Recently, I have been contacted by a lot of job seekers interested in working from home or self-employment. I have written about these topics a number of times in the past, so I will review and link to my past posts about these topics. The topic of working from home has been highlighted a bit more because many people who are blind deal with the condition Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder, or Non-24, and Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc., has developed a treatment for the disorder. I was asked to do a podcast for them specific to the impact of Non-24 on employment and some considerations for those impacted. The fact is that I have a lot of friends who battle with this disorder and we value the work Vanda is doing in this sector.
I don’t have Non-24, but I sympathize with those impacted by it. For many years now, I have dealt with issues around my own sleep pattern. During the podcast, Navigating Career Development with Non-24, I provide tips and advice for job seekers and persons with Non-24 or other sleep issues. Take the time to visit Vanda’s website, listen to the podcast (it’s the first podcast on the page), and learn more about how you can deal with Non-24-related employment issues. Side note: How cool is it that I am featured on the same page as Erik Weihenmayer and Kevin O’Connor? “Hey Erik, give me a call sometime. Maybe we can get a cup of coffee—hopefully not at the top of a mountain, nor late in the day.” I strongly suggest checking out the other podcasts on the page. I wrote the part about coffee prior to hearing Erik’s piece. He mentions limiting his coffee intake after a certain time of day. I actually limit my caffeine intake in general, but definitely push that limit early in the morning.
Erik’s podcast made me think about how he pushes his limits and breaks down barriers at an extreme level. I know he was a teacher, and as a self-employed individual, he continues to teach and educate many audiences about blindness, disability, and pushing your limits.
The planning, fortitude, drive, and endurance that Erik demonstrates when taking on an adventure can be applied to working from home or self-employment. Working from home is not just sitting around in your pajamas, drinking coffee. If it is, there might be a major problem in how you are working from home—you might not actually be working. Working from home takes time management, motivation, and self-discipline. One of the negatives of working from home is that you don’t get the same level of socialization that you would in an office. But, for some people, that might be a positive. We are all quite different by nature, and our work values and work personality will be different, too.
I can tell you that I have a much easier time writing when I work from home for a few reasons. I typically have fewer interruptions while working from home. At the office, I might get distracted by coworkers and conversations versus the seclusion of working from home. I am more likely to work more hours at home for a few reasons, as the computer is always close by and I feel I have to prove to people that I am working. Realistically, I work a lot of hours no matter what, and I will work at home in the mornings, evenings, or weekends.
You should also take the time to go back to two of my older posts on working from home and self-employment. The post that I wrote for the AFB Blog, I Want to be My Own Boss, Is Self-Employment Right for Me?, provides some of my thoughts on self-employment. If you think working from home is the answer for you, I provide some tips and thoughts when looking at working from home in the post, Working From Home: Everybody Likes the Idea of It.