I remember the times when I looked forward
the weekend. After a week of work, the very
idea of not going to the office was more than
rewarding. Let alone the freedom of no longer
having forces beyond your control telling you
what to do where, when, and how. Now that
I work from home, you might assume things
would be different. And it is. Mostly because
the weekend no longer matters. Rather than
five days hard at work, my responsibilities
actually span seven. Which manifests itself
in the fact there is no rest for the weary. Nor
48 hours during which to do as I please.
Try as I might, there is no escaping responsibility.
Once one leaves the corporate world one thing
changes. Which is that you have no one to blame
but yourself. Whatever needs to be done becomes
your responsibility alone. Causing your honey do
list to go on... and on... and on. Obviously if you
want you could slack off. However the negative
impact of putting aside what has to be done only
makes the job all the harder. Therefore whenever
somebody says they "envy"that you work from
home, caution them. In the end we all retire. So
be careful what you wish for because ultimately
you will be on you own. In a mess of your own.
In theory we all have the freedom to choose.
However if given the choice of balancing the
company books or emptying the dishwasher
it's hard to see the bright side of life. Frank
may love to garden. But constantly battling
Mother Nature can challenge even the most
devout of botanists. I may love to shop. Yet
finding the right merchandise, coordinating
its shipment, figuring out the price, displaying
it in my store, and posting it online isn't as
easy as one might think. Back in the day I
had an army of talented folks to help me get
the job done. Now it's me, myself, and I.
All of which only proves that finding work/life
balance may be impossible. The simple fact is
that living requires much time and effort. So
whether you work for yourself or someone else
really doesn't matter. Instead what's important
is figuring to what's necessary and eliminating
excess "busy" work. But is that really possible?
Some things are simply beyond our control.
Thus at some point we're stuck cleaning up
life's mess. The fact of which forces each of us
to face reality. Embrace life's challenges. And
try to enjoy whatever comes our way. In the
end wherever you work, you're the BOSS!