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.

Desk in bedroom or local cafe pub or coworking space or library

No my experience is more recent than 4 years ago.
Was covid even a thing 4 years ago? 🤔

I from home at the kitchen table in an open plan kitchen.
I do three days a week.
Kids are at school and wrap around till 4pm I then do another hour or so from the sofa in the evening.

I make an effort to make sure the kitchen is clean and tidy. I do a clothes wash before I start work.

I have a laptop and a monitor, keyboard & mouse that I pack away in a big plastic box at the end of the day. I’d love an office but it’s not possible but this set up allows me to do school runs and be around.

Its possible but you have to be strict.

Im not sure I could work with your distractions.

I work from home 4 days a week at my dining table - I have a two bedroom house so don’t have the luxury of a separate office sadly. I make it work and just tidy away at the end of the day to keep it separate to home.

We have a home office which used to be our dining room that we only used a few times a year. I've worked at home for nearly 15 years and love it but we do work totally flexibly

Dh uses the study so I sit at the dining table with the dog at my feet. Dc get home at 3.30 but know the drill - come in, say hi, grab snack then homework in bedrooms or living room until 5pm. I’m in lots of teams calls so it’s hard to get distracted from those.

My desk is in the bedroom. Its fine no kids or pets - I live in a flat but its quiet!

I tried working from the dining room when COVID first hit but DH was on furlough and it was open to the lounge. Or I could see him in the garden. Very quickly DH sorted out our smallest room and it is now a dedicated office. I wouldn't have been able to continue WFH during COVID or doing hybrid work more recently without a dedicated space.

When I work from home, it’s from a very small space we separated using stud walls from dc2’s bedroom. She’s out of the house most of my working day anyway and the room is big so we just created a small space for me that I can lock up after work so I don’t see why you can’t have your desk in your room separate from the main living area.

@easylikeasundaymorn thank you for a voice of reason

I wfh 99% of the time in the corner of our (fairly large) lounge. It’s L shaped and my desk is away from where we relax in the evenings/at weekends. I keep very little on my desk and use one decent sized laptop which goes away in a large draw each night. Because I have no commute, I use that time to get tidy in the morning as I agree I would hate to be working in a messy house.
The cats annoy me at times but mostly I’m very disciplined, very productive and happy.

Have you tried earphones with white noise? It’s been well documented to aid concentration when distractions are a problem.

Don't have dogs and only need one screen, for starters!

The issue is open plan houses. Before that, most people could shut a door, have privacy and everyone else in the house could still go about their day.

I was home based way before COVID, and am privileged enough to have a separate home office. It is essential. Even just a corner of a bedroom where everyone else can be banished from.

I have dogs and a dh that also works from
Home. It's a bit of a nightmare tbh. Dh works at the desk on our Landing and I work in the dining room which is fine in theory, but dh is bloody loud and the landing is echoey, and the dining room is freezing. The dogs are a pain and I'm constantly having to put them out to go on calls.
I find it hard to work in an untidy house too-which means I'm always tidying up between calls. Dh doesn't see the mess and that causes a bit of resentment.
I've only been in the role a few months but my plan is to stick it out for a year then lion for something at least hybrid as wfh is not for me!!

I wfh at the end of the kitchen table. My laptop is plugged into another screen and a keyboard, and takes up 1/3 of the kitchen table. We (2 adults and 2 teens) eat dinner on the other 2/3 of the table. If I’m not doing extra work on a Saturday I try to make an effort to clear it away before dinner on a Friday and set it all back up on Sunday evening - I’m not that great at this tbh but I intend to improve! I like the light in the kitchen, and also the underfloor heating that I can turn on separate to the rest of the house in the winter. We have a long lounge so could potentially put a desk in there but it would be darker, colder, and dp would annoy me when he comes home and watches tv from about 4.30 when I’m working still. Teens don’t bother me as they are shut in their rooms watching their screens as teens do!

I live alone and work from my dining table. I love it. I have music on all day and the only disturbance I get are deliveries but that’s a 2 minute thing.

We have to start doing 2 days a week in the office from the new year and I’m dreading it.