Home Is Where the Office Is

As we home officers know, there are so many advantages to working from home. For one, you're always home, so the issues of scheduling the cable guy, the plumber, signing for that critical package - no problem! On the other hand, you're always home. It can become way too easy to become a hermit, and so I, like many others who work from home, have made a commitment to leave the house for an hour at least 3 workdays a week. Stumped on ideas of what to do? - Join a local gym and do a 30-minute workout - Schedule lunch with a friend or neighbor - Take the dog for a walk - Get that oil change - finally! - Run that errand you've been putting off forever - Pick up the birthday gift(s) for any upcoming birthday parties - Do your weekly grocery run (remember to make a list! Or even a meal plan !) - Go to the local park and read on a park bench for awhile - Indulge in a hobby: visit that craft store/tea room/art gallery/bookstore/Apple store/arcade - whatever - ...

Once again I am thrilled to have Joseph Powell as my guest blogger! You all enjoyed his writing as much as I did, and his guest blog is in the top 3 most visited posts. His website was recently updated, and I'm officially in love - be sure to check it out. And now, enjoy his words, his wit, his wisdom, and his beautiful work! Somebody knocked on my door a few weeks ago and wanted to know if I had a screwdriver. Aside from the fact that my first thought was whether or not I had orange juice, it made me realize something. In the nearly eight years that I have lived here, that's maybe the fourth time a neighbor has knocked on my door. For anything. I live in the middle of downtown Denver. Living here was appealing to me because I could walk most places, access bars and restaurants easily, and I worked two blocks away. I did look at Wash Park (It's really Washington Park, but you can't just say that out loud) and it was a little too...well, it wasn't f...

   This week's guest blogger has been a bit of a life line for me as a working mom. I worked with her husband years ago, and after I left for a different opportunity, she reached out to me when she heard through the grapevine that I was expecting. She was too! In true "Megan" fashion, she organized a group of about 8 first time moms to meet on a weekly basis. These were her friends, acquaintances and even a woman who happened to be getting a pedicure in the next chair over! All of these women now have 2 children, (that pic was of her at about 9 mos pregnant with baby #2 - of course getting ready for a work function!) and we're all still connected and meet when we can - mostly for a mom's night out. Since those "new mom" days, I've witnessed numerous examples of her organizing and connecting people, always with amazing results. It is, therefore, very fun for me to learn more about what makes this Super-Mom and Super-Friend tick! Enjoy...

I have been a fan of today's guest blogger for quite some time. She is a lover of tea, as am I , and she is the most wonderful writer. Her book, "A Tea Reader: Living Life One Cup At A Time," is one of my comfort foods. So, it is with great delight to be able to share her living/working/juggling reality here.  Enjoy! I need a schedule. This is the recurring thought that enters my brain on daily basis when I realize I'm not exercising or writing enough or organizing the house the way I'd like. But my life right now is kind of the epitome of the idea of "We plan. God laughs." I have three kids ages 7 and under, which means one is in school during the day, one is in school half days, and one is home with me all the time. They're not in daycare or afterschool care and we don't really have a babysitter. So, everything I do revolves around other people's schedules. I have become the master of squeezing projects into small chunks of time, pla...

I'm so thrilled that today's guest blogger agreed to impart her organisational wisdom here today! (Yes, that's an "s" in organisation). Helen Butler, of Australian-based Clutter Rescue, has been one of my favorite people to follow on Twitter (Follow her @ClutterRescue ), with her practical and easy tips on how to get your home, office and life in order. Enjoy! When you’re juggling children, work, friends, partner, and life in general things can get busy!   Finding time to keep your office paperwork under control can often be the last thing on your mind! But what if there was something that promises to reduce the time in your office, to get done what you need and still have time for all the fun things in life? No I don’t have a magic wand - but I do have the 4 F’s! The 4 F’s will help you decide what to do with each piece of paper that comes into your home or office.   The key to complete success when using the 4 F’s is to: 1.       All...

I've known this week's guest blogger for more than 15 years when we met on a college exchange program in France. He was our own private comedian and an artist in his own right, even then. It is no surprise that he has pursued and perfected an art and made it his own business. Working at home as your own boss can have even greater pressures than working at home and having a remote boss. As I told him, Joe 's depiction of his work-at-home experience is worthy of a publication such as The New Yorker. I won the lottery in guest bloggers! Enjoy!  Entrpreneurial Home Officer/SINK Years ago, I used to dream of working for myself at home. And I imagined that if I ever had the opportunity, my schedule would be like this: 6:00AM Cartoon bluebirds, singing softly, fly in the bedroom window, pick up edges of duvet with their tiny little beaks and gently pull it back. Stretch dreamily. Sigh and open eyes. Pat dog on head. 6:15AM Enjoy freshly-brewed Turkish coffee and...

I'm so thrilled to have Tami B. as this Wednesday's guest blogger. We've known each other since elementary school, and it's so fun to be able to learn from this side of her life - the professional home officer side.  She was smart, witty and organized then, and she's even more so now! Enjoy!  Wife, Mother, Home Officer From the time my son was born and my daughter was 16-months-old until they were 3 and 4, I worked part-time from home with them at home with me. That was one of the most challenging – and exhausting – things I ever tried to do. I often think of that time as the “Dark Years,” as I finished up a great many work “days” in a dark house at 2am. When the opportunity came up for me to start working full time, I knew it was time to get the kiddos in preschool. Leaving them each day was hard, but I was also a little giddy at the thought of getting to work in a quiet house. During the day! I was working on two separate projects,...