Working from home...can you stay diligent?

I work for a local bank in Minneapolis in the specialized industries division, I have worked here for 7 years and most of the relationship managers I work with are located in Chicago so 90% of my work is done via email and phone with them.  Even my boss is located in Chicago.
After I found out I was pregnant and would spend the winter pregnant I informed Mr. G that we needed to purchase a new laptop and that I would be working from home during snow and cold weather.  So we headed to Best Buy and bought a nice laptop with cordless mouse, cleaned out the beautiful roll top desk that Mr. G was given and set up a little office area for the two of us.

As the winter progressed and the cold weather set in I started to work from home, I made sure to set myself up every morning at my little work station with my coffee and water just to make sure that I made it seem more like work.  The first couple of weeks I worked a couple of days from home and was very diligent about staying at my desk like I would at work and really concentrated.

Fast forward about two months to the last two weeks, I have worked from home about 3 days a week and love it!  I moved my little work station to our dining room table so I have more room and still set myself up each morning so I'm ready for the day.  But the last two weeks have been slightly different, I no longer get up and get dressed for work...I put on a pair of yoga pants and a sweatshirt and put my hair in a pony tail.  Although, I do try to be dressed with makeup on by around noon; that way when Mr. G gets home from work I am not still in my pajamas.
I turn the television in order to watch the Today show while working and enjoying my morning coffee.  I'm not going to lie...I LOVE WORKING FROM HOME!  Here is a pic of my little workstation today.



I am able to concentrate and focus on getting my work done, I check voicemail every hour on the hour so calls barely go unreturned for more than 55 minutes.  I have access to everything I need.  And with some nasty pregnancy insomnia, I was up for 3 hours last night, it is nice to be able to stay relaxed at home.

Let's talk about the perks though, aside from not having to get out of my comfy clothes until noon, I can throw in a load of laundry at any time, I am able to get dinner started so we aren't eating at 8pm, I eat better...I never go out for lunch and choose better snacks than when I'm at the office, I find that I drink more water because I have easier access to filtered water (at the office I have to go from the 3rd floor to the 1st floor) and of course it is fun to be at home just relaxed and working.  Oh let's not forget, I can write a blog with an extra 10 minutes:)

Are you able to stay diligent if you were able to work from home?  Or maybe you do work from home, how do you stay focused and diligent on your work?

I'm very excited to be able to spend 12 weeks home with Baby G and then enjoy the perks of working from home 2-3 days a week.  I know how lucky I am that this is even an option and I intend to continue doing a great job so I am able to keep this perk.

Hope you are having a great week!


With love,
Mrs. G