[an error occurred while processing this directive] Under construction, Aug 21

Telecommuting for Fun and Profit

I've been working in the internet industry for several years, as a tech support rep, as a webmaster, a programmer, President of a boutique web design firm, and as an independent contractor. Perhaps the 'net lends itself to telecommuting, but I think the lessons learned might be useful in other fields.

For the past four years I've heard myself saying to clients and co-workers, "I could do my job from anywhere." I tested this a few times while on business trips and long weekends. Interestingly, my effectiveness actually went up.0

Interruptions

I was fascinated by this increase in productivity: how could leaving the office increase my billable hours? I did a standard time-usage experiment and found that about 12% of my day was task-related to primary my job description.1

12%? That's outrageous! I found that biggest chunk (about 30%) was spent answered the phone, talking on the phone, and taking messages for other people in the office. The next chunk was discussions and question-answering for other people, and then there were miscellaneous and random pieces that chewed up the remainder.

Interruptions, then, were a main cause of inefficiency for me. I resolved to build a better, more rewarding workplace.

Going solo

Over the course of my last six months at my Last Real Job, I started paying more attention to the mechanics of billing and other realities of small business. I collected the hardware and software I needed to go solo. I was set up in my home office, ready to switch over. My business cards were printed up, my commercial domain name and website in place. I bought all the technical reference manuals I'd need.

Putting in my resignation was a joyful act, and act of faith in myself and my abilities.

Quality of Life

The difference in my quality of life is astounding. My blood pressure is normal for the first time since I turned 18. I set my own hours, and never get in a traffic jam unless I forget and accidentally go to the grocery store while others are going to or coming from work. Just in terms of avoiding the commute, I probably have an extra two or more hours per week.

Here's the proof of an increased Quality of Life: the weekends are not different from my weekdays. Same easygoing pace; I just do recreation instead of "work". My old "oh god when will the weekend get here" attitude has been replaced with a sane, maintainable work schedule.2

While my take-home pay is about the same, my expenses have plummeted. I used to buy breakfast, lunch, and sometimes dinner at work. My tank-a-week gasoline bill is reduced to a tank every three weeks. My 3x/week ATM fix is now about 1x/week.

There's also a nifty domestic benefit; since I'm already here I tend to do Mr Mom chores when I need a break from work. I allow my typing-tortured arms a break every hour. During that break I might load or unload the dishwasher or laundry, fix lunch, or start something for dinner. The net effect is my home is now in order each day, with no added effort.

Some practical considerations

Notes

0 - I had a marked increase in billable hours, and my response time went down.

1 - I set timers and noted exactly what I was doing when they went off. At the end of two weeks I had about 250 data points to interpret.

2 - ... and my weekend beer bill has gone down, too. :) [an error occurred while processing this directive]