food. OMG!!  I think I have put on 5 pounds just being able to get up and fix a grilled cheese, grad a plate of home made cinnamon rolls, or a bowl of ice cream.  I don't walk around as much either.  Good grief.  

I hope all of you stay safe.  Let me know some of the reasons you Telework, and any challenges you have had to address.