[grumpycanuck]

I've been telecommuting for 3 years now, and I can agree that a large number people seem to think that all telecommuters are slacking off and lounging around in their pyjamas instead of working. Like the writer of that article, I get up and get dressed every morning just like it was a job where I had to travel to. I just travel from the kitchen down to my basement office, that's all.

In my opinion, companies that allow full-time telecommuting understand that the root issue is one of trust. If you are allowed to work 100% of the time from home, it means you are being trusted to get your work done. I cannot think of anything that would inspire someone to do their best work other than that.

[evanrmurphy]

a large number people seem to think that all telecommuters are slacking off and lounging around in their pyjamas instead of working.

Ideas about legitimate work tend to be so bound up with professionalism. Why do I have to be dressed to be getting something done? Can't I make breakthroughs while lying on the floor or standing outside eating an apple? I'm excited about the potential of telecommuting to undermine all these superficial symptoms of work that have become so ingrained in us over time, perhaps at the expense of genuine attention to results.

[scott_s]

Just as much as it is about professionalism, it's about routine. For me, I don't "feel right" until I've eaten, showered and dressed. The day hasn't started until I've done that. I suspect that this author is similar.

Before I go to sleep, I brush my teeth, take off my day clothes, and read for a few minutes. I could just jump right into bed, but it feels weird. The routine I have is a way of telling myself "it's time for sleep." It's the same way for getting work done. Having a routine, however small, is a way to tell yourself "Now I'm working."

It's also a way to tell yourself when you're not working, which I think is equally important when you live and work in the same space.

[z92]

I tried it for 3 years. Didn't work for me. It has to do with myself not being much organized than anything else. I am as far from what the lady in the article wrote about herself as it can go.

All the downsides that are being said about telecommuting are true. But one need to learn how to overcome those. My failure was catastrophic. Lost 3 years from my life.