As I write this article I am unwell. No, not a case of the man flu, but also not at the level of needing to stay in bed, or needing to avoid work altogether.
laptop keyboard
Working from home enabled me to be productive today whilst under the weather
The only reason I can work today, is because my journey time to my desk is seconds. I didn’t have to wrap up to brave the cold, and be weary of the dangers of venturing outside when not feeling 100%.
I worked at a steady pace, and even though my output wasn’t at a level that I otherwise can produce when fighting fit, I moved forward, and was able to tackle some tasks, that required my attention today.
The stress of being ill was greatly reduced for me today
If I had felt worse later on, I don’t have to justify it to a boss, worry about ‘Bradford Factors’ or other such nonsense. If I had got worse, I am in the position to write a few emails, shut the laptop down and go to bed!
So working from home, enabled me to work, when I otherwise might of decided it best to take a day off. That being said, I find it incredibly hard to take a day off sick, for the very reasons mentioned above, and there definitely have been times when I shouldn’t have worked, but I did.
None of my clients knew I was ill today, and that suited me fine. Also as I didn’t venture out, it meant I didn’t guilt trip about making others ill, and neither did I then have to worry about the return trip home, and dealing with the stress of travel whilst ill.
Both business and personal, technology can reduce stress if used correctly
So whilst this wasn’t a gobsmacking blog post about technology in relation to working from home, the reality is technology enables me to work from home, and at times carry on working when if I was office based, I probably wouldn’t of work.
Also as a freelancer it is important that I continue to work, to earn the pennies to pay myself a wage! On a personal note I wanted to pop out to the local library, but I’ve renewed the library books online instead.
So working from home can at times be beneficial when ill, and technology in general has reduced stress today whilst I’ve been ill.