“Where do you work?” she asks.

“I work from home,” I reply.

“Oh, you are so LUCKY!” she shrieks in a voice so shrill that most dogs in the immediate area start baying.

Am I lucky? Yes, I suppose I am, especially when one considers my commute is all of 12 steps across my bedroom. But it ain’t all bunny slippers and boxer shorts. While there are lots of perks to not having to be in the cubicle by 8:30 a.m., working away from that structured environment is not for everyone. So, the question remains: Is it for YOU?

You’ll be sharing your office with Solitude.
Working at home usually means you will be working alone. Even if you share your home office environs with a partner (love or business) or Digit, your new Affenpinscher puppy, there are going to be many more moments than not where it’s just you, the fax machine, and an untouched carton of Ben & Jerry’s.

Lack of social interaction can be a big problem for someone who’s used to staying in touch around the water cooler. “The isolation of being at home, alone, when I was used to being in an office and in court everyday… that was a huge adjustment,” recalls Kelly James-Enger, a former lawyer who has been working at home for the past nine-and-a-half years as a speaker and writer.

The solution? Force yourself to work; then force yourself to stop. Take up yoga or tae kwon do, join a theatre group, take up a cause you’re passionate about, or take Digit to the off-leash park before he destroys what’s left of the hall rug.

You can still have “office” buddies.
Senior editor of the Canadian cultural magazine Geist, Mary Schendlinger has an extremely busy schedule and insists that staying connected is the only way to stay sane. “I make it a habit NOT to stock up on supplies or do errands in a clump,” says Schendlinger. “Every day, I get out and walk in my neighborhood to do an errand or two.”