What My Kids Have Taught Me About Working From Home

Katie Trenkle What a great article! You clearly have your priorities in order! I have a similar job except my kids are home with me (one and three) so my hours are a little different.

groveraxle Best. Post. Ever.

Rough Linen Will you design an evil lair for me?

Dana Veach I commend your priorities, Jody...thanks for sharing with us.

My Paradissi No kids yet, but I love the freedom of working from home. Your articles always put a smile on my face =)

Judy Nini Oooh! Thank you for this! I closed my office down after Seven years because landlord was refurbishing. This coincided with the arrival of my first child and so I am building an office into our new home. This reinforces all the reasons why I chose to do this (rather than look for new office space to rent in town). THANK YOU for sharing!

olldbobbi After commuting the horrible commute to Silicon Valley for many years, I chose to work at home, and you really just can't beat that commute! Very clever article, thanks.

Kings Bathroom Ltd Fantastic post, made me laugh, especially the final design photo. Thanks.

danasomsel I'm in the very same situation! I took over the dining room. It has great light and visibility for children, clients and neighbors.

ksenia27 Love your post! Very inspiring)

Lite4 Outdoor Lighting What a great article. I did the same thing in June of this year. I love it and am not sure I would ever go back to a regular office environment. My wife and I have a lunch date every day now while the kids are at school. Why did I not do this sooner?!?

Howard Custom Builders/Renovators At the end of his road my father-in-law said "faith, family and friends, that's all you really have or need."

Laura Jus This definitely goes to my Idea-book :)

Liz Murphy Design LLC Right on. Although my stepson is now 23, my dog, Sport is an integral part of my day now. Office is up on the second floor and Sport, a white West Highland Terrier does not do wood stairs so I am at his beck and call when he wants to go out several times a day or several times an hour! I get my exercise going up and down the stairs for a wagging tail. It's perfect. And oh by the way, I love having conference calls in my slippers. Thanks for sharing.

tashah29 good for you! you won't forget this time, and neither will they. :)

VG Renders Really nice article! I live in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and I´m in the same situation. I´m an architect and work at home, it´s PRICELESSS!!!!!

guest1 You have the best of all worlds! I'm just wondering how I can work from home (as a teacher ....)

nmercurelli You are a genius!!!! :) well done! :)

I am close to graduate in Garden Design (only one month to go!!!!! :D) and one of the many reasons I chose this profession was the wish to start a family soon and have a job that could adapt to my needs ... and not vice versa!

Kathy DiBella Love it! Especially the lego's! Great pix that any work-from-home designer parent can appreciate!

needshave They still making drafting dots?

resaparker I love this post! Even though I am not an architect, but my son aspires to be. I have Lego all over my house and not necessarily fashioned in cool buildings like yours! :)

susanintheburg I love this story...thank you...

kimberline I am a residential designer and when my husband passed away 11 years ago I had 4 children 16 to 4 years old . Working from home became the best thing I ever did . You learn how to work through lots of distractions , and how to know when its ok to be distracted !

mariamaly1999 This post really sums up a dream job :)

A J Miller Landscape Architecture PLLC I also work from home as a Landscape Architect. I started my own business after suffering from a serious illness. I am unemployable for most offices due to doctors and hospital visits but have found that the freedom of working from home and being there for a 9 year old reward enough and lots of flexibility.

Boeman Design My Husband and I both are architects and after losing both our jobs within 6 weeks we opened up shop together in our sunroom. I really identify with all of your slides. Our co-workers are now our family pets - Guinea Pig is our office mascot and 2 cats that function as furry paperweights. Our office has a big view to our 8 chickens roaming around our backyard while we listen to NPR and Pandora all day. Mostly Heaven!

olldbobbi If anyone remembers that 80's show called L.A. Law, and the episode where the guy had Tourettes Syndrome, that is the ultimate reason to work from home!

Daniel Contelmo Architects I started with my office in my renovated garage many years ago. I was concerned about what my clients would think. But after having my wife and three children around me all of the time, I realized I didn't care what they thought. I had three meals a day with them, and did not miss one of the activities they were involved in.
I know that I missed out on growing my business at the time, but it was all worth it. As of last year, all three kids were in college, and my wife and I now have more time together. I have given my business new purpose and hope to get my career to where I new it could be.
Sometimes we have to make difficult choices. Working at home with my kids around was not one of them.

mountjoy Nothing beats the memories of my dad being around at all the right moments. Your children will be so enriched by your choices. Thanks.

weston_wanda Like your work shoes! I need to find a pair exactly like those.

mdlang And I thought I was the only one with those hours! I'm in the same boat and have loved it. I feel so blessed that I have been able to be a full time mom and still do the job that I love and help to support the family income all at the same time. Good for you Jody!

nightcap Yes, I agree - this is a fab article. Just recently sold a business and really am interested in using my home office for a business. There are legitimate companies out there; just don't have the trust needed to decipher the honest companies and reviews. Would sure like some input.

olldbobbi nightcap, letters of recommendation are the best bet. And the letters should contain contact information to follow up on.

