Working From Home…Not Working for Me

Working From Home…Not Working for Me

I always thought it would be a great gig to work from home. You know, no 5:15 a.m. alarm, no shower, shaving and getting all dressed up. I don't have to brave the cold and walk through puddles to the car. I can just put on my sweats, fire up the laptop, get some breakfast and work away. I have email and my cellphone, I can log onto GPS and see where my guys are and I can see the dispatch board and know exactly which calls are coming in. I can see in real time exactly how much revenue is coming in and exactly what we are spending out in the field. Who needs an office?

Today was the day. I was going to give it a shot. My little girl was sick and home from school, so the wife went to work and I was going to work from home. I got out of bed around 6:30 a.m. and got all ready for a busy Monday. I took some calls from managers and techs. I sent some emails and replied to others. Checked the dispatch board and talked to my dispatchers. It was now around 7:30 a.m. and I was looking for things to do. I turned on some music because it was so quiet I could not concentrate. A couple times I caught myself clicking on the "get mail" icon to see if somebody was sending me something. I was bored out of my mind! I called the wife and asked if she could work a half day. She came home around noon and I went to the office.

As soon as I walked in, the phones were ringing off the hook. Ringing phones in the service industry are like slot machines paying out tokens. That is where the money is. I saw my managers and my dispatchers. There were fires to put out. There were customers to talk to. It was exciting. I got to the office around 1 p.m. and did not take a breath until about 3:30. This is the way I like it. Some people probably thrive in an at home environment - not me.

I need people around me. I need to watch motivated people doing something that they like. I don't know if it is the energy that I need or the smiling faces. I love my job and the people that I work with. You can have your sweat pants and couch and I will take my office in Cumming, GA all day long.