Being a freelancer is wonderful. The flexible schedule, working from home, more vacation, being your own boss, and running your own business all make freelancing a great way to earn a living. But while being on your own boss has its perks, sometimes it can feel isolating and lonely. But luckily, as more and more of us turn to freelancing, more opportunities for mingling with other self-employed workers are popping up.

Freelancing and the Gig Economy: An Office of One

The so-called “gig economy” is growing in all sectors of the economy. It’s expected that by 2020, 40 percent of all workers will be independently employed. Today workers value flexibility even more than security or income. Plus, it’s easier for companies to hire independent contractors than it is employees. And as a result, no matter your career, you’re more likely than ever to be doing it from home. While the peace and quiet of a home office (or kitchen table), depending on where you call home, is certainly appealing, it can get lonesome. Working from home can make you feel isolated and if you’re not careful, you may fall short on social interaction.

Not to mention that creativity is often born out of community. In other words, often, our best ideas come when we’re brainstorming with others. Research published in Creativity Research Journal found that surrounding yourself with interesting people can boost creativity. The study also found that broadening your knowledge of other subjects could also increase your creativity and productivity. Changing your perspective by exploring outside of your home office is also helpful.

Want to find community as a freelancer? Here are some tips:

1. Join a co-work space.

These are all the rage for those that work from home. Co-working spaces are turning up in cities across the country. These basic offices supply start-ups and independent employees alike with WiFi, outlets, and all the basics that you need in a workspace. The rent is usually minimal, but it allows the freelancers of the world to have an office space to call home. You can interact as much or as little as you like. Feel the vibe of your city’s entrepreneurial spirit by joining a co-working space.

2. Join applicable associations.

Are you a blogger who’s tired of plugging away all day long by yourself? No worries, you’re not alone in this growing industry. Meet your virtual colleagues by joining an association. The International Bloggers’ Association is an obvious choice for bloggers but other, more local networking opportunities are also available. Attending meetings and conferences isn’t just good for socializing and chatting with like-minded individuals, it can motivate and boost your creative spirit. No matter your industry, make an effort to meet your colleagues far and wide.

3. Interview your mentors.

As a freelance writer, one of the best ways to stay social is to interview people. Reporting is almost always better than online research and it gives you an opportunity to meet new people. Even if you’re not a writer, you can still reach out to those that have been in your field longer and learn from them. Take a cue from producer Brian Grazer and start your own curiosity interviews with people you admire.

4. Travel, travel, travel.

Freelancers have a unique opportunity when it comes to vacation. They make their own! Take your company on the road. Research published in the Academy of Management Journal has shown that seeing new places is really good for keeping your brain working efficiently. New atmospheres can boost creativity and being around different people can help you think in new and different ways. Not to mention that there’s no better way to understand the world that you live in than by seeing it firsthand. And you can also meet up with your colleagues abroad. If you’re a travel writer, for example, you can meet up with other travel writers worldwide and get ideas.

5. Regular a coffee shop.

Coffee shops are the ultimate community workspaces. Your colleagues don’t always have to be in your industry. In fact, getting to know regulars at a coffee shop can make you feel like you’re part of a community. It’s especially helpful in the morning if your partner or spouse goes to an office. Leaving for your local coffee shop can make you feel like you’re on a schedule, which can keep your productivity up.

Are you a freelancer that’s yearning for some community? Drop us a line via Twitter @EcoSalon.

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Blogging is a legit job these days and many set up their own business right from home. So what are the pros and cons of working from home versus going in to an office?

What started out as a way for individuals and businesses to share their story has turned into big business. And I do mean B-I-G. Some high profile fashion bloggers are said to be making around $1M per year doing this gig. That is some real money.

Not all of us can claim a seven digit salary by blogging, but it is a way to make money doing what you love. One of the main benefits of blogging is the opportunity to work from home. This can be a boon or bust to your blogging career, depending on your home and, well, you.

