Are Dad's Smart Enough to Work From Home?

Men are mysterious creatures. If you ask my Father when my birthday is he may not remember, but ask him about car engines and he'll quickly recall that Chevy bored out their 349 engine block to a 409 in '61, '62, and '63.

This is to say that men, despite the occasional bouts of forgetfulness and selective hearing, can be wonderfully competent sentient beings. A Dad working from home is a great example of this, and if you are a Father and you are considering a work from home opportunity, you'll need to stick these ideas next to the years Barry Sanders won the rushing title.

Set time boundaries and stick to them

One trait that can be generalized to most men is industriousness. In the US, what physical beauty is for women, work ethic is for men. That is, many of a man's flaws will be overlooked if he's a hard worker. However, this conditioning sometimes comes at a price as men tend to be obsessed with their work.

As a Dad who has to work from home online, I have a practical understanding of the dangers of this obsession. For a guy, working from home is like having a mosquito bite: you're right next to it and all you need do is tend to it right quick and it'll stop annoying you. However, unlike a mosquito bite, work never completely goes away.

One of the drawbacks of this obsession and accessibility is burn out. At some point, you'll over work yourself. Stopping and starting at certain times is a good way to ensure that you'll stay healthy and productive.

This is true not only your work, but also your family. Instead of indefinitely sequestering yourself in you study or home office, when you use time boundaries you'll make sure that your children aren't latchkey kids despite their Father being just down the hallway.

Designate an area

To go along with fencing off your time, it's also important to place physical boundaries on your work area. This is important for two reasons. One, for those of us who work from home on the Internet, it's a way to keep the kids out of your work and away from the hundreds of hours of labor you have saved on your hard drive.

Two, it gives you a place to store your work frustrations. Because the family is just on the other side of the door, they may be the first targets. When you have a clearly defined work space, you can program yourself to leave your vocational problems there instead of contaminating the whole dwelling.

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