A J Miller Landscape Architecture PLLC I do worry what my clients will think too, they come to my home for meetings and I can tell they think I am an playing at this especially as I do high end residential work, but us professional do not earn enough at this to have the added expenses with offices and conference rooms, it is a testament to out profession, society pays you what they think you are worth! and hedge fund managers are worth the best!

khoki Thanks for sharing this fantastic article.

Made me think of the article I read this morning: http://www.businessinsider.com/7-things-you-should-never-say-to-someone-who-works-from-home-2012-10

I have the option to work from home too. And I use it! And I don't have children! :D What can I say? Life is fun!

olldbobbi A J Miller - "hedge fund managers"??? Very good! I think in your case a well manicured and landscaped front would be the best testament to your talents.

tdm886 I work from home for 2 of my 4 work days. I have found that it is easier to work from home with my children in the house than when my husband is there:)

Caron White Love it! Cheers to all of us that work from home!

mdlang Thanks for the link Khoki. That's a great article too. I have had almost ALL of those things said to me. (and no, my house is not SO clean either. ;) )

Daniel Contelmo Architects A J Miller - I agree with Bobbi P. Show them that you care about what your home/office looks like. But having confidence in what you do is the most important component. Don't apologize for having a home office. I only moved my office out because I needed more space (I have since built a new office on my property). I missed seeing my youngest son press his runny nose against the glass door of the office while I was in a client meeting. If the client was offended, then they weren't my type of client.

olldbobbi Daniel Contelmo Architects, well said.

taniavo Fantastic. I work from home twice a week. Best days of the week. Thanks for sharing!

E This is cool.

stargazer51 What a fun article. I'm retired now but remember appreciating telecommuting. I always did my best thinking in my fuzzy slippers!

Jackie Traverson Designs You and your children are fortunate. I have had shops, and, worked from home. Working from home is the best. The financial rewards can't be compared. I got to have my daughter with me the whole time she was growing up and never had to leave her with someone else to raise her while I tried to make a living for us both. The kids are the ones who really gain from the situation. More people should do it.

Carrie Mader Brilliant! I like to think the world is changing to accept that kids are a part of our lives if we have them. We can't just go to work and do our jobs and ignore the fact that our son has a runny nose or our daughter is being teased by the class bully. Raising these hellions is the most important job of all.:)

NJ Landscape Design Lovely article and nice to hear that someone else has the same time sheet that I do, not that I have to submit mine to the boss nowadays! The kids love that I can go to events at school, help out with school veggie patch if possible and be there for homework etc. The only downside with these hours, spending time with the hubby!

mom4moffs My husband and I have designed homes from our home for many years. Having the freedom to be with our now grown children when they needed us was such a blessing!

Margaret Eaton Thoughtful as ever. I love the way you can make your point, whether facetiously or seriously.

A D Construction This is a great article! Thank you for sharing. It is nice to know others are in a similar boat - and enjoying it! Refreshing!

monkeymays Thanks for sharing! I have the same "hey maker" dart gun in my drawer.. definitely one of the best perks of working from home!

Tony Pahl Thanks for getting me in the right frame of mind today!

loritbyrne I love your posts! Thanks for sharing the light-hearted side of working from home! Love the Lego one!

Lynn Thanks for sharing, you became so real. Nice to know you're just a normal guy.

amylouizz Best post I have ever read. Anywhere. Too often, kids are owned objects, shuttled around at their parents' convenience with no thought as to the kids' needs. Glad you are getting great nutrition as a side benefit. ;-)

dorri Good For you Jody- I also moved my business to my home when my son started school- and speaking from experience, kids are only kids for SO short a time...enjoy those precious moments...work will always be there...and you'll enjoy it a lot more when you are enjoying your life more....all about the balance....

