12 annoyances of working from home

If you can overcome aggravations like these, you’ll enjoy an exhilarating career as a freelancer or independent worker.

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What a life, I thought as I watered my garden, pondering how the number of freelancers or independents has spiked because so many have lost their jobs in the sputtering economy.

But many of us stay independent long after layoffs, like me at 20 years and counting. We discovered we love the flexibility, the independence and the pajamas. We also learned how to cope with the bad stuff.

Here are my top 12 annoyances with being an independent, and how I’ve learned not to sweat them too much:

1. Hearing people say, “It must be great to work for yourself.” No, as independents we work for clients, not ourselves, so the trade-off for having coffee and reading a newspaper on the couch or in the garden in the middle of the day is often working into the evening or on weekends. (I always reply to this comment in this way, as you never know who might become a future client.)

2. The refrigerator. If you work at home, the refrigerator is too close. So are the cookies. I compensate by working out, which is easier to fit into a flexible schedule.

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