by Jeremy Orbell

Created on: February 23, 2008

My reality of working from home is either really similar to your experience or the polar opposite. You see, we start off the best of intentions but whether we like or not we can find ourselves unavoidably distracted from the real purpose of being out of the office.

I don't have a home study so I spend my time at the dining room table using a wireless Internet connection to stay in touch with the company base. This is fine if there's no-one else in the house but makes effective working very difficult if the wife and kids are at home.

Here's an example time log of a typical day:

8:30am - I would normally be heading off for work at this time though being home has made me a convenient back-up to help on the school run. I cannot argue too much as I'm not due to start work till 9:00am but I do however lament the rarity of being able to spend time alone in my own home. There is almost always something going on and with three children under nine it can be a noisy place indeed. When I get that opportunity for a bit of quiet I try to grab it if I can.

9:10am - Back home again but I fancy a coffee before I get cracking so I make one for me and my wife. We get chatting and before long another 20 minutes have passed. That's OK because we have flexible working hours anyway but I really must get on. I sit down to work and begin on the emails. I get a couple of instant messenger prods from both work and from friends which delays me a little longer. My wife tells me she's going shopping but will be back in time to pick our son up from nursery at midday. Great - peace at last!

10:45am - Elevenses comes early where I come from so I make another coffee. For once I have the chance to turn on the TV and watch something other than Power Rangers or Hannah Montana so I'll take five minutes to see what's on. Big mistake!

11:20am - My wife's phone call interrupts me and she says that she's been delayed and can I pick-up my son from nursery. Oh, Joy! Fortunately this is not too far away but it means that there's not that long before I have to leave with impromptu baby-sitting duty chores to perform too.

12:05pm - We're home. Well, as it's lunch-time I may as well grab something for myself as well as my boy. My wife shouldn't be too long now anyway.

12:40pm - C'mon Jo - this is ridiculous! I try my best to get back to working and the TV comes on as a substitute in the child care stakes but it isn't long before requests for additional snacks and game playing are made.

1:00pm - My wife returns saying

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