Separating Work and Home

The nice thing about writing is that you can do it anywhere. You can save yourself a lot of time, money, and trouble by working out of your home. However, there are benefits to keeping work and home separate.

I love writing at home because I can sit up in bed, laptop in my lap, cat sleeping against my thigh, and my music playing. It is so comfortable. In fact, it's too comfortable. I have too many distractions surrounding me. My cat wants attention, there are TV shows I could watch. I could be making a snack or a meal or fidgeting around or doing some other chore. When I'm trying to write, suddenly I want to do everything but write.

And my computer is often times more an enemy than a friend. I can instant message friends, play games, check facebook, twitter, comics, essays, e-mail; even though I use my computer to write, I also use it to avoid writing.

When I am not at home, say a library or a coffee house, my mind is different. I do still get distractions, like staring into space or looking around, but I also feel a responsibility to be productive far more. When I bring a notebook instead of a laptop, I have none of the convenient distractions available to me, either.

For "normal" jobs, we go to a location where all we do is work. We never go there except for working, so work is all we associate it with. The power to keep us focused is one that should not be ignored. Many writers create a home office, a room where they work and they only do work. When they are in the office, they are at work and are not allowed to leave or do anything else. It is the only way they can get their work done.

I have worked at home and I have worked out of home. They can both work. I find that I am usually more efficient when I am either at work or treating my home like work (i.e. having a mantra of "no distractions"). If you have a means to make a particular space your work space, then go for it. If you don't have it, don't worry. Just realize that you will have to rely on your willpower more than the others.