Comments on Code Intensity: Working at Home, The Zone, and Importance of Equip...

It took me a while to shell out the cash for one b...

2008-04-24T14:28:00.000-07:00

It took me a while to shell out the cash for one but now I wish I'd done it sooner. I found mine from www.aerondeals.com

I thought it was particularly fitting that you sta...

2008-04-23T08:51:00.000-07:00

I thought it was particularly fitting that you started by talking about the importance of having an ergonomic chair. I had to learn my lesson the hard way. I sat for two years in a no-name brand chair from Office Depot until I bought my Aeron. I was worried about the price, but it's more than worth it. Not only that, I was able to get a great deal on the chair from www.OfficeDesigns.com. They shipped the chair for free and even had the Sapphire color I wanted that I couldn't find anywhere else. Anyone in the market for home office furniture should check them out.

@Danny I would advocate that as long as you can "a...

2008-04-22T09:34:00.000-07:00

@Danny I would advocate that as long as you can "afford" it as well. That was my take, plus you can write all this stuff off. But, for folks thinking about it, think about what "affording it" means for this. For folks who have a home office as their primary office, this chair and desk are going to be something you are sitting at all day long (most likely). Do you really want that to be cheap or ugly or whatever? Probably not. You don't have to spend a fortune, but I would say don't just slap a board on some uprights just to save yourself money, you will regret it.

I have to say that I agree on the issues of the ch...

2008-04-22T09:28:00.000-07:00

I have to say that I agree on the issues of the chairs and desk. When I went to buy my office furniture I spared no expense and went after what I wanted, not what I needed to get by.

hmmm... so intersting. i think i brillante. i like...

2008-04-21T05:19:00.000-07:00

hmmm... so intersting. i think i brillante. i like it. i find it so impformative..

hi.. i wonder if you could visit my site and talk about things. thanks in advance.

http://reonzacompany.blogspot.com/

The most common home work is mailing, teaching, bu...

2008-04-20T07:11:00.000-07:00

The most common home work is mailing, teaching, but no in technology field, for the moment.
Best regards from Seville.
Please visit my blog, and tell me what about it?

Interesting read.

2008-04-19T21:43:00.000-07:00

Interesting read.

@herodes de la betica, thanks for the comment. Ho...

2008-04-19T20:39:00.000-07:00

@herodes de la betica, thanks for the comment. How common/popular is working from home in Spain? Is it common for people working in technology, or other fields, or?

Good morning. Your blog is really good, and intere...

2008-04-19T13:14:00.000-07:00

Good morning. Your blog is really good, and interesting. I felt like in a similar about home. Keep writing, please and I send you best regards from Seville, Spain. I like your blog a lot.

Site has very useful content and articles. Will re...

2008-04-19T05:44:00.000-07:00

Site has very useful content and articles. Will recommend this to others. http://www.hyderabadonnet.com

Very, very informative and interesting. I work fro...

2008-04-18T23:11:00.000-07:00

Very, very informative and interesting. I work from home too and I believe in most of the things that you say especially the part about not trying to save money on chairs.

Very informative! I just decided to do some writin...

2008-04-18T19:24:00.000-07:00

Very informative! I just decided to do some writing at this latter stage of my life. It is a big work at my age. I got lots of ideas from you on how to make the work easier and fun. Thanks.

@Anonymous: in regard to the cafe leeching, I coul...

2008-04-17T09:12:00.000-07:00

@Anonymous: in regard to the cafe leeching, I couldn't agree more that it's key to get out and have a change of scenery. Your use sounds like it falls in my gray area of use: you aren't there everyday, and it sounds like not for a full day when you are. You're using it for the change of scenery, as opposed to feeling like it's your office and entitled.

I should have mentioned that there is definitely a movement towards "coworking" spaces. Mostly they are available in larger cities so far, where they can balance the costs of running the place with the number of people using it (I've considered doing it for Eugene, OR, but I don't feel there is likely enough people to use it to sustain the costs). But, if you're somewhere that can do it, then that may be an even more interesting option, because you get a place dedicated to this kind of thing, as well as others around that you might actually want to talk to and enjoy the company of (often in these places there is at least some common interest or kind of work, etc.).

