Home Office Blues: The Isolation Factor
Working from home can leave some people feeling isolated from the rest of the world. Sure we all connect with each other using tools like Skype and Twitter and Facebook – but ask yourself this:
When is the last time that you talked to someone in person about your business, that actually understood what you were talking about – and shared your enthusiasm for it?
Its not uncommon for online entrepreneurs to get cabin fever after working alone from their home office for months on end… and for many of us, years. Some of the common solutions include:
- rent shared office space
- go for a morning walk
- go out to lunch
- join online social & networking groups
- take your laptop to the library or coffee shop
These solutions are great for getting out of the house and enjoying a change of scenery. But truth be known, you usually still end up doing these things alone.
As humans, we crave personal connections. And any warm body just wont do. You can probably relate to the same story many other online business owners share: the other person’s eyes glaze over and they nod their head at you with a blank look on their face. It’s a lost cause.
And I dont know about you, but I can only sit around and talk about recipies and knitting for so long. I’m sure its just different topics for you guys 
.
Admit it: You crave geek talk!
This is one of the reasons that Internet Marketers travel all over the country, and even all over the world, to attend conferences and seminars. Not only is it a great tax deduction (!) but you actually get to sit and talk face to face with other people that share the same interests: making money online.
When a group of like-minded people get together, their enthusiasm is contagious. Everyone walks away with a new perspective, fresh ideas – and that gratifying realization that they are not quite so crazy after all.
You dont have to travel 2,000 miles or fork out a few grand attending a huge industry event just to have this experience. While those are almost always worth the time and money invested, you might be surprised at the meet-ups going on in your local area.
The most popular website for local meet-ups is www.meetup.com. Do a search for your city, and even your state, to find out who is meeting up within driving distance. One quick search told me that there are over 70 podcasters within 90 minutes of me. Who knew!
You can also do a search on Google to find local bloggers. For example, a search for blogger tennessee turned up quite a few results. It turns out that my neighbor is a blogger, by the way. How cool is that?!
If you are on Twitter.com, use the search box at the top of the screen to search for your city and state as well. “Tweet-ups” are becoming very popular!
You dont have to feel isolated or disconnected to enjoy these ‘geek meets’. Not only is it fun, but it can also be very good for your business. You’ll make new connections and meet people with fresh ideas and an objective opinion.
Make it a point to find out whats going on in your area, and attend a few meetups – or meet a few local bloggers for coffee. You may be pleasantly surprised to find out just how many others are hiding in their home office within a 50 mile radius.
Best,
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I second that…
Just anybody won’t do…
Dave
Lynn thanks for the meet up site. I found 2 new internet marketing groups only about 30 minutes away!
I am very excited to be going to a meet up(my first one) tomorrow that Willie Crawford is having. He only lives about an hour away from me. It will be an informal gathering at a restaurant and then just hang out, network and meet people.
JeanM
Follow me @jeanmandel on Twitter.
I regularly go out for lunch to get out of the house, as well as workout daily… both of those things help keep me sane during the week.
Living in my office day after day does tend make me very happy to see my family when they get home from work.
If it weren’t for guitar jams I think I would go bananas.
I signed up for MeetUp quite a while back but it was 2 hours to the nearest meetup and we haven’t had a car since my heart attack.
I see there is not a couple of groups close to home.
thanks Lynn
Lynn,
I know this is one of those topics all internet marketers almost don’t like to think about because it does bother them thinking how alone they are most of the time with their business.
It’s a constant battle. Especially if you’re relatively new and all of that solitary work hasn’t yielded big results yet. That tends to add the “all this for nothing” on top of the isolation.
I attended my first meetup last weekend with the Music City Marketers and I’m very glad I did. Not only did I get to hear stories and advice from people that have been through what I’m going through but I got to meet you too! : )
I do have to take exception, however, to your statement in the second to last paragraph of this post that said: “almost meet people with fresh ideas and an objective opinion.”
Do you mean you almost meet them or are they almost people?-HAHAHAHAHAAHA! LOL!
Just kidding.
Keep up the great work you do.
Jeff
LOL Jeff – Thanks for catching that typo
It was great to meet you in person last week. The MCM are always a fun group!
I’m one of those strange types that LOVES being at home full-time. I very rarely get “cabin fever” and its very easily resolved with a quick walk or a lunch out.
But I also love the make new friends and just get out for coffee or dinner – so conferences and meetups are ideal. Ideal because of the types of people and how much fun it is to talk with like minded folks.
Jean – Have fun! I’ve been wanting to drive down for one of those get-togethers that Willie hosts. Its about a 7 hour drive for me I believe. I’ll keep my eyes peeled for the next one coming up
Follow me @lynnterry on Twitter.
