Setting Boundaries When Working From Home
I love working from home. I work according to my own schedule, have the best office mates ever, can dress (or not dress) as I choose, and fit cleaning, laundry, and errands into my schedule seamlessly. But as with everything, there are downsides, some I’ve overcome, others, I’m working on, and a few for which I can only keep damage to a minimum.
My ADD work style means I am easily distracted, but when I get into the zone, I can work for hours and accomplish an amazing amount. The key to my massive productivity is to work uninterrupted until I am ready to stop, be it 2 hours or 10. Yet there are some who believe they have the right to invade my privacy without discretion.
At wit’s end, I finally posted this sign on my door, and periodically revise it to highlight the most annoying callers. I’ve even found some callers find it amusing, and will stand at my door reading it, almost forgetting why they stopped by in the first place. Mail carriers, UPS and FedEx drivers will often respect the sign and won’t knock, but if I happen to glance out the window as they’re leaving, I often see them smiling.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t always sink into the brains of those it’s intended to thwart. On one morning in particular, I was in the bathroom when someone started pounding violently on my door, ringing the doorbell, and shouting “Hello! Hello!” Something told me it wasn’t someone I wanted to engage, so I took my time and ignored the rude, and apparently illiterate caller. When I finally opened to door to check my mail, I found a “sorry we missed you” sticker from SCCI, a construction company.
Expecting Respect
To my dismay, the persistent fellow was a few houses up the street, saw me open the door, and 
shouted for my attention. Fully irritated by that time, and in pain from a swollen eye, I met his rudeness with a dose of my own, telling him quite forcefully to respect my sign and get the hell away from me.
Normally, I’d cool off before sending an email, but this wasn’t one of those days. I found an email address for his company and explained in no uncertain terms that I didn’t appreciate their salesman’s blatant disregard for my wishes, and had removed their company from my list of vendors I’d use for any future needs. I also included a copy of the sign he’d blatantly disregarded.
I realize it might seem like I overreacted, but in the first place, I value my privacy above all else. A knock on the door with no response should have been sufficient to send the fellow on his merry way. In the second place, I truly was in pain as my right eye was swollen from backed up sinuses, and I had been working on relieving the pain for several hours by the time he showed up in all his disrespectful, oblivious glory.
He and others like him are the reason I put the sign up in the first place, and from what I’ve seen on Social Media, I’m neither the first nor the last person who works from home to make it clear I expect my privacy be respected.
Being My Own Gate Keeper
Unlike the average place of business, I don’t have the luxury of gate keepers to prevent unwanted visitors from annoying me. I’m able to keep some of the interruptions out by utilizing the DND function on my phone, and never answering a call from a number I don’t recognize. While the sign deters some (so it isn’t a complete waste of paper), there are still some who, for some reason believe they are exempt.
There are times I wish I had a hatch on my front porch that I could activate via an app from my phone. That way, I could drop someone like my recent visitor into a pit of snakes or at least raw sewage. Sadly, society frowns on such behavior even when the person deserves some kind of consequence for their own actions. And as near as I can tell, there’s no law against annoying homeowners with solicitations, and even deprecating remarks about the outward appearance of their homes. Pity.
All in all, the interruptions and misbehavior of certain individuals is still outweighed by all the things I left Corporate America for more than 6 years ago. Toxic energy, co-workers playing games I neither understand nor wished to engage in, specific hours I was expected to ride a desk whether or not it was productively, and commuting are all things I gave up, and never looked back.
At Nobody’s Beck and Call
I also enjoy sleeping in if I want to, working until late into the evening, also if I’m so inclined, 
playing a mindless game or two, stopping to read a book, and playing my music as loud as I want to. I break for meals when I’m hungry, not because the clock says it’s time. I go to the gym 3 times a week, again on my own schedule. I can also schedule doctor visits and vet visits during the day when most people are at work or school. In short, the list of benefits is, in my opinion, endless.
Working according to my own schedule, I’ve been able to do several revisions on the books I’m working on, up my game as far as creating and scheduling blog posts, and gain quite a bit of visibility on Medium. Sure, it didn’t happen over night, and there are weeks when I struggle to maintain my own aggressive schedule, but the self-satisfaction I get compared to working in some stuffy office where I’m doing little more than padding someone else’s retirement is immeasurable.
A Simpler Life
Admittedly, working as I do isn’t for everyone, and in all honesty, it took me about 4 years to really get serious about working somewhat regular hours, and being what I’d consider productive. Building a clientele isn’t for the weak of heart either. And it helps to have some resources that keep me going while I work on what isn’t comfortable for me. It’s a good part of the reason I didn’t succeed when I tried to build just my accounting business when I was raising my daughters.
Today, my needs are simple. I don’t need fancy clothes, and I cook batch meals and freeze them in single servings. Because I’m a long-time member, my gym dues are minimal, and my dance nights are relatively inexpensive. I don’t need pricey vacations or elegant hotels. I’m happy for the most part in gym clothes for work, or shorts and blouses for dancing. In fact, I’m hard-pressed to bring myself to even put on slacks, much less a dress and heels, though I will do so when the situation warrants.
I’ve learned the simplicity and frequent solitude I always craved is, and always has been right here, quite literally, at my fingertips.
About the Author
Sheri Conaway is a Holistic Ghostwriter, and an advocate for cats and mental health. Sheri 
believes in the Laws of Attraction, but only if you are a participant rather than just an observer. Her mission is to Make Vulnerable Beautiful and help entrepreneurs touch the souls of their readers and clients so they can increase their impact and their income. If you’d like to have her write for you, please visit her Hire Me page for more information. You can also find her on Facebook Sheri Levenstein-Conaway Author. And check out her new group, Putting Your Whole Heart Forward.
Be sure to watch this space for news of the upcoming releases of ” Rebuilding After Suicide” and “Sasha’s Journey”.
