Okay, apparently I don’t blog on weekends. 
Weekends around here tend to be busy, and my brain is usually too busy trying to complete the To Do/To Go List to have any time to think or reflect on anything.
Today is Monday, and the first thing on today’s to do list was “Blog!” with an exclamation point, because I really want to blog regularly. If I can’t get it up to work on any of my novels, at least I can do some non-work related writing here. Unfortunately, I was in a very Monday mood today. Tired, mostly, and hating my job. I have to write a blog post for my least favorite client on Mondays, and that might be why they’re my least favorite client, if that makes sense. Of course, I could write the posts any day; they’re just due on Monday. But for whatever reason, I put them off until I absolutely have to do them. Since all of my stuff needs to be written by Friday at the latest, I try to space things out so that everything is done by Thursday. Because I hate the Monday posts so much, they’re often all I do on Mondays.
Mondays are supposed to be my first day of peace and quiet after the usually busy weekends with the family. I like to try to get the Monday post out of the way so I can turn my attention to other things — not necessarily more enjoyable things! Often it’s housecleaning or errands or a home improvement project just begging to be finished. Today, I had to finish one other article, then write the Monday blog post, and it all took me too long. UGH. I had a lousy topic and therefore had a hard time doing research.
As long as I’m complaining about my work — well, understand something first. I know I’m lucky to be a freelance writer. It definitely has its perks. I like being able to work at home for the most part, the number one reason being that I can be here for my kids in the mornings before school and in the afternoons when they come home. That’s something that was always important to my husband and me, and even though I know the kids would be fine if I worked full time out of the home, this is the way we want it to be for as long as possible. So far, we’re hanging in there.
However, one of the things that I resent about working from home is how some people treat me as if I don’t have a real job. I can’t tell you how often my family and some of my friends will call “just to chat” during the workday. I find it hard to believe they would do that if I had a “real” job. In fact, I know they wouldn’t, because they didn’t when I worked out of the home full time. And then, when they call, inevitably they ask “What are you doing?” and I answer, “Working” (through gritted teeth, trying not to add the word “Duh!”) and they act surprised. And then they usually go on to explain why they’re calling, and keep talking, instead of apologizing for interrupting my work day and getting off the phone.
I know I could turn off the phone, and I probably should, but as a parent, I always worry that the school is going to call about one of my kids, and that they’re not going to think to call my cell if they don’t catch me at home. Yes, I’m a worry wart, I know. I should turn off the phone during the work day, then pray I remember to turn it back on later. Then again, often, when someone doesn’t reach me on the house phone, they’ll call my cell within 2 minutes. Again, not usually about anything important — they just want to chat.
It’s my own fault for not getting stricter with people. I need to stand up for myself and for my job, and make people understand that even though I’m home, I’m barefoot, and probably in my pajamas, I’m still WORKING and can’t just stop to chat. Writing is still work, and it can be hard to maintain focus when the damn phone rings. I’m not a phone person as it is, I pretty much hate the damn thing, so it’s triply annoying to me when it rings and interrupts my train of thought.
There are some other drawbacks to working at home. #1, you’re at home. All the time. Instead of getting a break from it and going to a job elsewhere, I’m here all day. That’s why I try to build errands into every day, just to get myself out of the house. But it’s hard sometimes to sit and concentrate when I know there’s housework that needs to be done, the laundry is piling up, and two bathrooms need painting. If I wasn’t here, those things wouldn’t faze me a bit.
#2, because you’re at home, people assume that you can just drop everything and do things for them or with them. It’s sometimes the case, but not always. While people think that being a freelancer means making and keeping your own hours, and that’s somewhat true, I’m also on deadline sometimes, either self-imposed or client-imposed. A big part of successfully working from home/freelancing is knowing when you need to take the time to buckle down and keeping yourself to whatever schedule works for you. So I’m not always available when people want me to be, and they can get annoyed — which is annoying. I’ve been doing this for years, and I know what I need to do to function in my job.
A lot of people think that being near the refrigerator all day would be a problem. It really isn’t. First of all, I don’t keep a lot of food in the house. And being home means I can drink as much green tea and water as I want, and consequently go to the bathroom as much as I need, which I wouldn’t be as likely to do in the office. I can also get up and dance or run up and down the stairs or just walk a circuit around the house if I need to get my butt out of the chair and get my blood recirculating. I can go find a napping kitty and get a nuzzle or two if I’m feeling stressed or depressed. I wish I could tell you that I often get up and walk or ride my bike or skate around the block during the day, but sadly, I’d be lying. It always seems like too much effort. If I work out during the day, it’s when my self-imposed schedule for the day has been completed. Then I can relax and go to the gym and get sweaty for an hour or so. But that going around the block thing is something to think about, for sure.
Wow, see, look at that. I wrote something today. I got some things off my chest. It’s all good. Now I’ll just sit here and worry about what I’m going to write tomorrow. Or rather, Blog! (with an exclamation point). 
