home cooking

Nancy and I have been working out of the house since we left the Present Company back in 2001. Takes discipline, what with the TV sitting right there the whole time, but when it works it's glorious. Sitting here in the sundrenched living room, Beethoven blaring, typing this. At work. You can make deals, respond to emails, take important phone calls, all that while wearing sweatpants and a ripped T-shirt. I'm completely naked right now. Not really, but I could be and that's the beauty of the set-up. We made some loose rules early on and when we stick to them, we get a lot done.

Rules and Code of Ethics for Working at Home

1. TV stays off except for CNN or New York 1, except for lunchtime when you can put on any stupid thing you want.
2. I get to play the stereo but shouldn't put on anything that really annoys Nancy and it shouldn't be too loud. (This is a very loose one, one we've never talked about, but I know what's good for me.)
3. I can smoke in the house but have to be standing by the window and I shouldn't abuse this privilege or be smoking in the first place because those things will kill me eventually. (Much like the previous rule.)
4. Nan works in the bedroom, I work in the livingroom. Not really a rule, just a fact to keep in mind. Separate work areas are highly recommended.
5. Work stops at or around 6:00 PM. This is important because the worst thing about working at home is that you're never home from work. Having a cut-off time is key, we also don't work during the weekends.
6. Each of us is responsible for cleaning up and organizing our respective work areas. I work at the dining room table, so I have to make neat little piles of all my shit at the end of the day. I'm not so good at this. Nan works in the bedroom, so the bed itself becomes a worktable sometimes, papers spread out across it, etc. She's very good at cleaning up, because if she didn't we couldn't get into bed at night.
7. No drinking until the 6:00 PM bell, unless you're really feeling fed up with it all or a whole bunch of money comes in the mail and it's time to celebrate.

Works for us. Will probably get an office again some day if we can afford it, for now enjoy the perks of being naked and blasting Beethoven.