Ask HN: How do you successfully work at home with a family?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2415138

by tnorthcutt • 15 years ago

21 22 15 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Our first baby will be arriving sometime in the next few weeks. I primarily work at home (although I have access to shared office space as well), and I'm interested in hearing how others have been able to maintain productivity with that arrangement. I'm not expecting to be hugely productive for the first few weeks - I'm asking more about long-term strategies. I have some ideas of my own, but am open to hearing about anything that has worked for others.

michael_dorfman• 15 years ago

I went with the "outside office space" solution. Even after I cashed out of my first start-up, and was in between things, I still maintained an office in town rather than working at home.

I can't speak for anyone else, but for my family, it's much clearer for everybody this way. When I'm at the office, I'm working. When I'm at home, I'm home. My wife doesn't mind my working long hours at the office, but when I'm home, she and the children get my complete attention.

narag• 15 years ago

I completely agree. I guess not every spouse is the same. But do this as soon as problems arise. Too late for me.

tom_b• 15 years ago

I have two pre-K children. My wife and I both work FT. After each baby got to around 7 or 8 months, we used an outside-the-home daycare provider. We both work some from home.

This was critical at the time, as neither of us was in a position to provide primary care to the babies during the day. We were really happy with this and our kids have done well with daycare.

andymo• 15 years ago

The hardest part working from home is telling your kids work is why you can give them attention they need. My kids are in HS now so are out of the house most of the day which makes it easier. Its still a challenge to maintain the separation between working time and not working time (though even when i went to an office, i was always working). Its important to get some time out of the home even just to maintain your own sanity. As long as you don't have to be on the phone, working at a local libraries or starbucks can be a good change of pace.

haploid4• 15 years ago

Um. Why did you elect to have a child before considering the impact it would have on your livelihood?

geoffw83• 15 years ago

Think longterm dude.

haploid4• 15 years ago

What does this even mean? Considering the 18+ year impact that a child would have on one's livelihood/career/business/passions is thinking long term.

tnorthcutt• 15 years ago

I did not elect to have a child before considering the impact it would have on my livelihood. I have absolutely considered the impact that having a child will have on my livelihood, as well as on my life in general! I'm merely asking for practical advice from other parents. Are you suggesting that if I've considered the impact that having a child would have on my livelihood, I should not ask anyone for advice? That's quite an odd position to take.

garrickvanburen• 15 years ago

Biggest recommendation - have a home office with a door that close...and some noise-canceling headphones.

I've 3 pre-K kids and have worked at home since before all of them arrived. The kids know that when my office door is closed - I'm at work.

Overall - I find working at home with family to be less interruptive and distracting than an outside office.

raphaelb• 15 years ago

I tried a home office with a door that closes but found it just easier to get an out of house office. I did fine with just my wife but with a baby it was really hard to not go help when I heard him crying for an hour, etc.

Also my wife found it much more empowering to just have to deal with the baby on her own instead of having me as a 'last resort' option just a knock away.

bendmorris• 15 years ago

Our son was born exactly three weeks ago, and I work from home. (I'm assuming you're the dad in this scenario.)

For the initial recovery period I found that being in the same room or nearby out of a desire to be helpful was a bad idea. (I don't want to seem like a jerk here, but I have things that I absolutely have to get done. No paternity leave for me.) Simply because my wife knew I was there, she would ask me to do more and more small things for her, i.e. walk across the room and get that blanket for me. Frequent little distractions are a productivity killer. If I was downstairs with a baby monitor, the requests would be a little less frequent. The optimal solution (if I wanted to actually get anything done) was to work outside the home but within about 10 minutes. This way, if she really needs something, I'm a phone call and a short drive away, but generally she has to remember to ask for things she needs when I'm home and non-essential tasks can wait.

So, I'd recommend finding a place close by where you can work on your own, and take breaks every couple hours to come home and help with anything.

apowell• 15 years ago

I agree with this. Our daughter is 10 months old now. Originally I had a separate home office, but even that wasn't separate enough for me. I felt compelled to help -- it's tough to be at home, knowing that you can get up and help, and not do it.

Now I have a permanent desk in a coworking space that's five minutes from home, and it's better for everyone.

krsgoss• 15 years ago

Congrats! I've been remote for over two years now. I also have a one year old at home and was working from the house when she was born. It was extremely difficult to focus given the inevitable distractions of being first time parents.

I now rent a desk out at an incubator and it's been much nicer. I have a clean separation from work and home and get showered and dressed each and every morning like a normal person! :)

Even though I'm a FT employee right now, I'd probably still try and go this route even if I was freelancing.

justinchen• 15 years ago

First, I had to make it clear to my family that when I'm working, I'm working. I have a separate work space so they try not to bother me when I'm there. You could also try other indicators when you're not in your workspace...where a "work hat"? :)

Second, I head out to a co-working space or cafe a few days a week. Getting out of the house for the change of scenery is a huge energy boost and it helps to interact with other working people.

A couple of notes of taking care of the baby while working: (1) The newborns are on short cycles but if they're mild babies, you actually do end up with lots of time on your hands. You just need to be focused and get to your task right away since you'll likely be interrupted in an hour or so. Break things up into 30min-1hour chunks. (2) I tried taking care of our 6 months old full time while working at the same time -- doesn't work. I got maybe an hour of work done a day. If this is your scenario, hire a nanny!

rkneufeld• 15 years ago

I've been working at home for about six months now, three of which I've taken care of our daughter from 9am-1pm. I start working at 7am until my wife leaves for her part-time job (while she is on maternity from her teaching position). During daddy-daughter time our daughter takes at least one 1-2 hour nap and depending on her mood she sometimes watches a cartoon and eats on her own while I work on less "hard" development tasks.

When my wife is home I find the "door closed == serious work time" method and noise cancelling headphones do the trick. The most important thing is that your partner/children know and understand that your work space is a place where you work. My wife knows that I wouldn't be able to do X if I was in an office elsewhere, so I probably can't do X either while I am working at home.

On a side note: A very nice benefit of working home w/ family is the ability to take breathers whenever you so chose -- completely remove yourself from your work environment for a few minutes and (hopefully) change your perspective/attitude to a more beneficial one.

wmboy• 15 years ago

I've got a 2 year old son and a 7 week old daughter. For your first born you can forget about the first 2 weeks - that's time to devote to becoming a father (sounds cheesy but that's the way it is).

Once a routine is formed it is still very hard, especially when you little boy finds his way into your office with a storybook in his hand wanting you to read it to him. Expect to be doing some late nights when the house is finally quiet.

Perhaps you could consider investing your first considerable revenue in an outdoor office so that you're actually "leaving the house" when you go to work. That's what I'll be doing...

sry_not4sale• 15 years ago

by working at 11PM at night ;)

petervandijck• 15 years ago

I would not do any work for the first 2 weeks after the baby is born. Or work for a few hours a day, but get out of the house for those hours.

Ask HN: How do you successfully work at home with a family?

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