I've Locked Myself in My Office and I'm Not Coming Out..

I've Locked Myself In My Office And I'm Not Coming Out...

...at least until my kids go back to school. Working from home can be a blessing and a challenge. This has been the longest holiday break I can remember. I love my children. They are amazing young people, but it can be difficult to stay focused on work when they are whining about being hungry and bored and creating more dishes and laundry than I ever knew we had. Every time I walk out of my office I spend 15 minutes loading the washer and dishwasher and putting away cereal boxes, milk cartons, bread and peanut butter. I could fight with them to do it themselves but that takes way more than 15 minutes. I am choosing to lock myself up so I don't have to see it.

Yesterday I was on a conference call with the FloorPlanOnline sales team for a first of year evaluation and strategy call. I know they were expecting me to contribute some intelligent conversation to some serious agendas but all I could do was stay muted because my 10 and 13 year olds were duking it out in the other room and my dog was barking his head off trying to get me to get up and stop the carnage. I know they were trying to get my attention but I also know I set expectations very clearly before this break.

It would be easier to walk out of my office, grab the kids, go to the mall and play but I have deadlines and work responsibilities. I am fortunate that I have worked autonomously most of my life. For a lot of real estate agents, this is their first time having to manage their own time without the structured environment of an office and the luxury of a bi-weekly paycheck.

There are very few people who can work from home and be as productive as they could be in a structured work environment. These are not lazy people; they just have different triggers and may need more support from staff etc. We must keep this in consideration when creating our own business plans and when coaching and training others on time management and expectations. I feel like there are a lot of issues that are not discussed when an agent first gets started or converts to a work-from-home plan. Perhaps it should be a mandatory class?