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of working from home versus heading off-site:

1  Flex Time // Possibly the main pro of working from home is flexibility. You can work while doing the laundry, setting up orthodontist appointments, paying bills, and whatever other household chores need to be done. And you can do it all with bed head. The con of this little side benny? It is very easy to get distracted and then *poof* it’s time to pick up the kids from school and your work time has vanished. There are many tools bloggers can enlist to help stay on track and get the most done.

So working at home can be distracting, especially if the family is home. But you can actually catch up on that work you sidelined during daytime hours by doing them at night. Or the weekend. Or whenever fits into your schedule.

2  Communication Skills // You will need to communicate with those you are collaborating or networking with, or writing for. This is most often done by email. How convenient. The downside? Sometimes the message does get lost in translation. Still, once you get your system down between those you work with, communication doesn’t have to suffer. And there are options other than email, like Skype meetings, Facebook chats or Google+ Hangouts, or good old fashioned phone calls.

3   Solo v Group Setting // The internet-only relationship is obviously less distracting than working in a busy office and people tend to get more done when they are alone. Research suggest that for those who are self motivated, privacy and not getting interrupted means greater creativity and productivity. But it can get lonely for the extrorvert. If you love to bounce ideas off of others or are more creative around people, a face-to-face office setting may be better for you. Yahoo Chief Executive, Marissa Mayer, feels working side by side with other employees works better for everyone. Mayer took some major heat over her decision to bring employees who’d been working from home back to the office, citing group communication and collaboration as the reason behind the move.

4  Dress Up or Down // Back to that working with bed head thing. Sounds pretty great, right? It is true, you can wear pajamas, stay in your sweaty workout gear, go make up free…when you work from home. A couple of years ago I was included in a story in a local newspaper about wearing pajamas in public and working in them from home. While I don’t make a practice of going out in public in my PJs (aside from the occasional early morning school drop off), I don’t mind working in them at all. Actually, I consider it a perk of the job. The only real con to this? Unless you are prone to unexpected visitors or take lots of video chat meetings, can’t think of one.

5  Cash Flow // Last but not least, you’ll save some cash working from home. Rent free and you can write off a portion of your home expenses. Talk to your accountant for details.

Whichever you choose, home office or off-site, the state of your desk is key to productivity. Keeping your desk free from clutter and office under control will help to make the most of your time. Happy blogging!

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Should more of us be working from home? Probably.

For those of us who don’t work at home, the chance to email in your pajamas may seem tempting, but as anyone working from home will tell you, that’s not what it’s all about. In fact, many people, whether in their pajamas or not, find that working at home makes them more productive. There are of course obstacles – like that pile of dishes you feel like you should get to – but ultimately, there are many benefits to working from home, and not just for personal reasons.

From environmental to economic, there is a long list of benefits to working from home, and in a day and age where more companies and jobs aren’t restricted by having to have a physical presence, a lot of us are in positions where working remotely could be an option. So why don’t more companies get behind having their employees work at home? Because there is an idea that to gauge productivity you have to see it taking place – an idea that if we are going to transform how we work, may need to change. “If managers would just establish goals, rhythms of communication and metrics, than they would actually know whether someone was being productive or not, regardless of where the person was physically sitting,” Kevin Kruse wrote in Forbes.

That policy goes for the self-employed worker as well; if you don’t set up goals, metrics and methods for being productive, then an entire day can easily go to waste. But the reason people are committed to setting up processes that keep them productive is that the benefits to working from home are many. That doesn’t mean that you should drop everything and telecommute all the time – working from home comes with the good and the bad  – but if we think about the environment, economics and time management, there is certainly an argument to be made for allowing people to work from home, at least part of the time.

