Insight for Freelancers & Teleworkers

My wife and I moved to Grand Rapids, MN in early 2006 after spending our time previous to that in the Twin Cities. I had been working at a small marketing services firm in St. Paul and ended up taking a job with an even smaller web company based up here. After a few months of getting settled in, my old company wanted me to come back to work for them and offered to rent me an office in Grand Rapids with a telework arrangement. I took it.

Today I was reminiscing on the year and a half of teleworking (I was still calling it telecommuting at the time, which it was, but I like “telework” better). I’m glad I did it, and it was my eventual leap into the Anywhere Lifestyle. Here are a couple of simple things I learned when contrasting my time there versus the way I live my life now as a freelancer.

Desktop computers are not ideal for the Anywhere Lifestyle

During my time working from my remote office, I used a custom-built PC with a VPN connection to our company’s network.  Obviously I couldn’t take my machine with me to places like Caribou (which is where I am right now). I could connect to my machine remotely using LogMeIn (which works great!), but connecting to a machine that is then remotely connect to another just isn’t ideal.

Notebook computers are simply the way to go, unless you never want to go ANYWHERE.

I have more human interaction working from home than an office

Though I sometimes complain about the kiddie-noise when working from home, I definitely have more human interaction there are opposed to the office I had previously.  My office was located on the lower level of a building which included a dentist office and counseling center. Neither of those were social hangouts…obviously. There was another person with an office on my level, but she was an insurance adjuster and rarely in the office. I also was not an active member of Twitter or Facebook at the time. It was not the most socially stimulating environment. Not that my home is either, but the option to escape to coffee, lunch, or the library and hang out with others is much better.

Cleaning a home office is easier

Well, for one, my wife is fantastic and really keeps our home clean. Hey, don’t yell at me – she stays at home and manages the family and I stay at home and run a business. Back to the point: when I had my own office, I had to keep it clean, and by that I mean I had to clean it. Yep, I did that about twice the entire time. I also had to supply my own cleaning products and supplies. Again, I only needed them about two times.  Well, needed might not be the right word since they were “needed” more than they were “used.”  The point is, the office didn’t get cleaned much.
These are just some random memories I had regarding my time working from a remote office. I enjoyed the company I worked for and what I was doing, but I will admit I am enjoying my time working from home and elsewhere. It’s good to take time to compare situations as you make changes in your life.