I’m no expert — not after just three months. But I did want to capture some observations from my grand experiment. You see, after eight years of spending 10 hours minimum per week in traffic driving between Flower Mound and Fort Worth, I recently changed directions like Barry Sanders and took a job that has me working out of Klancnik’s worldwide headquarters.
Also known as my front room.
I always wondered what it would be like waking up at 8:15am and arriving at the office by 8:17am. Yes, I brush my teeth first. I always wondered what it would be like being home when the sun is still shining and the kids aren’t yet cranky and about to hit the hay. I always wondered what it would be like to not have to fill my gas tank twice each week.
So, without further ado, here are the early returns on Project Work-From-Home:
After wondering for years why I’m seeing so many dads taking their kids to school wearing shorts and T-shirts, I wonder no more. I’m now one of those fellas. It didn’t take long before I discovered a whole fraternity of guys who work from the house. Most of them are sales dorks like me. The others work in “IT.” I put that in quotes because after they mention they work in “IT,” I tune out since I’m not smart enough to understand what the heck they do in “IT.” The advice I’ve received from every one of these work-from-home dudes includes the word “discipline.” As in you’ve got to be disciplined to stay focused on the job at hand vs. SportsCenter, The Golf Channel and Netflix. I’m currently trying to organize a weekly foursome at Bridlewood just to rub it in the faces of those work-in-the-office dudes who snub their noses at us.
Do I really get more accomplished in two hours at home than I would in eight hours in the office? The quick answer is yes. Absolutely. And I’m not really as disciplined as I probably need to be. In the time it took me to actually drive to work, I’ve already made three sales calls and sent a dozen emails. All while knocking down a bowl of oatmeal and a gallon of Red Bull. OK, just kidding about the oatmeal.
Does me being at home increase the chances of me getting pulled into errands that I never knew existed? The quick answer is heck yes. Absolutely. I never realized how much the family unit was spending at Home Depot and Tom Thumb until I started working out of the house. I also never knew how inconvenient it is that the kids don’t drive. In one way, it’s great — no car payment, insurance payment or bail bondsman — but it also means I’m a taxi service at 3 in the afternoon. Didn’t really deal with that when I was slaving away in Cowtown.
The dry cleaner thinks I was taken hostage. Now, before you get the wrong idea, I’m not sitting around in shorts and T-shirts every day. I actually do shower, shave, brush teeth, hair and even clean my earwax from time to time. And I put on Dockers and a decent shirt just so I don’t feel like a slob.
Attire notwithstanding, summer may be the biggest challenge to any work-from-home parent. The understatement of the 21st century for sure. When it comes to the 14-year-old daughter, summer doesn’t really impact me. After all, she would rather stay on Instagram all day than hang with pops. But the 9-year-old sports-minded son is another matter. Not only does he want to play all day, every day, but I really want to play with him, as well. He’s my best-ever playmate and I don’t want to squander a minute when we could be playing. But there’s that word again, discipline. Sorry, boy, we’ll have to wait a little while longer before we can hoop it up.
I’ve found that Corner Bakery is a great option when the house starts resembling Shawshank prison. Free WiFi becomes your best friend when you work from the house. Good iced tea and massive, hubcap-sized cookies never hurt either. Whenever I start feeling like Brooks from Shawshank, I bolt out the door. I could have gone with a Jack Nicholson reference from The Shining (you know, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”) but that just seemed too cliché.
The plot thickens . . . just to add to the equation, my better half did something this summer that she hasn’t done in 15 previous summers. She started a full-time job. Yikes, we must be insane. I’m starting a new job in a weird new office and she’s now driving to Addison for a full-time gig. Well, there is the small fact that she’s making one million times more than she was at the preschool job. And since both of our kids are able to, you know, dress and feed themselves, it was time to crank up the economic potential here.
So far, so good on this whole deal. But the jury is still deliberating for sure. We’re not even a minute out of the starting gate, so what could I possibly know? Wait, I need to get back to work. I’m writing this when I should be sticking to my disciplined schedule. It says right here on my day planner that between 9–9:30am I’m supposed to be talking about my fantasy football starting lineup at the water cooler with the guys from accounting. Oh crap, that’s last year’s schedule. OK, back to work!
Rudy lives in Flower Mound, sells stuff to make the house payment, spends weekends on dusty ball fields and recently had a GPS chip attached to his daughter. Follow him on Twitter: Manifesto10.
Published June 2014
