Actually rain, sunshine, fog, and BART train delays all arrive with “alacrity” at my virtual front door. I’ve been at the data center (err colo) for a few days now doing some interesting work with VMWare GSX server. Its given me time to reflect (not genuflect) on my place and my race and what’s near and dear. I guess blog entries are the natural outcome of challenging work at my place. I don’t often blog the work not because there is some law about statements like “the views in the blog do not represent the views of the FSG”. This is a personal blog on a personal domain and the truth is I am in love with my work and I go to it every day loving it more. I wanted a mix of things that included infrastructure and operations, pure project management, vendor relations, and working on certification and standards stuff. I got all that and more.
These days rolling out VMware GSX guest images brightens up my day. Most days the sun is shining even virtually and my days are my own. I do my work whether its at home 90% of the time or I journey to SF to work at the data center/colo/whatever. I’ve also set my own needs around working at home. There are things which you have to do if you work at home and perhaps the rest of this blog entry should focus on that since it guides me most days…
working at home; what you need, don’t need, and what it all means
To work at home, I think you need a sense of duty and obligation and a desire to take an extremely unlikely place to work at (home, duh) and make it into a work place. Lets be sensible here. Having kids run around, phones ringing, doorbells ringing that have nothing at all to do with work is not a good thing. It means you have to carve out time and make sure that time is quality. My worst memory is my 7 year old constantly tugging at my shirt saying, “where is this, where is that. my brother hates me and won’t play”.
Then after that one goes away, the 14 year old with his “life is really unfair. I don’t like chores. Doing the room cleanup sucks”. I just stare lovingly at him and mumble a thing that most parents do and he walks away clearly annoyed with me to do those chores. Well no one ever said life is easy. Sooner you learn the challenges better off you are. I took my time with time in the service. It taught me. I reached for it and knew I had to learn the thing it taught me. But my son can’t and won’t do it. Its too much of a stretch for him.
Anyways, you have to move beyond and obey the golden rules for working at home:
- dedicate quality time for work in a private space you can set up
- peacefully communicate to the family your needs to work and have peace and quiet
- define the work environment; don’t let it define you
- get the internet connectivity you need and get an alternate
- know when to say when
For all of these you can reach out and make your home work environment comfortable and make sure you retain that mental edge necessary to get things done. Get a few tools. Like Skype for example and use it. Skype will make you productive. Also insist on some IM technologies for collaboration like Gaim or Yahoo IM. It will make it easier. Gaim is my favorite because its multi-protocol and its an open source project. Make sure you protect the very data files you work so hard on creating. The home work environment must be owned by you. Invest in a thing that will be redundant for your needs and protect your stuff.
In the next to last bullet, invest in Tmobile Hotspot for wifi service and get thee to a Borders or Starbuck’s when the need arises. It will mean more than just coffee. It will lift you up and freshen your environment. You may not be able to get more done because of a combination of home events. For me, its arguing kids, attitude problems with some assuming I am simply not busy because I just sit at a computer or not having good sense around me on the phone. At that point, know when to say when. Sometimes, its better to simply walk away for awhile and let events transpire. Go for a walk, see the kid playing. Take on the other half of your life with some joy!