Lynn Totally agree, children seem to be the status symbol, just like having a car or a house...part of the "domestication" or the " keeping up w/ the Joneses" factor. Why have children if at least one parent is not around to actually raise them.
I was a stay at home mom through out my kids lives, we gave up having 2 cars and "toys" and "extras" that other families with two working parents had, but we have never regretted it. We never even went on a vacation until the kids were over ten years old! Camping an hour away was as close as we got.
Our grown children now state they feel very lucky to have had parents who made that decision and it now means the world to them looking back. They have so many friends that were never given that and they actually feel sorry for those people and the childhood they could have had.
Let alone, many of their friends over the years have told my husband & I that they wished they could have had parents like us, because all the toys and extras don't mean anything to them now. They can't even recall all the material things, but they wished more than anything they had memories...even homework time and homemade cookies would have been nice to remember. Instead they only remember day care and after school programs which the general theme was that they hated it, especially the older and older they got.
Makes us quite sad. Maybe they should do a study on these kids twenty years down the line and really see how it affects these kids.
Maybe people would re think what is truly needed and important.

starag I commend you for your smart move and happy that it has enabled you to enjoy your work and especially your children more.I have worked from home the last 29 years while raising my children and helping to raise my grand children. I absolutly have the best of both worlds and no one except God can make me retire .

Cambridge Closets I really enjoyed your post! I know many entrepreneurs who can relate!

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel I think it's more efficient to work from home, and you should create an environment that shows your taste and talent.

Morgann Paull Wow... I never comment or post... But this one hit so close to home. I closed my office several months ago and now working from home. It's not always easy, but I love being closer to my two little girls.

ilsepot @ weetman. Homeschool!

norma Very smart decision to move your office; Big savings on rent, gas, business suits, cleaner bills and BIGGER gains on good company for breakfast, fresh ideas on design, comfortable shoes, the good things are too many to count including the blessings for you and your boys; Smart move.

patscats2 Very funny. Love the work shoes since I hate wearing dress shoes in my later years.

kdmacgregor I needed this post. Thank you so much. A reminder of how lucky I am to work from home.

Staged-4-Style Lovely and entertaining! Thanks!

Samantha Hayward Perfect!

tiptap I love this post. Such motivation!

linbar Awesome!

linbar Awesome!

cindygl I enjoyed a lot reading your article! :-) Congratulations for organizing your priorities in such a nice way.

Savena Doychinov, CKD/Design Studio International Jody, great as always! Glad you've found the best location for your practice. I've been doing it myself - with and without kids - for 30 years. Best way to do it!

vcrespo1 Que hermoso texto, gracias por compartimos una experiencia de trabajo en casa que alimenta el anhelo de ser madre o padre sin dejar de cocrear en el mundo laboral. Felicidades y mucho éxito en tú intento.

lifeoflieke Your post put a smile on my face, thank you :-)

twodozen So very true.

basmalino nice article with comic taste of reality , really nice . good luck

Sherley @ Chonilla I can relate. I made the decision to be home for our son back in April 2011. My employer was very understanding to the point of having an open door policy for me to return anytime and altought it was a hard decision for me and thought I made the wrong decision financially and all... More and more I can see the benefits lately. My kids are so happy when they come home or picking them up from school and tutoring. Our toddler who was suppose to go to daycare is home with me and only goes to a pause program where twice a week she goes to a part-time care for 4 hours, she gets to spend time with other toddlers who speak French in order to learn the language but interact with other kids. And my son who was having a really hard time at school with his ADD and never did well in language and math for the first time this week he came home with a test in math and passed. Our girls are thriving as well all because mom is at home.

I work as a online content creator and the biggest challenge for me now is setting up my hours to work since I find myself running around with a few errands and driving around the kids but I'm hopeful and will figure it out. Thanks for this article it helped me reinforce my decision to be a WAHM.

Desiree Marietta Totally agree with you! We're currently working towards being able to work from home, for the exact same reasons (sadly my work is less flexible, so my husband who's in IT might be able to transition into working from home easier than me)
I feel I'm wasting my time in commute every workday (1.5 hrs at least, each way)..

The Design Workshop Thanks, I know what I will be doing come 1st January 2012, the open hours will suit me and my 8 year old son great

Carrie Greene Interior Design I have got to get a pair of those 'work shoes' for my home office!

A R adorable!

bclowg Same exact hours here with 3 yr old twins. Oooh, looks like I'm off the clock now! Good night!

pcerreto The best article I've read all year! I love it! I am laughing out loud! Pat Cerreto, Real Estate Broker, Boston Metro South

Selena Urquhart Please do a book of your Coffee with an Architect posts!

Building 313 Thank you so much for this! I feel better now . . .I do the same thing and sometimes I feel like I have absolutely lost my mind. Glad to know I'm not the only one whose desk is littered with product guides, architectural books, fan decks, and legos.