Most of you probably know that I work at home but unless you also work at home you probably haven't given much thought to dress code.

Last February celebrated the first international annual Work in your Bathrobe day and it was a fundraiser worldwide. Whilst I could appreciate the reason behind it, I just could not bring myself to working in my bathrobe - it just doesn't feel right and I can't get myself into the right mode of thinking - I feel like I'm dragging my feet and not up to speed. I wrote an article about it and it was published last week in an online publication. I just found out this afternoon that the Sydney Morning Herald have picked up the article for their careers section this coming weekend and they are going to quote me!

So, naturally I'm excited about this but it also leads me to ask what are your thoughts? When you're in front of your computer at home are you dressed for work? Perhaps you never have to consider a possible client turning up and it doesn't matter. I will go weeks without a client coming and they never turn up without checking first so I would always have time to throw something decent on, but I just could not focus unless in the right clothing. What are your thoughts?

lol, lol, lol, (laugh out loud), Oh Kathie, well done. I
think you would be horrified to come to my house mid morning
and find my daughter and I both very comfy in our jarmies
(mine even say "how cute am I" on them) doing our homeschool-
ing, yet that is what we do. We can get away with it 'cos
of our routine. It's wonderful not being tied to that 9-5
routine. We believe in being comfy at home. We are not in
danger of people turning up unexpectedly at the moment, but
the time will come and then ,yes, very reluctantly I will
have to be presentable earlier in day, but I am determined
to enjoy it while I can. Congradulations on being quoted.

Rubyleeangel.

I work from home and I have a routine each day....
1. In the morning I check my email etc.
2. Have a shower etc.
3. I have to have shoes on during the day....otherwise I dont' feel that I'm really at work.
4. Before dinner I like to play about 15 mins of games just to clear my head from work.
5. I change out of my shoes into my "mockies"
6. I work again at about 10pm until about 2am (I have to work in other time zones).

I'm self employed with a central Sydney office and having lived and worked on three continents for multi-nationals I now have a different outlook on work. This is that it should be low stress to allow you to maintain focus and productivity.

I try and work two days a week from home, this reduces travel costs and lost time (at least an hour a day), it allows me to do the odd job around the house and I can get dinner ready for Louise who works 8:30-6:00 in North Sydney.

I also refuse to travel at peak time, there are several reasons for this;

- Travel time is reduced
- Cost is the same
- Comfort is increased
- Chance of catching an airborne illness is reduced

So I get the 9:01 or 9:20 bus after doing my email and checking out the industry news. I come home on the 4:48 or 5:01 and continue work until dinner, then do a couple of hours in the evening, except Wednesdays, that a TV on the couch night with Louise. I still manage a 55-60 hour week, but on my terms.

Finally, no matter how busy I am, or we are, with Louise helping out we always take either Saturday or Sunday away from work and computers.

It works for me, and I think more people are taking on this life style.

David.

David,
I love it! I hate working on the weekends and avoid it if at all possible.

hmmmm, weekends and days off are not something I have often
because nurses are needed 24 hours a day, I do afternoon
shifts during the week after schooling my daughter (not
every day though, just 6 shifts a fortnight) and I get
rostered either am, pm, or night duty on weekends. This is
why we value our comfy pajama time at home doing schooling
and when I am doing uni assignments. Uni is very part-time,
I only have to be out there 4 or 5 days in a semester when
I only do one or two subjects a semester, the bulk of uni
work is done at home and on the ward at work. I am fort-
unate in this routine because I work the opposite end of
the day to my daughters father, so I can drop her off
there before I go to work, and pick her up after, and it
works really well. If I was not homeschooling my daughter
there is no way I could do what I am doing.

Rubyleeangel.