1. It’s good for the environment

That hour and a half traffic jam that you sat in this morning? Imagine if 10 percent of the commuters on a daily basis started telecommuting instead. What if it was 20 percent? What if it was 50 percent? There are certain jobs that require a physical presence, but there are many jobs that can easily be done remotely. Some argue that the environmental benefits aren’t always clean cut – there are a lot of factors like how energy efficient your home is compared to your office – but one thing is for sure: less time spent in a car commuting is a good thing, both for you and the environment.

2. There are no geographic boundaries for talent

Fostering a culture that allows people to be working from home allows employers to not be limited by geography. If top talent is on the other side of the country, if the employer is able to set up an efficient and productive way for employees to work remotely, there’s nothing stopping them from hiring someone who is based elsewhere.

3. The office is not always a space of productivity

As author, speaker and digital guru Paul Boag says, “phone calls, meetings, colleagues, noise and other distractions make the office a far worse place to focus than home.” Just because you’re in the same space as your colleagues doesn’t mean that you’re getting things done. Many people need a quite space to be productive, and working at home allows you to get rid of the normal distractions linked to a traditional office environment.

4. You can get the benefits of co-working

The beauty of working from home? It makes you flexible to take advantage of co-working opportunities and shared workspaces. Because let’s be honest, sometimes you want to get out of your house and be in an office environment. But a co-working space is different than being stuck to the same office day in and day out. The flexibility to take advantage of a variety of shared spaces whenever you want to allows you to meet new people and decide when and where you want your office environment.

5. A few days at home are better than none

Even just a few days a week of working at home can be a good thing, both for the employer and the employee. “More research needs to be done on creative work and teamwork, but the evidence still suggests that with most jobs, a good rule of thumb is to let employees have one to two days a week at home. It’s hugely beneficial to their well-being, helps you attract talent, and lowers attrition,” says Stanford Professor of Economics Nicholas Bloom.

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ColumnYahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s controversial decision to outlaw working from home has nothing to do with motherhood.

If we all follow Marissa Mayer’s lead, I can stop working from home. This is going to be awesome. No more answering emails while I make dinner. No more updating my company’s Facebook page after 5. No more Sunday afternoon proposal reviews. It will be like the early ’90s when we left work and work was over. The ’90s were great.

I think you see my point. Marissa Mayer’s new mandate that all Yahoo! employees work onsite feels like a big step back in time. There are loads of studies showing that flexible work days are better for people—and productivity (not to mention the environment). And there are studies showing just the opposite. Most tech workers don’t have to punch a clock anymore, and very few people want to. But, I don’t work for Yahoo!—and neither do most people who are freaking out about this. Why do we all care so much about Mayer’s new policy?

More than a fear that our own employers will make us suit up and come in, reasoning that if it’s good enough for Yahoo!, it’s good enough for us, it’s pretty clear that people are interested because Mayer is a woman, not to mention a new mom. Many are asking how she, a working parent, could do this to us.

Which begs some questions: Why is working at home linked to parenthood? If a male CEO did the same thing would anyone bat an eyelash?

There are tons of reasons to work at home, or in a coffee shop, that have nothing to do with kids. And shouldn’t. Once the right to work remotely is tied to whether a person has kids, how long her commute is or another matter unrelated to her job responsibilities and performance, the door is open for an HR nightmare and employee morale problems.

If someone is working at home, he should be working, not just replying to email in between watching kids—or the episode of Nashville he missed earlier in the week. In reality, there’s time spent not working no matter where you spend the workday, whether that break is to throw in a load of laundry at home or watch a cute animal video for two minutes at your desk. For many people, that mini break between tasks is actually part of how they work effectively.

As an employer, you either trust people to get their work done wherever they are, or you don’t. It seems Mayer doesn’t. I don’t see how taking away a benefit most people seem to want will change that, but then, I am not the CEO of a global enterprise, so maybe she knows something I don’t.

Which brings me to my next point. There’s been criticism about Mayer not sympathizing with real women—which I assume means those women with kids and without access to a private jet and unlimited resources. To that I say, so what? She has worked her ass off to become one of a handful of high-profile female CEOs. This isn’t US Weekly and she’s not just like us; she’s Marissa Yahoo! Mayer. She doesn’t have to identify with us (and doesn’t seem to)—she has to turn around a struggling empire.

