Wear Lipstick in the Home Office and Other Tips for Work-at-Home Success
May 20th, 2008By Marijean Jaggers
Yesterday, I was interviewed by a reporter from a Charlottesville publication about my home office. When asked about my “routine” for working at home, I launched into my spiel of all I’ve learned since I began working in a home office two and a half years ago.
I am the only member of Standing Partnership who works full-time from a home office. Since my move to Charlottesville from St. Louis, I’ve had this privilege which is sometimes a curse, sometimes a blessing. Some of my colleagues work from home a day or two a week, but I make a big distinction between working from home temporarily, and working at home: doing it full-time with no outside office as an option.
The reporter stopped in her tracks when I told her that before I start work every morning I get completely dressed down to shoes, do my hair and makeup and put on lipstick. “Really?” she asked, somewhat astonished, I think. Yes, I wear lipstick in my home office. Why? Because I need to feel like I’m going to work; need to feel like, even though my commute may be down two flights of stairs and my office is, in fact, in the same structure in which I live with my family, when I cross that threshold, I am at Standing Partnership, ready to face the day.
I have stored up many of these tips for working at home, some learned through experience and some shared by others who telecommute or have worked in a home office full-time for a number of years. I’ve learned that working at home is not for everyone. It takes a lot of discipline and structure. It requires working space that matches the employee’s work style. It requires trust and freedom from the employer, which must be earned.
Do you work at home, sometimes? Have you or do you work at home, full-time now? What tips and tricks have you learned that make working in your living space successful?
May 20th, 2008 at 9:13 am
I honestly don’t know if I could work at home full-time. I would have to have a space that’s completely separate from the rest of the house so that when I walk in - I’m at work. And when I walk out - I’m home. I’d probably need to do exactly what you do - lipstick, shoes and all to make it successful.
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:32 am
Working at home isn’t as natural for some. I have the opportunity to work one day a week from my home office, and it stretches my skills… especially when it comes to focus, collaboration and disciplined writing. Having a quiet office is a respite for some, and for me it can be downright annoying. I miss the company and hub-bub of the office! Frequent phone calls keep me sane.
Kudos, Marijean, on making it work for you.
May 22nd, 2008 at 4:12 pm
I love working from home from time to time. My home office is separate from our family computer so there’s no ‘kid clutter.’ I have a headset for the phone, so if I need a coffee refill while on a conference call, I’ve got two free hands to do so. My dog has finally learned to lay near the stairs rather than follow me everytime I leave my desk. She knows I’ll be returning soon and she can continue her nap while keeping me close.
May 25th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Working from home is never “natural” from the start. For generations, it’s been imprinted upon our collective psyches that “work” is a place, and that place is downtown. Yet in the past generation, that imprint, that definition of “work” has changed. It’s no longer about place, but product. It’s about what we do, not where we do it. Home, or corporate tower. Starbucks or backseat of a taxi on a business trip — or poolside on vacation. With today’s tools (like the BlackBerry, wireless connected laptop and Web-based services), we can work — and live — from anywhere, with or without lipstick (or in my case, a suit).
We weren’t raised to work from home — or anywhere outside the corporate tower. But our kids will be. And we’ll all be better for it - regardless of whether we wear lipstick as part of our routine or dresscode…