The Hazards of a Home-based Job

I thought that working from home is the best work arrangement of all. Yes, it has its perks and advantages.
Working from home...

1. Saves Time. No need to travel to and from office. You also don't need an hour or two just for shower, choosing what to wear and putting on make up. You can spend the extra hours doing something else, like bonding with your family.
2. Saves Energy. Traveling to and from office can be very exhausting, especially if you're living outside the metro and you have to travel 4-6 hours each day.  You can have enough or even longer sleep since you don't have to wake up early to beat the traffic.
3. Saves Money.  No Fares, No Toll fees, No Gasoline. No need to dine in at restaurants or fast-food chains.
4. Saves you from Stress. No Traffic, No Waiting in Line for Bus or MRT, No Obnoxious People to annoy you, both in traffic and in the office ;)

Or so I thought...



Yes, all of the above is true.  But what I didn't know is that whatever you saved will also be used up. Why?  Because when you are at home, you find a lot of things that need to be done.
When you're alone and working from home, you have to cook for yourself. Prepare your meals and then wash the dishes. While doing the dishes, you notice that the sink needs some scrubbing. So while downloading your assignment for the day, you give it a good scrubbing.  Then you feed your dog, or your cat.
Or if you have kids, you have to get them going for school first.  Can't sit on your work table until they've all gone to school.  Or if he’s still a baby, you can hold him while you type away on your keyboard.
There's a knock on your door, a salesman,  Homeowners Association Officer, a promo girl, a package or mail, etc...etc...
Then you get back to your work, but a thought comes to your mind...mmmm...maybe I can start spinning the laundry.  After a while...Oh, the timer's up. Wouldn't hurt to rinse and hang them now while the sun is still up and bright. Yeah, why not? It wouldn't take long.  Then you see the water from rinsing, are you going to throw and waste it? Of course not.  Conserve water, right? So why not use it to wash the dirty rags.
In between, you research, you write, answer to emails, reply to skype, to YM, to MSN and what not. And while you're doing household chores, you think about your work. You even compose articles in your mind while mopping the floor. Talk about multi-tasking!  At the end of the day, you feel just as exhausted as when you were traveling to work. And you see your cat lounging at your work station.
Oh well... Maybe, I'm just not used to it yet. Still getting the hang of it and maybe eventually, I can come up with a strategy to maximize this work from home set up without tiring myself to death. :D