To wonder how you can work from home without a separate office?!

[anonuser63732]

Just that really. We don't have a separate area with a door that closes. I'm working from my desk in the dining room but as it's open plan, there's no shutting myself away. Our dogs are either barking at passers-by or whining by the back door (which I'm right next to). I find it so distracting to see all the house stuff that needs doing while I'm trying to keep my head down or to hear my husband about the house whenever he's home. Although I'm grateful to be able to be home if the nursery is closed or the baby is sick etc, I'm getting frustrated that I'm first in line to cover just because my work is flexible hours and no office.

So... how do you do it? I'm considering getting a different job part-time locally just so I can be in an office again but with some flexibility! I also miss working face-to-face with people. Bah.

DH and I both work from the open plan kitchen. I think of it being like one of those shared work spaces where stuff is going on around you. And it’s nice to wfh but feel like I have a colleague.

I'm fortunate enough to have a pretty big bedroom, so although i don't currently have a separate study, I have set aside one corner for my desk, office chair, docking station and two screens for the one day I work from home per week. All I have to do is plug my laptop in, as it is exactly the same set-up as in my office at work.

Some days when I work from home I don't get up out of my seat for 4 hours, as I find it easy to become engrossed in the work with having no distractions. Constantly reminding myself to take a break.

That's not true at all.

We have a desk in the corner of the open plan living room/kitchen. Only one of us (DH or I) works from home at any one time, we always plan it so neither of us WFH on the same day. No kids or dogs, just a cat.

Generally both of us prefer to be in the office, we only choose to WFH occasionally to keep the cat company😆

I work from the dining room. DH has the proper office as he has lots of external calls whereas I don't have any. Works great for me and I like being near the kitchen for easy access to the kettle/coffee machine/fridge! No dogs though and I finish work before the DC are home from school.

Dh worked from the kitchen table for about 2 years. We eventually forced him to re-arrange our bedroom and install a proper work space up there. It was too much being quiet all the time while waiting for him to finish work, couldn't make a start on dinner or clean the floors etc. He's now got a better desk, chair and screen set up and everyone's happier.

My desk is in the living room. I'm getting sick of it tbh but putting up with it as the benefits outweigh for now. I finish at 3 and run straight to school pick up.

However this week husband took time off with kids half term and I worked from home 2 days. It was fine most of the time as they were in the kitchen and back room. But sods law they came in crying and he was telling them off and trying to get them out of the room when I was on the phone. Not a great look. Lessons learnt for next time.

Why do your dogs bark at passers by and whine at the door? Sounds like th need a bit more training.

I have no problem working where ever but I'm freelancer so I have to!

I cope perfectly fine. Work in the kitchen/diner. Cat for company. Kids at school during work hours. Like most things it’s fairly personal and depends on other factors too (I couldn’t do it with the kids here or with barky dogs).

I’m happy with this setup for the next few decades. Clearly not for everyone but it’s effective for me and I have excelled in my career more the last few years than I did the decade previous.

why not use your bedroom as an office? It is presumably empty during the day? I never understand the concept of having a room stand empty all day every day when you are stuck for space

It suits some people, but others dislike it intensely. I'd be happiest with a mixture so I could crack on uninterrupted a couple of days per week (once the remote working stuff actually works properly, it's nearly four years and it's still shit, IMO) on specific single tasks that don't involve needing multiple screens, high processing speeds or asking for information from multiple sources - and three days for interacting with human beings, getting out and about in the fresh air and more movement in the day.

If it doesn't suit you OP, it just doesn't suit you.

I have for two years however I do struggle some days!!! Especially when my noisy husband is home

15 year WFH veteran - hardest time was during COVID when everyone else was home too trying to work and do virtual school at the same time - each of us in a different room.

My tips:

Pick your neatest room which can have a desk in it that has a door you can close. If possible don't work in open plan areas where you can see the kitchen.

If you are easily distracted by home stuff put the desk against the wall and have your back to the rest of the room.

Use noise cancelling headphones or a programme running background noise - you can experiment to find the one which helps you concentrate the most - might be white noise, nature noises, cafe murmurs, office murmers.

Create a small commute for yourself. Might sound counter intuitive to the supposed WFH joy of going three steps from bed to desk but it doesn't give your brain time to get into work mode. Commutes can be tiring but they give you thinking time and prepare you for the work day. So get fully dressed, put shoes on and take even a short walk around the block and go straight to your desk when you get in.

Work in blocks - schedule tea breaks and lunch at set times away from your desk. If you need to schedule a chore break where you put the washing on etc but set timers so you don't overrun.

After doing all that trouble shoot the main distractions - just note them down and notice them for a week, you often find a pattern - it might be the dogs or it might be the postman who disturbs the dogs. Once you know where your main trigger points are you can start to eliminate them.

I have a desk in my bedroom. Is it ideal? Not really. But it's better than working at the kitchen table.

If you can, work from a bedroom. Before we moved I worked under my son's cabin bed!

Most people can't. I could not.

DS works from the desk in his bedroom. When he started WFH I offered him the desk in a spare bedroom which is casually used as a home office - it has a desk, the computer printer, shredder, laminator, filing cabinet but he said he'd rather work in his bedroom.
His bedroom door is always shut when he's working as he's on a lot of phone calls and teams meetings.

I have a separate home office but sometimes work downstairs at the kitchen table if I have the house to myself, for a change of scenery.

We're mainly in the office now but occasional WFH days are on a tiny desk in the corner of the living room (with a proper monitor and office chair), bedroom doesn't have enough space for a desk. Only possible because we don't have children at home, and because me and DH try to avoid WFH on the same day.

I'd love to upsize but like most people we couldn't afford/justify it. The only colleagues I know who have a spare room for an 'office' are those with grown up kids who have moved out and they've repurposed a spare/guest bedroom.

Work are pretty strict about confidentiality, not having others in earshot/in the background. Exception for emergencies eg children off sick but even then we'd be expected to rearrange online meetings. Our jobs include calls with the public so it really wouldn't be appropriate to do so with kids/pets present and seeking attention.

It's not ideal, I work at the dining table and it is why I go into the office a lot. I don't mind dh being around but know I get in his way and I don't work if dc are at home. I find I use my lunch break to tidy eat and then eat a quick something when I am back working. I wouldn't take a job that was fully wfh, even if I did have an office.

I do it, it's fine, I think your problem is the dog rather than the work set up?

I work in my bedroom at a desk or the kitchen table. I find it less distracting than the office, although I have to say I prefer it when DH isn't also working at home. It's just what you're used to I suppose.

This is why WFH is a million times easier for those with a nice big house.

This is nonsense.

my desk is in babies room so I work in there until 11. Then when he wakes up from his nap at 2 I go back up there.

I must admit, during COVID I did wonder how people who lived in bedsits or shared houses coped. Even living on my own in a flat or house I found WFH difficult, but it was imposed on us (before COVID).

This is me, 100%.