Comments on: Tip of the Week: You Don’t Need a Separate Home Office

By: Web Worker Daily » Archive Home Offices: Fancy or Plain, We Want Them «

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 14:08:06 +0000

[...] What if you don’t have a dedicated workspace at home? You can make do. [...]

By: I Need Separate Home Office Space

I Need Separate Home Office Space — Sat, 12 May 2007 07:54:54 +0000

[...] person who thought they could get away with out separate home office space should come live in my house for, oh, about a day. I can frequently hear my kids upstairs with the [...]

By: Working From Home Without An Office... « geeks guide to getting things done

Working From Home Without An Office... « geeks guide to getting things done — Tue, 08 May 2007 17:55:42 +0000

[...] can work anywhere with wifi and a decent supply of chai tea lattes. I found an interesting post on Web Worker Daily about how you can work from home without having a formal home [...]

By: Deb

Deb — Tue, 08 May 2007 00:42:51 +0000

Sorry about the typo – that’s Deb, not Den

By: Den

Den — Tue, 08 May 2007 00:42:33 +0000

I think it depends on the circumstances. I'm a freelance writer/blogger. All I need is my laptop. The hours I work (4 to 7 AM when the guys are sleeping, 9:30 t0o 11:30 when preschool is in session and evenings after my son is in bed) are hours when everyone is awake and the house is bustling. I have a filing cabinet in a spare bedroom for contracts and other paperwork, but really, there's nothing else I need right now.

This isn't to say I wouldn't mind an office, there's nothing I like more. We're renovating though and right now there is no home office. My point is that the lack of an office shouldn't keep one from working from home. My situation might not be ideal for some, but it works. On occasions when I do need lots and lots of quiet time, I move to a bedroom or even to a coffee shop or library.

I don't deduct office expenses because I don't really use any office supplies. Again, when I finally have an office, that will be a whole other issue.

By: Anne Zelenka

Anne Zelenka — Tue, 08 May 2007 00:35:59 +0000

It's difficult to deduct an office space even if it is separate, because few people use their offices only for work. I use my office for paying bills, managing kids' school paperwork, and surfing the net for fun. I don't deduct it on my taxes.

At any rate, that's kind of sideways to what Ng is saying. You can't deduct a laser printer if you don't own one and you can't deduct a separate office if you don't own it either. Seeking a tax deduction should be separate from the question of whether you want to try home-based work given you don't have a separate space for it.

Personally, I rather enjoy working on my kitchen table on occasion. But I would have a hard time getting anything done without my office.

By: dave

dave — Mon, 07 May 2007 22:09:04 +0000

interesting that nobody has mentioned this yet, but the IRS requires a dedicated space for a whole category of deductions – hence i strongly suggest readers to take this posting with a grain of salt, as it is bad business sense to not organize around a sanctioned/dedicated space (unless you don’t care about deducting any such expenses)

By: clkl

clkl — Mon, 07 May 2007 21:09:57 +0000

I have a desk in my bedroom, but I often work out of a homemade cart I nicknamed the "GTDmobile". This allows me to work anywhere in the house.

It might be a solution for people who work from the kitchen table.

By: serici

serici — Mon, 07 May 2007 20:06:50 +0000

This is fine for Ng because it’s just telecommuting. But should she (or you) ever become self-employed (ex: contract work for your boss) it could get very problematic when it comes time to file your income tax and want to deduct your work space, since it isn’t a dedicated space. Just a thought.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Mon, 07 May 2007 20:03:08 +0000

I have a separate office, but I have another way of handling the danger of getting obsessed with work. I share my home office with my husband. I work from home during the day while he is out on client sites. In the evening, he writes on his blog and spends more time on the computer than me. This keeps me away from the office in my off hours.

By: Cathy

Cathy — Mon, 07 May 2007 18:52:23 +0000

I use to live in a very small place. My office was at one end of the living room. In the middle of the living room, my boyfriend built a foot-powered lathe, then used it to make bagpipes. So I sat at my computer while, three feet away, a home-built lathe spun and thunked, wood shavings flew, and out-of-tune bagpipes squawked. I am not joking. I have the bagpipe to prove it.

By: Rob

Rob — Mon, 07 May 2007 18:33:19 +0000

Working from home right now (at the kitchen table, no less), and I know I'll have to go elsewhere when the boy wakes up from his nap.

I completely agree with Sal. If there's anyone else in the house while I'm working from home, I won't get anything done unless I can shut myself off from the rest of the world and pretend I'm at the office.

Off to Starbucks in a bit I guess :-/

By: rick gregory

rick gregory — Mon, 07 May 2007 18:33:07 +0000

Sal,

Depends on the situation. If you're single or if kids and spouse are at work/school while you work there's no one else to let know that you're working.

Do you NEED a separate office? No. A dedicated desk? No. But are you as productive and comfortable without them? If the kitchen table works, fine... but if the chair and table are a bit off in height and you're making do, but your back hurts and ... you need to look at at least getting a setup which acknowledges that your work is important.

Of course I code from my couch so...

By: Serge Lescouarnec

Serge Lescouarnec — Mon, 07 May 2007 17:37:40 +0000

I have to disagree with Deborah. Separate space makes a difference. Even though I work from home, I now have my own office. I can even close the door if I need quiet time. It is on the back of the house towards the garden so I can also hear the birds chirping.

Have a good day

Serge Blog: http://www.sergetheconcierge.com Biz: http://www.njconcierges.com

By: Sal

Sal — Mon, 07 May 2007 17:34:04 +0000

No way. Sounds nice in theory, but I don't buy it.

If you are going to work at home full-time you really need your own space, something that let's you and other people know that you are working. You don't need a whole separate room, but you definitely need a desk and some drawers. This is going to vary based on what you are doing, if you are just blogging about your day or something then you don't need much, but if you are taking your office job home or something like that you definitely need to get in a work mindset. I think the kitchen table would be the worst possible place for this, except maybe lying in bed...

By: DeAnn

DeAnn — Mon, 07 May 2007 16:02:06 +0000

Addressing what Bob said. I'd rather have a bird chirping. I work in an office most of the time, and have a cube with a huge window. I hear nothing but traffic all day. You should be hear if a fire truck goes by. Even my clients on the phone can hear it and that is with all the windows closed.

At home I have my version of an office, a room that was suppose to be a dining room but is now an office. It is open to the rest of my house so I can watch what is going on but has my desk, printer, files etc.