I keep on asking myself if I miss my corporate life. During my first month, the answer of course was a resounding YES. But now, that desire is becoming a little fainter.

If there is one thing I miss most working in the office, it is the unlimited interaction with a lot of people. To some, this could be a burden, especially for anti-social people. Those who know me though, know that I am a social butterfly. I love talking to friends in the office, conversing during office breaks, even talking to my team about a project or to my boss about a great vision. This is was my way of learning. Of course, I cannot do that now at home when all I have with me is Sachi and her eyes can only implore. I really wish she could talk. Haha. I try to compensate it though by bugging all my friends over Viber.

While I miss working in corporate, I am having a new-found love working at home. It has been two months (already!) since I have quit work and so far, so good.

Since I started staying at home, I was able to increase my shop‘s sales because I finally had the time to focus on it. I was also able to land several writing jobs (which I love, by the way) and it comes almost every week. I have a marketing consultancy work which I attend to once a week and just this week, I landed a virtual assistant job for an awesome Australian company (which I got from a network of awesome work-at-home moms in Facebook, thank you sooo much!)

So yes, I AM BUSY 🙂

While it may not look that stable for me yet, working at home looks quite promising. One things that gives me a lot of confidence is when I hear stories of many WAHMs (work-at-home moms) who have been very successful in providing for their family without having to join the rat race.

So without further ado, these are my five reasons while I love my new work-at-home role:

1. I spend my time more productively and more efficiently.

Time Flies by Robert Couse-Baker Creative Commons License 2.0

I don’t have to pretend that my mind is working when it is still dozing off. As of the moment, I am required to do four hours of work each day for my role as a virtual assistant. Everything that I do is results-driven without the burden of doing it at a specific time of the day. I was told that I could do things on the time of the day that I am most productive. As long as I deliver what is required, everything is okay.

Isn’t that awesome?!

For me, this has been the most liberating and more daunting task. Liberating since you don’t have to do the usual time-in and time-out but it is daunting because you have to be accountable for everything that you do.

At the end of the day,  your integrity plays a major role because offshore clients trust that you are doing your job during the times that you said you were.

2. I learn new things every day. 

Learning by Anne Davis Creative Commons CC BY-NC 2.0

I thought my world would end when I quit corporate. My fear was for my mind to become senile. No more spreadsheets, no more presentations. But alas, there are many new things that I learn. Every day.

Learning is everywhere.

It does not need to be contained in the office. Now that my work is based online, I get to expand my horizons more. I have discovered the amazing world of Google apps. All awesome social networking tools.

What’s more, I get to upskill myself even in the areas not related to work but to my role as a wife – homemaking 🙂

3. I have three additional hours per day and because of that, I can do more. 

What I hated most when I was working (as I am sure, with everyone else who has to endure the same) was the traffic. It took me around an hour to get to the office in the morning and it was just thirteen kilometers away!!! The worse part was the drive home — almost two hours.

By the time I arrived at home, I was already deadpan tired.

Now, I have saved three hours just because of that — enough time to be able to cook for my husband and play with my Sachi.

And yes, an additional hour for a little stretching or reading a chapter of a new book is not bad, too.

4. I get to rest. 

I can definitely say that I have slowed down which was my doctor’s requirement when she asked me to quit. Whenever I feel tired, I take some power naps. I still maintain my 6:30 AM waking hour though. But I think the naps really help and this set-up, really, is causing me less stress.

5. I actually save more because I spend less. 

Save Money by 401 (K) 2012 CC BY-SA 2.0

It is quite ironic that I get to save more now with a fifth of my previous salary. But staying at home means no expenses at all. No expensive lunch outs. No gas money. No toll fees. No office clothes, high-heeled shoes or makeup to buy.

It has been a short while so I really do not know where the roads will take me yet. I am not closing any doors and I am always open to opportunity. However, for those who are forced into this stay-at-home situation for whatever reasons, there is so much things that you can do. It is not the end of the world. This I have learned.

It is all a matter of maximizing the skills that you have. What would be nicer is to do the things now that you are most passionate about since you have the option to choose what road to take. In my case, I am grateful that I am able to write again and even get paid for it.

Quitting corporate is not bad. Not bad at all.

xx,
Balot