Tag Archives: work from home

January 17, 2014 · 1:00 pm

Freelance Uniform Uniformity

woman comfortable clothing by stairsI’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: One of the best things about working from home as a freelance writer is being able to wear whatever I want.

Please realize that I do like to dress up, and understand that professional clothing serves to boost the awareness of professional behavior. But I don’t care who you are – you don’t want to spend 40 hours a week in tailored clothing and heels. If you do, you likely maintain an attendant who sees to the cleaning, pressing and storing of said articles.

Anyway, pictured is my current work uniform. In keeping with my desire to exercise responsible consumerism while also wearing pretty lounge pants, I requested another pair of Punjammies for Christmas. Yes, I still catch flack for living in pajamas. No, I have not come to care.

It’s Friday, my lovelies!

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May 25, 2012 · 1:00 pm

Freelance Mommy: 2 Months In

baby on chest while at laptop

I’m not gonna lie – working from home with a new baby is tough.

Hence the infrequent posting.

I began incorporating some work back into life after Iris was about three weeks old. I started slow with just a few little jobs here and there. The biggest thing I did was go into the office where I answer phones and do some work for a friend’s publishing company, and that was just two shifts of two hours each. Most of the time was spent gabbing about the baby anyway.

But now, we’re over two months in, and I’m already more than three weeks past when many women go back to full time. I certainly am not pushing myself to work anywhere close to 40 hours – I have to breastfeed and wash diapers and play with my daughter, and those are time consuming tasks.

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March 16, 2012 · 1:00 pm

Winding Down Freelance…

drawing of wind up dollThere are lots of nice things about working as a freelance writer, one of them being that when you have to, you can put real life first without feeling like it’s inconveniencing your co-workers.

I’ve been fortunate for this through my entire pregnancy. I’m a person who deals well with a very specific sort of stress, and very poorly with another. Basically, when I have a lot to get done, like buy a house, plan a wedding, go to class, go to work and maintain a social life, I thrive.

But if I have any health/physical situation that makes me concerned or less capable than usual, I sort of crumble under slight pressure.

Working out of the house, on my own time and terms, has allowed me to make a healthy pregnancy the priority. I haven’t had to deal with taking time off for appointments, or finding a minute to call the nurse when I have a question or sitting in a cubicle when all I want to do is work on the bed.

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September 30, 2011 · 1:00 pm

Growing Up Freelance: 2 Months Later

So, as most of you now know, I quit my full time job with benefits in mid-late July. The plan was to become a spectacular freelance writer who creates articles, web sites, print publications, my own stellar blog and a successful novel or three. I had lots of energy and drive to spend eight hours a day marketing the hell out of myself, while working in healthy cooking and yoga.

Then, I found out I was pregnant. Yeah… I spent my first two days as a freelance writer in and out of the doctor’s office for blood work, an ultrasound and general anxious disruption. The following weeks, while lovely in the sense that I could sleep in and pander to my nausea and headaches, were not exactly freelance gold.

Fortunately, I never felt as though I’d made the wrong choice. I knew the drudgery of early pregnancy was only temporary (digits one over the other), and the relief I felt in being away from an unhappy work situation reminded me that managing my stress levels was one of the most important things for both me and the Grumpy Grape.

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September 2, 2011 · 1:00 pm

Home Office

As a freelance writer, I’ve bounced around the house, looking for that perfect work space. Since our house is pretty small, I only have a few options.

And even fewer that work.

I was very bummed when the boudoir-office fell though. My boudoir is the red room behind our bedroom that holds our clothes, various craft WIPs and all the girlie stuff that just doesn’t work in the rest of the house – like feather boas and Mardi Gras beads and pinup posters. It’s a froof-fest, and I love it. It was going to be the perfect space for isolating myself from the rest of the house and getting in that creative zone.

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