| Dedicated to telecommuting here, for so many reasons that I hardly know where to begin: * I don't want to lose 2h/day to unpaid work (i.e. 1 hour commute each way). That's 500 hours/year if I take two weeks vacation, or a little over 60 8-hour workdays per year -- time that I'm away from my loved ones and from my work -- what a waste! * In an office environment, especially the now-trendy open office plans, it is difficult-to-impossible to manage interruptions and actually get work done efficiently. * Most of the better jobs in my areas of expertise are outside Indianapolis, but I'm committed to staying here for family reasons. * By working from home I avoid the tendency to eat poorly, the inevitability of getting trapped in close contact with smokers who set off my allergies, and don't bother people when I need to get up and move, which means I do that more: all things that improve my health. * Working from home means I don't have to take time off if my kid is home sick from school or has a day off, I don't have to stick him in day care, and I can keep a more stable work schedule despite the furnace guy coming or a package being delivered or whatever. * Working from home means I can manage my work space the way I want, complete with one standing work area and one sitting, a loud-as-heck metal buckling-spring keyboard, country-western music (yes, you read that right), fountain pens, and a steady stream of oolong tea. * I think better when I work from home, because I can step away from the keyboard and run kata for ten minutes when I'm stuck, grab the laptop and sit outside or at a local coffee shop for a change of pace, or whatever I need to do to get my mind churning. * I have useful things like email and chat logs to help me make sure I know what's going on, as opposed to someone waylaying me in the hall on the way to the restroom and assuming that I will accurately remember what they wanted when all I really want to do is pee. * Remote work generally comes with more flexible hours than in-office work, which means that I can accommodate parent-teacher conferences, my karate schedule, etc. while still working full time. |