Working alone and loneliness

[Sussexite]

I would guess that many Acorners (like me) work alone.

This can be an extremely lonely work environment (and is currently getting me down).

Perhaps you would be kind enough to post your tips on beating loneliness for people working alone in this thread. Thank you.

 

[Blossom]

There are lots of virtual offices springing up everywhere - it's probably worth looking to see if there's one near you? There's one near us where you get a cheap yearly membership and you can go to talks, meet other web people for a chat and a drink, go to events, get access to business advice, network etc. as well as using it as your business address and being able to work there.

It's all pretty relaxed but it's where the local freelancer and web types go to hang out so there's a lot of opportunity for joint projects as well as just chatting about web stuff and so on. Definitely worth looking into.

Another option might be looking into conferences in the area - good opportunity to meet people and there are at least a couple of fairly big conferences in Brighton every year (depending on your interests of course).

 

[monaghan]

I love working alone, it is far more productive than the bad old days when I was in an office. Productivity is far higher without the distractions of the office environment. I used to work mostly from home when employed.

If you have a room you can use as an office, then do your work there, take breaks routinely as you would in an office. I listen to the radio to keep connected with outside happenings. Keep a structure to your day - I go to school, come home, make tea, work to lunch, watch a bit of star trek at lunch (must have some perks of working for yourself!) and then work to mid-late afternoon depending on deadlines & family commitments. Try to avoid evening working and keep as normal hours as possible.

Most of my work is done in the office, however, I do have some local clients who I visit as needed.

You could try local business groups for some networking events (often breakfast or lunch meetings) if you wanted to meet other local people possibly in the same situation.

Try to keep down your time on forums if you have a project to do - your morning can vanish in just a few cups of tea whilst idle browsing forums

Lastly, try things new, see if they work for you, if not scrap the idea and try something else until you get to a point where you are happy.

Alternatively give the PC a name and hold a conversation with it when you are bored

 

[Bailey]

*Try to sit were there is natural sunlight at least most of the day

*Don't ever sit at your computer for more than three hours, without a nice long break

* Try not to get drawn into too many repeative tasks

*Have a fairly active social life - certainly at weekends

 

[WealdDomains]

I'm not best qualified to answer, but when I have worked from home for more than a day or two I have found it really helps to make a point of going out at lunchtime to break up the day. I go round a nearby supermarket, bookshop, garden centre or diy centre. It's not necessarily about talking to people (it will often just involve short basic conversations with shop assistants) : it is about the buzz and liveliness of a high street or retail park. It's important not to fritter away productive work time, so going back home to the office at the end of the lunch hour matters. It's also important not to fritter away lots of money each day on impulse purchases, or on food and drink you could make at home much more cheaply, but an occasional coffee or lunch out is enjoyable. They have changed their name now, but if you search for Wyevale you'll easily find the garden centre chain : they have lots of centres with restaurants (including throughout Sussex), and if you join their loyalty scheme there are often good food (and gardening !) deals. Some have wifi too if you actually want a longer change of scenery.

 

[Edwin]

You could also Google for "co-working" events near you, i.e. a bunch of people get together in one place (usually once or twice a week for a few hours) and bring their laptops and work.

 

[Edwin]

The other thing I'd add is that, if you're working for yourself (rather than on the clock for an employer) there's no "rule" that you need to work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, from 9 to 5!

Everyone is different. If you find you're at your most productive by working a concentrated dawn-to-dusk 12 hour day a couple of times a week, then why not bow to that discovery, and treat the rest of the week as days off. Equally, you could find that a couple of hours of work a day in the morning and again at night, 7 days a week, lets you get more done...

You may even find that it doesn't take very long at all to achieve what you want to do, so long as you hit the times when you're able to put in 100% maximum concentration and effort. Basically, experiment to find your personal "sweet spots" then work to whatever pattern fits you best, for exactly as long as necessary and no longer.

The biggest problem that you'll have to work to overcome is the nagging feeling of "guilt" that you're not getting "a full day's work done" which is reinforced by society at large. Once you're over that hump, you can enjoy your week and slot in your work as needed rather than feel you have to sit at your PC all day "filling the hours" just because that's what folks out in the real world do!

 

[tifosi]

The work-life balance can sometime get skewed when there's no buffer inbetween i.e. co-workers, boss, 'er-indoors.

I get out on the bike and have a gym membership. Even if it's only to go and have a chat/sauna at the end of the 'normal' work day. Tea breaks sat outside as well... even in winter!

