During the Work Day, You Are at Work
Even if you fully embrace the telecommuting lifestyle, other people in your life might not fully understand it. That means that friends, neighbors, and even family members might stop by during the workday as if it were the weekend.
I ran into this situation when my new home was being completed. We had already moved in at that point and were waiting for a few last minute details to be finished. The builder’s assistant knew that I worked from home and rarely kept appointments as a result. He’d schedule to arrive to complete a task at say, 9:00 AM, and then call to say that an emergency at another site was keeping him away. If it happened a few times, it would have been one thing. But it happened every time. When I finally confronted him about it he admitted that since I was home all day anyway he didn’t feel bad blowing me off for other customers. He failed to realize the value of my time, or that I too had to plan my day around the scheduled time. I tried to convince him of these points and though he kept appointments from then on, I don’t feel he truly understood my situation.
Being able to help out a friend or neighbor in an emergency is one of the nice features of telecommuting. It’s important to make everyone realize what constitutes an emergency though. Your goal should be to get these people to ask themselves “would I call him at the office to help me with this problem?” If the answer is yes, then by all means call me up or stop by. If not, respect that during the day I am at work, even if I am still in my house.
Another trick that can work well in certain situations is to use a signal. You might open a window shade during your lunch break, or if you could handle being interrupted. In other cases, you should only be disturbed in the most dire of circumstances.
Often, you’ll become adjusted to your life as a telecommuter before others around you truly understand it. As they learn, give them a little slack, but remain firm to ensure your time and work get the respect they deserve.
