Gave it up so easy.

For reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture, the topic of full-time work and commuting came up in a conversation today. I'm still thinking about it. I'd rather commute part-time and telecommute full-time, simply because the jobs I've had working from home let me fill the hours the tasks actually take, not the hours scheduled for the shift, and working part-time means there's things to do while I'm on site.

There's been a couple jobs where I've waited out the clock to get the timesheet to reflect another hour even though I didn't have anything left in me to keep going, or anything left for me to keep working on until the next day. It's fairly demoralizing. I've been in a couple salaried positions and those didn't offer any connection between my pay and the quality or quantity of work, and that meant I had the incentive to find some intrinsic value to what I was doing, or at least take pleasure and pride in having done it right the first time.

I talked about how working from home means it's easier for me to do the activities of daily living like cooking and exercising, and while it's true it's nice to go somewhere, it's rarely pleasant to make the trip, and it's just as unusual for me to have genuinely pleasant connections when I get there. I've been lucky in that nearly all my on-site jobs required me to be there, dealing with physical objects that needed to stay in a secure location. But without that aspect, there's little I can see to want to deal with the travel. Getting out is fine, and avoiding daily hassle is better.

One thing I didn't say in addition to things like cleaning and feeding myself, one thing that's easier when I work from home is writing. Having the evening to myself with a clear mind and a ready attitude is harder when I'm coming from a job. Not impossible, but so much harder. I think it's what I need most of all, and I need to find a way to say that.