A big reason I was excited about leaving a formal office was that I often found my energy and productivity depleted after looking at and being in the same environment everyday. Unfortunately, this doesn’t change when you make the shift to working from home, in fact, a decrease in productivity is probably more likely when you work at home. Here’s why I think that is.
Do you work from home? Get a dog.
Since I started working from home in January 2011 I’ve worked hard to start developing good routines that allow me to enjoy some leisure time while still feeling productive.
One routine I’ve always had is taking my dog, Max, for a walk. However, when I was stuck in a 9-5er, the morning walk would usually entail ten minutes of moving from tree-to-tree-to-street sign in order to get him to take care of business. It was stressful for both me and the dog, I had somewhere to be and he knew he wouldn’t get another chance until after five.
Now that I’m no longer bound to an office, we have an abundance of time for the morning walk. Weather permitting, our morning walk is usually about an hour long and each day a slightly new path is taken so we can explore a new street or part of the city. I’ve discovered that this particular ritual sets a tone of relaxation and productivity for the rest of my day and is my regular day’s starting activity for the following 10 reasons:
Welcome to Man At Home
Hi and Welcome to Man At Home. My name is Rob Heggen and I started this blog to encourage other men to throw the shackles of their restrictive office job lifestyle and discover a more leisure filled life at home.
First some background
About twelve months ago I made a professional and lifestyle change by diving full-time self employment. I would give up the cushy desk job I had and begin working from home for myself on my terms. At first the change in lifestyle was so different that I found it very difficult to ever get anything done. I mean why would I want to sit in front of a computer working when I could be sleeping in, watching movies, playing Modern Warfare or catching up on those TV shows I never got watch when I had a job.
Where am I now?
After twelve months I’ve slowly worked myself into a rock solid routine (if that rock is a soapstone). I have a great mix of work and leisure time and I want to start sharing my experience and advice to others who are looking to transition away from an 8-5 office job. I decided the target of this new blog would be men who wanted to create a more leisure filled life for themselves while maintaining a steady income. I did a quick scan around the internet and found a few blogs written by stay at home dads and of course there are plenty of freelance related websites but none really covered how to mesh work and play into a relaxing yet productive lifestyle. This will be the focus of Man At Home.
Why should you read this blog?
First of all I hope to bring you some really cool and interesting content! Check out the top menu bar for some of the categories we’ll cover. Don’t worry if there aren’t any posts in there yet – they’re on the way!
You may want to start your own company or maybe just telecommute at your current job. Perhaps you’re thinking that you could be a stay at home dad but don’t want to give up your half of the income. Or, if you’re like me, you want more time to pursue your passions and enjoy every day rather than lament in an office. You could already be working from home but struggling to stay motivated or fill in downtime with new activities. If you’re unemployed why not start to experiment with your own business ideas or take advantage of your available time for leisure activities.
Whatever is behind your desire to become or remain a stay at home man I really hope that Man At Home will help in you in your transition to a rewarding new lifestyle.
Rob Heggen
N.B. You may recognize this WordPress theme. It’s the old Premium Pixels theme and it’s awesome just like their current website. You can get it for your blog too from ThemeForest.
