This summer was one of the slowest times I’ve had in the 5.5 years that I’ve been self employed. While there have been ups and downs, I actually considered taking a job in an office. I went through the whole interview process and was offered a position, but ultimately realized that I couldn’t give up the flexibility I have being self-employed and working from home. While it is possible to be employed by someone else and have flexibility, this job didn’t afford it.
Seeing how hard things were on me and that working from home was getting tough for me with my son around a lot, my wife offered up our guest room for my office. This room is about 315 square feet and in the very back of the house. For the most part, we have been using it for storage over the last 4 years. I gladly took her up on the offer, had a little work done to remove some cabinets and a sink, had some tile put in where the cabinets were (to match the rest of the floor), painted it, ran some Cat6 to 2 walls for Ethernet, moved in my furniture and presto, a new office!
I’ve been in here about 1.5 weeks and really enjoy it. It’s pretty quiet and easier for me to work. The main downside to it is that there is no insulation in the ceiling, so it is a bit toasty now and will be cold in the winter. However, I positioned my desk right under the fan and there is a room A/C unit that I can use. Another downside (and hence the title for this article) is that my commute is now a bit longer; I think it takes me about 45 seconds to get to work.
Pictures for your viewing pleasure:
When our little boy joined us I was pushed out of the house to a small office space about a mile from our home. I find I actually like “going to work” every day now. 😉