I spend most of my time working at home and, like you, Lynn, the life seems perfectly suited to me. Since my principle gig is selling on eBay, I attend 1 or 2 live auctions a week. I’ve found auctions a great place to meet and mingle (although you can miss a deal if you do this too much). After a couple of years, I’ve got a regular gang with whom I share watercooler-like talk and some have become friends and useful contacts. Of course, we can chatting one minute and battling for a bid the next.
So, take in an auction once in awhile. You might score a cool buy, too.
Great ideas. In the future I want to rent a little office. Somewhere I can go work where it is quiet.
Hey Lynn, it’s really great to meet up with others. I’ve recently been doing alot of this and it feels great, it’s almost like a lift.
I guess I’m the exception – I love chatting via Twitter/IM and such. I really don’t feel a great need to get out there and interact….’tis probably due to my shyness.
But give me the Internet, and I become The Master of the Universe!
Data points, Barbara
OK, so I’m boring! I like working at home, and don’t particularly miss meeting people.
If I need to discuss my business, I do it with the Boss. She doesn’t understand IM, but she does a fantastic job of bouncing my ideas around and helping me sort them out.
Then if I need the interaction of a crowd, there’s always the kids who will grab any chance to jump on me! Who needs networking!
Interesting post Lynn.
Ta ra
Alan
I’m with you guys – like I said above, I love working from home. And I interact with hundreds of people online every day, which is great.
I had an office on the square many years ago, and it wasnt the great idea it seemed like it would be. I also had a home office – which was necessary for days the kids were sick, school breaks, etc, etc – and I ended up carrying stuff back and forth a lot. That was also the year my son got sick, so I had to lock up at a moments notice to go pick him up and it got to the point of not being worth all the hassle.
Working completely from home, and in a town where I dont have roots or connections, meeting people doesnt happen all that often on its own. So I’m really enjoying the meetups, and making friends with other locals that are into ebiz & social marketing.
I imagine each of us has our own set of circumstances that shape our views on this topic. This is my 12th year for example, so a little ‘change of scenery’ is nice. I’m also not married, so there isnt much adult interaction in my offline world.
Still, it seems that most people really enjoy the conferences & meetups. They are worth looking into at least – you may find a great group to meet with once a month or even once every few months (like MusicCityMarketers.com).
Follow me @lynnterry on Twitter.
[...] Terry reminds us to avoid home office isolation by automating and getting out of the office for sushi. While I doubt that I’ll try sushi [...]
Silly me! I actually had belonged to a meetup group for single women and never thought to check for other internet marketers!
Thanks for your tip – I’ll be attending my first meeting next month!
Lynn,
I took your advice and not only looked up local-ish groups at meetup.com, but Googled blogers ohio. Came up with a really strange one I thought I’d tell you all about. The name of the blog is “Lost in Lima, Ohio” but the title bears no resemblance to the subject matter. This blog is dedicated to bringing out information about known sex offenders, where they live, pointing out many live in sight of a school (!) and the names of these guys are NAMED – quite visibly. Thought you’d all get a kick out of that one.
As for enjoying working at home, I have mixed reactions to it. I, too, love working at home. I love the freedom it gives me, not to mention the flexibility.
But in case none of you has noticed – those of you who have interacted with me on the webinars and on Twitter and Skype – I’m a very outgoing person. I love people. I’m a true extrovert and gain energy from contact with others.
This sets up a real conflict within me, because once I’m “planted” in front of my computer and involved in a project, I hate to be interrupted, even by the call of nature – although the latter is probably due to the fact that the facilities are all the way downstairs… (I know, too much information, right?)
Anyway, my point, in my long-winded way, is that I’ve been able to handle the isolation via chat, Twitter and Skype. The one thing you said – actually a question you asked at the beginning – that stood out to me, truly resonated within:
When is the last time that you talked to someone in person about your business, that actually understood what you were talking about – and shared your enthusiasm for it?
Answer: not since 2005!
I’ve GOT to get to the point that I can afford a car again. Turns out there’s a group of Internet Marketers that meets in Mansfield, just 20 miles away!
@Jeff, I so agree with what you said here:
It’s a constant battle. Especially if you’re relatively new and all of that solitary work hasn’t yielded big results yet. That tends to add the “all this for nothing†on top of the isolation.
Okay. Anyone up for tipping me on my blog so I can eventually save up for a car? LOL At $5 per tip for 30 days, I think it’ll be awhile…
Deb Gallardo
Follow me @debgallardo on Twitter.
Thanks Lynn for yet another awesome resource. I had seen it once before a long time ago, didn’t get the chance to view it and then forgot.
I’m off now!
What a relief to know that I not the only one. Sometimes I get so discouraged, and feel alien. My family just doesn’t understand anything about internet market and work online. Aftr all there can’t be any honest jobs in it. Unfortunately the newtwork in America is better than the network in Australia.