I would hope her decision to put the smackdown on working from home was a business decision, not a personal one. And the assumption, by men and women alike, that her decision had anything to do with her ability to make babies leads us to the second question: If she was a man, would this discussion be about anything other than employee productivity? Maybe. There might be criticism about him not sympathizing with work-life balance, but I don’t think the outrage would be the same. She’s the CEO. She’s not the kindly Yahoo! aunt, and she didn’t do this to screw over women or families.

Ultimately, Mayer knows her workforce, and if it needs cleaning up and a strong kick in the ass, that’s her job. But, to an outsider like me, it looks like a throwback blanket policy that is going to be a disaster for morale. What it says to most of us is what most people already think about Yahoo!: It’s no Google.

Photo: TechCrunch

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Sure, the short commute from bedroom to basement can’t be beat in terms of reducing your carbon slipper print. And who doesn’t want to watch reruns of The Office on their own living room sofa during the lunch hour? Heck, you can watch the show naked and no one would complain. Those insulting corporate performance reviews are a thing of the past, baby. When you’re working at home, anything goes…or does it?

Well, it’s clear there are lots of pitfalls. Just Google “pitfalls for working from home” and take a memo. Some people cite as negatives the inability to separate homework from paid work, a painful feeling of isolation, and too many snack breaks allowed by the boss, a.k.a. EMOTIONAL EATER, YOU.

But I like to accentuate the positives: saving rent and earning a tax deduction, total freedom from middle managerial scrutiny, and the gift that keeps on giving – taking adorable pets to work. My pug, Smokey, says, “Hi.” He’s waving. Can you see him?

These positives are important. Gloomy economists predict our jobless rate, now at 8.5%, will rise to 10 percent by the second half of this year, meaning those who can’t find new jobs will likely be setting up a spare bedroom with computer stations, a fax, phone, and perhaps, mini-bar.

If you’ve failed landing a job hitting the pavement, the alternative is to surf for something on the home turf. More of our friends will be in that spot as their job losses outlast their unemployment benefits.

Here are 10 inspired tips on making it work from someone who is managing a home-based writing career and getting out of her pajamas at least four out of five work days a week.

Get Dressed in the Morning and Go to Work

Consider yourself a professional once the lunches are packed and the children are off to school (if you have kids). Make your bed, brush your hair, eat a good breakfast, then grab your mug of coffee or tea and put yourself in work mode. It doesn’t matter if you are telemarketing, writing the great American novel or creating a new website from your house. Put on your face, slip into those pants, and get to work on time.

Let the Sunshine In

Location is important in real estate and in setting up a home office that you will use effectively. The more natural light, the better, as it saves on energy and lifts your mood. According to home office feng shui experts, if your body doesn’t get enough natural light, you will not enjoy working no matter how much you love your job. They also suggest bringing in a couple of air-purifying plants into your work space to up your blood oxygen. My recent post on this plant subject introduced research showing that plants also increase human productivity. Also, as a designer, I urge you to decorate your sunny spot in a pleasant way that makes you feel blissful when you sit down to work. Hit me up for office design tips, any time.

Stay out of the Fridge!

You didn’t have a fridge and pantry stocked with snacks at your old job, so why give your self total access to them now? If you do, you will pack on the pounds while you work at home, which will just make you frustrated and unhealthy. Eat a good breakfast and give yourself a snack and lunch break. You can cut up healthy snacks to keep by the computer (chopped veggies, raw almonds, fresh fruit). Otherwise, you might resort to stress eating. Also, postpone the happy hour to the happy hour.

