So lately I have been getting very lonely during the week while I am working in my office in the house. It all started a couple of weeks ago when we moved. We just bought a new house which is a little farther from my husbands work, so he doesn't take his lunch at home anymore. I am very much a people person and being home alone a lot isn't very healthy for me. Does anyone else have this problem? What have you done to help out?

Something that I am doing to help remedy this problem and to get more work done is I have an assistant coming in once a week to help out with album designs. When she is here we get so much work done it is amazing! She can only come in once a week so that will be it for now. I also try to schedule client meetings during the day which also helps. Also, I go work at starbucks sometimes. I guess I just miss having my husband come home for lunch everyday.

Would anyone in Orlando like to get together once a week regularly to work?

I TOTALLY know how you feel. In Houston, they have something called the Caroline Collective where a bunch of people (not even all the same profession) share a co-working space. I don't know the details- only that if they had something like that here, I'd be all about it because I totally get cabin fever (my hubby also works from home).

Sorry I'm not in your area or I'd totally be down for co-working. Just wanted to let you know that you're not the only one who needs human contact to function better.

Get a cat, maybe?

haha I thought of that one... maybe.

Just have a glass of wine!...i bet your photoshop work will get more creative!
I'm fearful this will hapen to me when I branch out on my own too...

That would be my suggestion too. Though maybe a dog instead? Cats tend not to be terribly social, and dogs can have a lot of personality.

This may not work for you, but I work out at the gym first thing in the morning with a close friend.
It really does help being around someone else for a part of the day.

I wish I had this problem. I have my two kids with me all day while I work. It's definitely not lonely here.

Actually, when they are gone like once a week and I am home alone, it is weird and lonely. I just listen to music and jam out with myself. Working with someone sounds fun too, or if you're on a laptop go to a coffee shop, or outside somewhere every once in a while. I can't think of anymore solutions, especially because most of us do our editing chained to a desktop. Waste more time here, OSP isn't lonely.

try living in a foreign country where no one sounds like you...

i had a very tough time here when i first moved over. so i filled my house with animals!

I hear you on this one! And I have two indoor dogs and they don't really help....haha! Human interaction is still needed. I get cabin fever and just have to get out and go somewhere no matter what the reason.

Absolutley! Working alone sucks, and working alone at home meters away from your TV and fridge is a killer!!!! Im hoping beyond hope that next year i will be able to afford a assistant at least 1 day a week to relieve the lonlieness. I do have a cat, but he is boring and sleeps all day, and i go out at least once a day to the gym/postoffice/coffee etc but its does get evry quiet and empty here some times.

I 100% know what you mean. I feel like I have no friends sometimes. You're not alone.

Thanks for all of the suggestions, I feel so loved

Cat might be out of the question as my husband isn't for one yet. maybe by christmas this year he will be.

here is your start set:

I get lonely too, and I have a day job!

get a puppy don't ask the hubby, just do it. He wont be able to resist the cuteness

I know "real people" are the solution to this on a long term, ongoing basis and I do have Sarah here so I can't complain at all, but when I don't, I always talk to my friends on AIM - mostly Jason Tench, Melody, Emily, and some microstock photographers. Having someone there to talk to about whatever I'm thinking helps. It passes the day to know someone is there, when you want them or need them to be, just to chat about biz or life or whatnot.

AIM/AOL/IChat - TheRandian1
MSN/Yahoo - mantonino@hotmail.com

Change of scenery is SO important when you are working from home. If you feel the walls closing in, go run a quick errand or two. It's easier said than done.

It helps to have scheduled weekly activities that get you out of the house an hour or two at a time. Church events, bible studies, aerobics classes, ladies G2G, etc. It helps when you can see the same faces every week.

I posted up on FB how stressed I was for work yesterday and a friend came and took Syd for the day yesterday so I could have a 'date with myself'. OMGosh it was awesome! I worked out, got a massage, meandered about the mall, read 'Marley and Me' while eating horrible Mall Chinese Food, and saw 'Hancock' with my mom and dad.

I think taking a regular hour long lunch break and going out would help. Even if you don't want to pay to go to a restaurant, pack a lunch and go to a park. At some point you should come across someone to talk to, and if not, you still got out for a change of scenery.

And I'm just weird because I like spending time on my own working! I used to be a film editor and that was worse, in a dark room watching the same footage over and over and over, trying to make it a little better. One frame here, one frame there. This is definitely better!

I have the baby around most of the time but he is very lazy and likes to sleep a lot during the day (and night) so I have a lot of time to work.

Maybe when you have kids causing chaos most of the time, you appreciate the quiet and the alone-ness!!!!!!!

no, your not. i love to be alone. i used to get really upset when my husband would be gone every weekend in the summer playing cricket (cricket games last around 9 hours)

now. i love it.

i value my alone time like its gold. or a canon L lens. hehehehe

i was thinking the same thing i loooooove having the house to myself. right now i'm typing with one hand as my almost 2yo daughter climbs all over me, watching laurie berkner...... of course i love it, but it would be nice to have a couple days a week to myself!