Like the idea of the virtual office. Sometimes it is like being in isolation and you can get a bit stir crazy. Having a more introverted nature can be a benefit... but it's easy to take that to far and forget you need to have some human contact!!

 

[fresh79]

Get a dog, he/she forces you out the house at least twice a day!

 

[monaghan]

Edwin's point is very valid, if you've met your target, then by all means take a break. I try not to work long days as we have a family, but if you don't have that luxury, work the hours in the day that work best for you.

We have an allotment and my wife usually escapes there for most of the day, but I'll go down for a morning every few weeks to do some of the structural jobs or help harvest if there's a lot of produce ready. Some days at the peak of harvest, I can do just a few hours of "work" and spend the rest of the day digging, preparing, cooking or freezing fruit & veg (making Jam & chutney are particularly rewarding)

You could also look at some non-profit activities to get you out of the house, I'm a governor at school and often have meetings during the day, many schools welcome local business people and the skills they can share. There are many charities needing volunteers in a whole range of roles - you could do half a day a week at a charity shop if you wanted to meet people (I've actually picked up paid work as a result of helping others out )

 

[boxerdog]

Give this ago

 

[monaghan]

Get a dog, he/she forces you out the house at least twice a day!

We have chickens - they'll listen to you for hours

 

[Admin]

I work from home, hotels or airports mostly - it can get lonely and you feel a bit detached at times. If you have the chance to go work in an office from time to time do so, people are usually pleased to see you.

I also do Skype video calls to people so at least you can interact better than endless emails.

Turning off from the laptop, iPad, iPhone ... is always a challenge, especially with modding Acorn on top of my job, so I make sure to turn them off or mute them so every time I get a message alert sound I don't stop what I am doing to go check it out.

I have had one relationship go sour because she thought "you love Acorn more than me" so be careful to get the work, life, family and social balance right.

Admin

 

[Aegean]

I have a home office and basically I go to work like I would a real office. I work around 12 hours a day and have a lunchbreak, dinner break etc. I even have a stupid system where every night before I finish, I write out a list of tasks for the next day. Then in the morning I pretend my boss has given me the list of jobs and I have to get them done. Sounds mad, but it works for me.

 

[Admin]

Good plan, maybe I can be your pretend boss and you can be mine! lol Let's start an Acorn "virtual office team"

Admin

 

[Alien]

Get a dog, he/she forces you out the house at least twice a day!

Oh yes, very true! Mine does, come rain or shine, out we go!

Keeping fit and doing some kind of physical exercise is also really important. For example, just a stroll, longer walk, gym, swimming (I use the gym/swim every week), bike ride, run, whatever takes your fancy.

Keeping the body active helps stave off depression and helps your mental health too, which is important - especially if you're missing the company of others.

Some great advice/tips in this thread though.

 

[Aegean]

Good plan, maybe I can be your pretend boss and you can be mine! lol Let's start an Acorn "virtual office team"

Admin

Thats great! I'd like to start by applying for a virtual pay rise please!

 

[James]

I've also always worked from home, the past 15 years, except for a brief 3-year stint running an office about 8 years ago. Working from home means lots of time indoors, and not usually much excuse to go out and about. You don't need to leave the house to get to work, which means you don't have to leave work to get home either. You may not have to head out for lunch, although you probably should.

I find the things that really helped me the most:

1. Buy a seasonal affective disorder lamp, to ensure you get enough serotonin release to keep mood high and banish lethargy. Not mumbo jumbo, very important.

2. Do something you love with a passion, not something to simply make money, otherwise you're wasting your life and probably sabotaging your own potential. Have you considered that you might be miserable because you're ONLY trying to make money, it's not easy, and you don't enjoy it? This has all sorts of negative consequences for health, state of mind, etc. If you love something, you get good at it, and then there is always a way to make money out of it.

3. Helping other people makes you happy. So try to find a way to help others often. Work in a local charity shop one day a week. You'll meet customers and you'll be thanked a lot for helping out You'll feel good about yourself

4. Go for a walk every so often.

5. Avoid coffee, eat well. Time spent indoors without sunlight will cause lethargy and the last thing you need is to top it off with insulin spikes and crashes.

6. Be productive = avoid self loathing

 

[KingDomainNames]

For company, I have an A4 piece of paper next to the the PC and the cat curls up on that for most of the time.
Radio 2 quietly on in the background.
As well as taking regular breaks / exercise / moving around as mentioned by others, I would ensure that your seating/desk position is good for your posture during long spells at the computer, and now and again check if your shoulders have tightened up.

 

[D600]

Hate working alone it's not good for people either, it's in your DNA to be around people and your body rewards you when you are communicating with people.