Take Stretch and Stray Breaks

You can’t sit at the computer or phone all day without moving your body and expect to stay healthy and in good shape. You have to stand up and stretch your neck, arms and back. And even take a break to walk the dog or mail some letters in the neighborhood. If you can keep to your schedule, walk down to a nearby cafe for lunch once a week. Or walk with a friend who also is working from home or at a nearby office. It burns fat, relieves stress and it’s free!

Schedule Your Work Goals for Each Day

Today I will finish a post and write two more. Plan ahead what you want to accomplish and use the extra time to brainstorm, pay bills, do tax work, download some photos on your Facebook page. There’s more time to play when you have finished your work. It is very rewarding to get the job done and lightens your load considerably. Also, if you can write down your targeted goals, it will spare you the agony of tossing and turning at night as you plant it all out in your head. Type it on your home page, or jot it down in a good recycled daily planner, like the ones from At a Glance.

Investigate Your Home Office Tax Benefits

Taxpayers who use part of their residence for work purposes can take a home office deduction if they meet requirements such as using their place exclusively for business or meeting regularly at the house with clients or patients. The IRS says expenses that you can deduct include the business portion of real estate taxes, mortgage interest, rent, utilities, insurance, painting, repairs and depreciation. Check with the IRS for more information and contact your accountant to follow through. We all need those breaks!

Do House Work Before and After Your Work Hours

Sure, it’s okay to multi-task, but there are so many distractions in a home, you could get pulled away from your work and never meet deadlines or stick to a schedule. I remember my mom scolding me: “You’re down in that basement working, why aren’t you washing the clothes at the same time?” The truth is, sometimes I do toss in a load while I work, but it’s not on my mind. Also, it saves more energy to do the wash at night when fewer homes are running their machines. I would never write if I started cleaning up the kids’ rooms (a never-ending battle) or cleaning up the kitchen. I do what I can before I sit down to work and finish once I’m done.

Hang Up the Closed Sign When Your Family Gets Home

Just as it can be challenging to stay on task at home, it also can be hard to know when the work day is done. You can always run back to the computer to polish your work or send another email, but it’s important to give your children your time and attention when they come home after school and have done their homework. There’s really a small window of time that you can connect with them before bed, and people are right when they say it flies by fast. Make dinner together, get them to set the table, eat together as a family, assist with homework if they need it. Share quality time together tucking them into bed. You can always go back to the computer once they are asleep, if necessary. Don’t forget, your spouse needs you, too. If you don’t cultivate your relationship now, what will you have once the kids leave the nest? Will the computer keep you warm at night?

Stay Connected with Your Colleagues and Friends

The adjustment to a home work environment can be tough if you’re a social animal used to chatting it up by the water cooler or doing coffee runs for your pals. There’s no reason to lose your connection just because your digs have changed. Share your work with friends in a medium that is comfortable for you. I often post my stories and successes on Facebook. I’m in a book club with other mothers that meets once a month. I like to attend design events, from showcase houses to lectures at the design center. And I get out and meet people after filing my work. There’s no reason to feel isolated just because you work at home.

Let Your Hair Down Once a Week

I have to say that at least once a week, I stay in my pajamas until it’s time to pick the kids up from school. At our school, people talk if you show up in a robe and fluffy slippers. Snobs! Meantime, what an advantage to working at home. I never got to work in a nightgown at CNN. Ted wouldn’t have minded but those middle manager types were so unimaginative. Staying in the flannels reminds us of those days when we stayed home from school and our moms gave us soup and let us watch TV in bed. That’s exactly how I perform all day on my lounge day, typing away at the computer in my PJ’s, having a nice lunch on the sofa, sitting on the glider in the sun outside with Smoky during a coffee break and listening to the wind chimes – miles and miles away from road rage, carpet fumes and the fluorescent lights of the work world. I get just as much work done, if not more, but without being dressed to impress and stuck in someone’s else’s idea of an efficient work environment.

*An excellent source on how to set up a home office and make good money doing it is the book, Will Work From H0me: Earn the Cash Without the Commute, by Tory Johnson and Robyn Freedman Spizman.

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