Getting ready

We spent the weekend doing manual labor. I want to have a fresh, new look house when I start working from home, so I’ve hired a handyman to repair things around the house and paint the exterior of the house (roof, wall and perimeter wall).

I’ll do some of the interior painting myself – I love painting, and have done quite a lot of it when I’m working on a renovation project.

Baby “helped” the handyman with some of the painting duties, and had a lot of fun. I also spent time some time de-cluttering the house and threw out really old magazines and newspapers that were just taking up space.

As a result, I’m feeling physically tired, but looking around my new work environment, there’s also a feeling of accomplishment and anticipation of the next stage of my writing career.

Setting up a home-office is hard work

While working, it struck me that a lot of the time when we discuss the advantages of telecommuting, very little is said about the sheer effort that is needed to set up an adequate work area.

I know of people who work from the kitchen table, or just sit on a sofa with a laptop and get on with things. I’ve even done it myself back when I first started working as a writer.

But this time, I want to set up properly. I’m going to create an official work space, where I go when I “go to work.”

I also want an inspiring environment and an adequate place to meet with clients if the need arises. I live less than a kilometre from a major mall, with a couple of small shopping centres and a business district populated by some trendy restaurants very close by.

So there will be no shortage of places where I can meet with people when the need arises. But sometimes circumstances dictate that the business associate meets me at my home office. I don’t want to have to worry about the state of my house if that happens.