Working alone

[sugarglider]

One of the biggest problems with working from home is that you literally just don't get out a lot. This can get very lonely, and it's easy to get a little stir crazy. If you're at home by yourself all day every day, you start to realise just how important social interaction is.

A great solution is to set up a network of work-from-homers in your local area (if one doesn't already exist). Get together for coffee once or twice a week, and just chat, swap advice etc.

[kiasugurl]

Would it be so simple?
I thought working from home can be pretty much a heavy task as well, since you gotta work, and do family stuffs too, really can get all the time for coffee and chit chats?

What sort of home-business/work do you do?

[sugarglider]

I agree it can be really tricky to make time, especially if you have family commitments also. But I don't think coffee and chit-chats is a trivial thing, or a luxury. I think having some regular social interaction outside home is very important for your health, and something which should be a major priority.

[janetgan]

Yah, all work and no play makes me such a dull girl lol
I hang out for coffee a lot, coz i'm a coffee addict perhaps, but I find that when i'm sipping coffee and doing some catching ups with my frens, I become so relaxed and comfortable. So much so that when I return to my problems, I begin to see things from a different perspective. It's incredible!

Also, if the problems are not too personal, I share it with my friends over coffee and they usually help make me feel better, and sometimes solve my problems by sharing with me their experience in similar problems.

Therefore,

I think having some regular social interaction outside home is very important for your health, and something which should be a major priority.

I definitely second this statement

[tigerconserve]

I never realized how much a supposed introvert like me needs human contact . . . even a five minute chat on the phone.

What I try to do is make plans early in the week to go to the gym, have lunch with a friend, set-up a play date for my daughters so the moms and I can talk . . . anything. Working alone at home is definitely doable, it simply requires a some planning.

[sugarglider]

I think that's really good advice to make it part of your schedule, and give it the importance it deserves.

I also agree with Janet that sharing your problems with friends helps you to deal with them a lot better. You can work a lot more effectively when you've got all your worries out of your system.