Recently I was faced with a situation that warranted me to telecommute (work from home) for a day. The very next day I came across a mate’s blog post about the economics of working from home. This made me wonder if its all’s rosy on the telecommuting front.

Whenever I have worked from home, I have been surprised by the productivity gain from the missing distractions of a typical office environment. But what has surprised me even more, is how easily the gains can be squandered(1) if one is not organized(2) & disciplined. Squandering away the gains results in one feeling more miserable than a normal dip in productivity.

(1) Some ways of squandering any gains …

• By being more productive I might make myself some time for the gym …but I also raid the cookie jar once too often
• I squander time on getting unnecessary updates & applications for the laptop / iPhone
• I might finish lunch quicker since I am alone   …but I end up spending more time on useless newspapers or websites

(2) Organized could mean having a prioritized ToDo list & being disciplined would mean sticking to the prioritization