Working from home I sometimes get lonely. There are conference calls, email, twitter and IM (at least) but there isn’t a lot of casual people talk. Sure some of the IM and Twitter chat is just that – chit chat – but it is different from standing around the water cooler and chatting. I’m not sure how but it is. Perhaps it is the lack of body language or facial expressions. So sooner or later I really need to be with people.
And then there is the other extreme. I worked last weekend. I was with people pretty much constantly from getting to the airport Friday morning until I got home late Monday night. Sure I slept but I was with people from breakfast (earlier than I usually get up) until after dinner (usually 9PM or later). It was a lot of people time.
By the time I got home I just wanted to be alone with my thoughts. Even the email felt like a lot of contact. I sort of wanted to lock myself in a room and avoid the computer, email, twitter, the phone and people face to face.
I don’t think the people contact was over much though. I really like the people I work with. It is a serious treat to spend time with them. So it wasn’t them. I think it was me. It was too much of a change, too fast and for too long. If I were with people more often (in real life) I think I would have come home without feeling the need for alone time.
Balance is key in so very many things. I think my goal going forward is to keep my daily level of contact with people in real life higher than it currently is. Perhaps I need to join a club or something. Something to get the balance better. This is something to keep in mind if you get the chance to work from home though.