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Thread: Working from home

  1. #11
    Senior Member jp1's Avatar
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    So I’ve been using a timer today. Not in the way Catherine suggested, but because I’m doing an online class for my insurance broker license and I have to do 52 hours of ‘class’ time. Because I have previously done the NY broker class/exam as well as classes/exams that cover the same topics for a professional designation I don’t need 52 hours of class time in order to pass the test. But the online class requires me to click on it every ten minutes to remain in the class. So I’ve been setting the timer on my phone for 9 mi it’s all day long and clicking in the class and restarting the timer. What I have discovered is that I must be able to stay focused pretty well. Most of the time 9 minutes seems to pass rather quickly.

  2. #12
    Senior Member rosarugosa's Avatar
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    Oh no, JP! That sounds like the height of tedium!

  3. #13
    Senior Member jp1's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rosarugosa View Post
    Oh no, JP! That sounds like the height of tedium!
    It has been, but it's also been interesting. I'm down to 23 hours of required class-time, and 12 of that have to be the "ethics" chapter, so tomorrow I plan to mostly actually study the remaining eight chapters and then I'll again randomly click the class every nine minutes to get through the remaining 12 hours of ethics.

    The interesting part has been realizing how long certain tasks of my actual job take. Talking with bossman today I told him about this and commented that it takes almost two full nine minute chunks of time to quote an easy, low hazard, small business account, due to the speed at which our systems work. He was aghast. "It should take maybe three minutes once you're done making your underwriting decisions." I agreed but said "this is how long it takes." He'll be taking evidence of this (a screenshot of my email outbox of my work product from Tuesday afternoon) to push the systems people for better options.

  4. #14
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    I have been working in the office for about 18 years by now, and 2 years ago I have switched to 50% working time in home office (for all the reasons you cite, jp1).
    Although the first days of home office I was all over the place and "wasted" my days away (in my case it was not because of dancing unfortunately: it was because I have setup my pc in the living room, and I had constantly under my eyes the dishes to wash, the room to clean etc etc...), I got a grip of it and after that, it went wonderfully. Of course some day it happens that I spend time on something non-work related when I am at home but it does not happen often and overall if I average what I get done at home vs in the office on a time span of months, home office wins many fold over office in productivity. If I could , I would work from home every day- consider yourself fortunate btw, just a not about what made a big difference for me for "home-officing" was to start working in a dedicated room (in fact, is the sleeping room of my daughter...) instead of working in the kitchen or living room. When I sit on that chair, it tells me "office time" and I automatically get into the mindset of work.

  5. #15
    Senior Member jp1's Avatar
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    I agree with needing a space that makes one think "office time". I took over our dining room table. We've eaten on it maybe 5 times in 11 years. Otherwise the room has just served as a wine cellar and the entry to our apartment. So when I sit down at my computer and stair at the monitors I don't think "home", I think "work".

  6. #16
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jp1 View Post
    I agree with needing a space that makes one think "office time". I took over our dining room table. We've eaten on it maybe 5 times in 11 years. Otherwise the room has just served as a wine cellar and the entry to our apartment. So when I sit down at my computer and stair at the monitors I don't think "home", I think "work".
    We took care of my MIL for a couple of months when she had hip surgery. We turned our dining room into a 1st floor bedroom for her by walling it off. When she recovered, I decided to make it my office, and it worked great. jp1, I know you rent so walling it off probably isn't an option for you, but if SO works outside the home, that probably gives you enough quiet time, right?

    I never missed that dining room. On Thanksgiving and other holidays we had dinner in that other vestige of 20th century homes--the formal living room. I had turned it into a library, but for entertaining I used my sofa table that extends to seat 8. Worked great.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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  7. #17
    Senior Member jp1's Avatar
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    Yes, SO is generally gone from 7:30 uNtil 6:30 or 7:00 at night. In general I work until whenever SO gets home.

    It’s actually the cat that drives me crazy. For the first couple of months after his brother died he was pretty needy. That has calmed down in the last few weeks so things are better. I was having to put him in the bathroom every time I wanted to make a phone call because he wanted to participate.

  8. #18
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    Jp, Too funny about the cat)

  9. #19
    Senior Member jp1's Avatar
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    He’s actually a sweetheart of a cat. Not as charming as his brother was but close. Since I started working from home I’ve been joking about him being my underwriting assistant and employee of the month. SO, when he gets home, routinely asked ‘Everett, did you bind any business today?’ Apparently my boss’s boss doesn’t find this funny for whatever reason. Several people I talk to regularly, on the other hand, love that he’s always in the background when we talk on the phone. I’ve got a blanket on my desk for him to sit on when he wants to ‘work’.

  10. #20
    Senior Member jp1's Avatar
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