I'm with the love to be alone while working crowd. Sometimes I can get so into what I'm doing that hours pass by and it's only interrupted when someone comes home. I get easily distracted so being alone with nobody around works well for me.

That said, I can totally see how you can feel alone sometimes. When I lived in Japan, especially when I first moved there, I felt like I could have been on the moon with the language and cultural differences. But the Japanese people wouldn't let me be alone too long and it turned out that once I let myself accept the extreme change and go with it, it was the best experience of my life. The more people around, the better when I was there and I felt alive again.

But working and needing to get things done, I need to be left alone without distractions.

I am totally people dependant. My studio is in a basement so not only am I alone, but I don't even have a window to look out and make sure the world is still turning!

I used to sit on my phone all day. And when I say all day I mean it!!! My best friend owns a studio in montana and since we both have verizon, it didn't cost us anything to talk non-stop. It sounds strange, and a lot of people didn't believe us, but we got sooo much more work done while on the phone. It gave me someone to talk to and kept my brain occupied so I could just go into auto mode with editing, print orders, packaging... it was great!

Unfortunately she is going through kind of a hard time right now. She got a divorce, is going through a custody hearing, has started to date a wonderful guy who had to move to another state- so she has been talking to him a lot, flying to visit him, dealing with lawyers, her business, her daughter, trying to sell her house and her life is crazy! So no more talking time for me- and I haven't been getting enough done! I get so easily distracted when I'm by myself- it's been so hard! I never knew how much I needer her... My few other friends all work 9-5's and can't talk. What's up with that?!

So I turn to OSP------- there are people here!!!!

Lonely... yes. I'm not too good with people so I can be lonely in a crowded space too.

But here I have my kitties and they are not aloof at all. Most of the time I'll crank the tv.

I totally understand! I work at a "real" job but I work from home! Thankfully I am taking one class in person during the summer which at least gets me out of the house for a couple of hours every day, but lord I am lonely and bored and always bugging people on IM to talk to me LOL. I am a social creature, I can't help it. My husband goes to school and works full time outside of the house so when he's gone the day just drags on and on..

We need to start a support network so we can at least chat to each other

Oh by the way, I AM a crazy cat lady, even last night, we got home and we had bought the cats (three of them) a new scratching post and I started in with my baby talk.. and he says "I wonder if they know you're a crazy cat lady".. Gee thanks honey.

Been there! Talk about difficult!

I was lonely when I worked at home too. That was one factor for getting a studio space out of the home. Of course now I would sometimes like to be left alone to get some work done! I don't have a good solution other than that. You can get a cat, but there is a big difference between animal interaction and human interaction. It may help a little, but if you are social like me you will still need something else!

If anyone in OC wants to network during happy hour let me know. My husband is doing crazy hours at his job so ya, I know the lonely feeling sometimes too.

I would LOVE to be able to work from home. I guess I am more of a homebody though. An office environment can be the pits. And mine just is.

Sigh, I wish I could be home all day to work. haha.

I live in the Orlando area Heather. Let me know if you ever want to hang out during the day, even if it's just for coffee.

Sorry, can't relate. I have 2 teenage girls whom I homeschool so yeah, there's always noise around. Hard for me to work when there's questions here and there. Sometimes I go to Starbucks to get work done. Not that I'd trade my life for anyone elses...

How about packing up lunch and going to your hubby's work? Or take your lunches at a nearby park. That will get you out of the house and I'm sure hubby would be thrilled.

growing up with a single parent who was rarely at home due to her missionary charity work I felt lonely a lot, but I tried to make the loneliness constructive by learning rather than feeling depressed. When I moved to Moldova from the UK, it was an even bigger change for me, I didnt know Russian then, and had no family there so at times I felt pretty lonely with no native english speakers around. However now with the business theres always at least 2 people around to work with which makes work so much easier.

Definitely get a cat! I got my black cat, Annie Hall, last year and she just sits right by me and watches me edit!

Although pets aren't a compromise for human company, I would highly recommend a dog rather than a cat (no offense to all the "cat people" here!). Simply because a dog needs walking and will get you out of the house and away from the computer even if it is for short bursts of time during the day. It breaks up the day and they are actually good company! My husband is away windsurfing again and I think I'd go stir-crazy if I didn't have Tyson with me. If you do end up with a pet, make sure it's something you really want and that you're in it for the long-haul

Other than that, I'd suggest you schedule a morning of shopping therapy!! That always works for me

I agree about AIM. I have a lot of chat buddies. I've had the same AIM for 12 years. So when I get bored there is always someone there to chat with. You have my AIM already .

boo heather! wish i was still around! we could meet in the middle with our laptops and get a ton of work done!

You should have babies. HAHAHAHA

Becka... haha... NO!