Whenever those “work at home” scams hit my inbox, working at home in your underwear is often one of the “selling points” of the scam.<\/p>\n
I won’t say I’ve never worked in a state of dishabille. I do sometimes.<\/p>\n
But you know, Flylady<\/a> has a point when she talks about “dressing to your shoes”. You do need a mental cue that says, “Okay, this is worktime![1]<\/a>”<\/p>\n Do I ever work sitting propped up in bed? Goodness me, yes, I do! Finished my last project exactly that way. Sounds pretty cool, dunnit? I’m not saying it isn’t fun. It’s a lot<\/em> of fun. Knowing that my “office” is my laptop, and can go anywhere is really, really cool. I’m not gonna lie to you.<\/p>\n But friends, work is still work. I might be working naked,[2]<\/a> but I’m still working<\/em>. The project still has to get done. If I take off to flit around all day because no-one is staring over my shoulder and my deadline isn’t for another week, work doesn’t get done.<\/em> Cyberloafing in a formal office? Dandy. Go for it. Work isn’t getting done there, either.<\/p>\n But there’s a big difference between me and the person who practices the 5 Habits of the Highly Successful Slacker<\/a>. He’s figured out a way to get paid without producing much.<\/p>\n I can’t.<\/p>\n I get paid when the job is done[3]<\/a>. How I did it, when I did it,[4]<\/a> what I was wearing when I did it… None of that matters. All that matters is “Did you finish?” and “Was it of good quality?”<\/p>\n Sure, sure, ideally you’ll treat your office job like that. If you do, you’ll probably have a really good, successful career and that’s awesome. The reality is that it’s awfully easy not to.<\/p>\n I like being my own boss and working to the job rather than to the clock.<\/p>\n But those “Work at home in your underwear” scams just make me roll my eyes. It makes it sound like you’ll be making a lot of money, but you won’t be working<\/em>.<\/p>\n Don’t fall for that nonsense. You know, TANSTAAFL and all that smack.<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Mine is turning off my email, getting off the social networking sites, and closing chat.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Though living as I do in Northern New England, it really hasn’t warmed up enough that I want to do that!<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Or more likely at specific milestones of the job.<\/p>\n
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