@La Gringa: more and more people are doing this, a...

2008-04-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

@La Gringa: more and more people are doing this, and there's even a name for it: "LIP" - Location Independent Professional. There's even a site/blog dedicated to it. I happen to live in a non-exotic place, but I'm essentially a LIP myself. All the companies I work for are in a different state, I travel as needed (but not very much these days), and I could live basically anywhere that made it so I could travel without too much pain. Last year when we moved, it was the culmination of a year and a half of looking all over for where we wanted to move - with little to no influence by my job (at the time I worked for Adobe, so I did have to be somewhere near an airport to travel about monthly, but otherwise could be wherever I wanted).

What a great blog. I have worked at home for a few...

2008-04-17T06:54:00.000-07:00

What a great blog. I have worked at home for a few years and having a separate space is especially important as it helps with separating work time with personal time.

Recently, I returned from working and living in China for two years, to quitting my engineering job and following my dream of being an artist. I am in the process of converting or reducing my previous office space to an art studio.

Great blog!

As a fulltime telecommuter myself for almost 8 yrs...

2008-04-17T06:47:00.000-07:00

As a fulltime telecommuter myself for almost 8 yrs, I thought your post was great with the exception of your rant on the "cafe culture". Everyone I work with is thousands of miles away. Now that my kids are both in school and my wife has gone back to work, I spend 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, alone sitting in the same 10x13 office (albeit with a nice view this time of year). My professional interaction with others is limited to a telephone and IM.

I'm one of those people who goes to Starbucks or Panera a couple of times a week and "leeches" for a couple of hours. Although I rarely interact with those around me, the occasional environment change - the sights, smells, voices, etc - is important to me in maintaining my sanity.

This is fascinating. I just stumbled onto your sit...

2008-04-17T05:28:00.000-07:00

This is fascinating. I just stumbled onto your site via Blogs of Note. I am also in the software business though I don't code. I am product manager / business analyst for one client and have several small QA projects. I started working from home in New Jersey in 2004. I converted the never-used dining room into my office.

After about six months, It occured to me that I could be doing this job from anywhere. In September 2005, my husband and I sold everything and moved to the Turks & Caicos Islands (see our blog). We have recently nearly completed construction on and moved into a new house. I have a small office with a view of the ocean - my first ever non-cubicle environment (aside from short stint in dining room). It's fabulous and everything I thought it could be.

My clients, though initially skeptical about my move, are giving me more work than ever and recently accepted a 20% rate increase without batting an eyelash! Yes, the working from home thing is most definitely working for me!

Thanks for some great advice!

Good post, thanks for all the info.

2008-04-17T03:43:00.000-07:00

Good post, thanks for all the info.

i've been working at home for years - i'm now givi...

2008-04-17T03:20:00.000-07:00

i've been working at home for years - i'm now giving up another 6 hours teaching just to be working even more at home; apart form cooking for 6, cleaning, washing and ferrying children from school to activities, etc, i like to blog about daily life through the food we eat at home. and that's what i call work - I've even set up a little office to do just that!

Just incredibly true.

2008-04-16T21:44:00.000-07:00

Just incredibly true.

This was a great read for me. I had a home work s...

2008-04-16T15:13:00.000-07:00

This was a great read for me. I had a home work space until I gave it up so my 3 year old could have a play room. After a few months it really sucked and I wasn't getting any work done for myself (in my day job I teach HS). Finally I set up a work space in the garage. Not optimal, but mine, dangit, and I can look at my motorcycle while I draw motorcycles. Or whatever.

Like they said, keep writing. I found this because Blogger thought it was neat, and it rocks. Rock on.

This was interesting...I felt like I was in a simi...

2008-04-16T12:24:00.000-07:00

This was interesting...I felt like I was in a siminar about home office fung shui.

~A. Elaine

Great blog! Keep writing. It's really good

2008-04-16T12:21:00.000-07:00

Great blog! Keep writing. It's really good