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and do you stick to them?  I find it nearly impossible to walk away most days.  I will grab my laptop and surf from the couch in the family room in the evening. 

I think that`s the hardest thing about working from home.  How do you STOP working???

~Kim

What do you mean "stop working"?  What is this concept called "stop"?

This isn`t to say I work every waking minute.  But in a lot of ways, I consider most things I do as working - mainly because it is always on my mind.  I cannot stop!

I have a bunch of other interests aside from work, so if I`m working too long, those start to creep in. For example, I enjoy food, sleeping, reading, staring at walls, and shopping. If I`m working too long on the computer, I start to jones for something to eat, or I find myself thinking of ways to smoke a cigarette while taking a shower. Those are key to helping me understand I should probably step away from the computer.

Another thing I`ve found helps with cutting back on office hours is something physicians call "paralysis." It`s where a part of your body stops moving. It could be your brain, mouse hand, or an entire leg. When any of these happen, I take it as an omen or some sign from God that it`s probably time to do something else.

As for sticking with office hours, I`ve been a member of the International Procrastinator`s Association for more years than I`ve lived. The problem isn`t so much sticking with the office hours in terms of working. It`s more starting to work on something in the first place.

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Ric Willmot
Executive Wisdom Consulting Group
www.ExecutiveWisdom.com
info@executivewisdom.com
Blog: www.ricwillmot.com

Founder of the Society for Executive Wisdom
www.ExecutiveWisdomSociety.com

Strategy for Professionals: www.strategyforprofessionals.com

I`m with Steve ... what is this "stop" you speak of?

I do have certain rules, like when I`m with my kid, my focus is on her.

Otherwise, if it needs to get done, I`m working on it ...

Well if I had an office, I would keep hours. My office tends to be where-ever I am, and my hours, what ever brain cycles are free from the other ten things that I have to get done. So I do a lot of my work while driving, while shopping, while cooking, and this makes me seem a bit distracted or absent-minded. It takes people a while to get used to that behaviour.
I do get an hour or so clear every day, but it is either very early in the morning, or very very late at night.
Craig, I have actually smoked a pipe in the shower, it is doable if you are careful.

Mike


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(writing notes....smoking under water okay..be careful...don`t drive at same time...)

Great! Thanks....

Jennifer, I think you`ve got a fine balance, from what you`re saying. If I read it rightly, then you work 11 hours and 15 minutes each day, with two 15-minute breaks (for other work), and hopefully, 20 minutes for lunch. That`s, what...about a 10-hour day?

So given 4 hours of sleep, and some time off for making a sandwich, that seems balanced. :-D ....?

I would keep office hours but then the local coffee shop would go broke, the barrista would lose her job, the importers would go into liquidation, and Jamaica`s economy would collapse.

Parkinson said: "Work fills the available time."

Forget about inputs and tasks (and time) and focus on the outputs and results you produce!

If I can get the results I need, I will always strive to be reading a book and sipping my martini beside the pool by 2 pm. Work is the fuel for my life. My life is about quality.

Gotta go ... "Two olives please!"

Rgds,

Ric

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Ric Willmot
Executive Wisdom Consulting Group
www.ExecutiveWisdom.com
info@executivewisdom.com
Blog: www.ricwillmot.com

Founder of the Society for Executive Wisdom
www.ExecutiveWisdomSociety.com

Strategy for Professionals: www.strategyforprofessionals.com