On Working From Home

One opportunity that presented itself to me when I least expected it was working from home for a branding and marketing company. A friend was asking for me to recommend an applicant for a writing and blog editing position that he was hiring for. It was S that said, you should do it, you already do that now, why not make a career of it? So I went for it. 

It's been a year now since I've worked from home, in addition to working a full-time job at a museum. Initially I was a copy editor, and then I moved on the social media team to be the social media manager. It's been fantastically rewarding. Both were positions that did not exist previously, so I had the freedom to create the positions from scratch. I've always loved working in events and working in museums, however, blogging and social media have grown to be more than my hobbies, they began to be extra income for me. So why not do that for clients?

With the "virtual-office" position, I'm able to work on my own time, making it easy to manage two jobs. Well, "easy" as in, my second job doesn't affect my first job's schedule, and vice versa. And honestly, working from home has also been hard at times. There are weeks where I'm incredibly busy both at the museum, and with the digital marketing position. I'll work 8 am to 9 pm at times, days in a row, and it gets mentally exhausting that I have little time to dedicate to anything else. I tell S that this is why I watch so much bad TV like The Real Housewives, because by the time I have an hour to myself before sleeping, I don't want to read my books or do anything else that requires my mind.

I feel guilty at times when I'm simply cuddling on the couch with Mordechai or watching a movie with S - if I'm home, I feel like I should be working, right? Wrong. My new blog-neighbor Laura (Chicago-based) writes the blog Blogging Over Thyme, and recently wrote about the work-life balance. In that post, she wrote things I have definitely been feeling. I really love my job(s) and I can't imagine working on anything else and being this happy and fulfilled. However, I also really look forward to spending time on weekends with S and Mort, friends and family, and exploring our city. I look forward to leaving the office at a normal time and I look forward to shutting down my laptop in my home office and viewing my apartment as my home, not as my virtual office.