Andy speaks to Judy Heminsley, author of Work from Home.
A lively discussion on…
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Andy White: Hello and welcome to Episode 21 of Freelance Advisor and in today’s show we have an interview with Judy Heminsley, author of Work From Home. Enjoy.
So I’m talking to Judy Heminsley who’s the author of a book called Work From Home. Is that a book you’ve recently finished Judy or was it released a while ago?
Judy Heminsley: It seems like a long time ago I finished it. It actually came out last April so it’s been out almost a year but of course it’s six months or so before that the book actually has to go into the publishers.
Andy White: And I have to confess, I was just having a sort of little pre interview chat with Judy just before we went live, and I have to say I have not read this book. I didn’t have a chance to. We arranged this at quite short notice but I’m told it’s very, very good. And I know that you cover quite a few interesting subjects all about the sort of working on your own type sort of perspective.
Judy Heminsley: Yes, yes I do. What I was interested in covering here was about the, all the challenges of working from home that I’d never actually read about in other places. And you’d tend to get quite a lot of material on the web and in papers and magazines about how to set up your home office and that kind of thing. But I thought it would be really interesting to help people with things like well what happens when the kids want me and I’m trying to work from home.
Andy White: Yes.
Judy Heminsley: What about being on my own all the time and not been mixing with colleagues in the office, all that kind of thing. So that was why I wrote it.
Andy White: And I am absolutely dying to talk about co working and specifically jellies…
Judy Heminsley: Ahh.
Andy White: But I’ll save that to the end because I always like to save jelly to the end. (Laughter)
Judy Heminsley: You were obviously brought up very well.
Andy White: Oh, that’s absolutely. Now one of the things that… working on your own is quite challenging I know that you’ve covered this quite extensively in the book is procrastination, and have you got some tips you can give about freelancers who are suffering a bad attack of procrastination.
Judy Heminsley: Yes. I think it’s something that we all suffer from to some extent or other. It’s just a very human thing to put off something that we either don’t want to do or are not very sure about doing, or something that perhaps we think is going to take a long time and be quite complicated. And so we come up with all kinds of ruses. And I think the important thing is probably to realise what we’re doing when we’re putting something off, because a lot of us let it get to the point where really it’s spoiling all the day, because we’ve got this horrible thing at the back of our mind. We know jolly well we’ve got to do it at some point but anything, anything at all – cleaning the oven, doing the ironing, whatever, seems much more attractive than that particular thing. So, there are various things that you can try to kind of trick yourself into doing it. I think my favourite method is just to start with an element of whatever it is that you’ve got to do. The bit that appeals to you the most. So if you can start with something you enjoy or at least something that you don’t actually hate…
Andy White: Yes.
Judy Heminsley: Hopefully that then provides a momentum because it’s really the first point that is the most difficult, sitting down and getting on with it.
Andy White: Yes.
Judy Heminsley: And then once you’ve got a little bit, hopefully that will lead on to a bit more and a bit more and you can gradually get to grips with it. And then you lose that horrible dread at the back of your mind, you know when you wake up in the morning and you think “Oh, there’s something horrible and I can’t quite remember what it is.”
Andy White: Oh yes, it’s that.
Judy Heminsley: “It’s that. Oh no!” you know, that report or that project or whatever. And if you can kind of get into it and kind of get it moving I think it takes that awfulness away. And hopefully it will make you think of other things that you can do – ideas start to pop up and you can actually move forward with it.
Andy White: Isn’t that known as the “Salami Technique” as well, I think I’ve heard it described as?
Judy Heminsley: Really?
Andy White: Where you take a problem and you cut it up like a salami.
Judy Heminsley: Oh right, that’s good. I’ll remember that – the Salami Technique.
Andy White: The Salami Technique. Yes, so for example if it was like doing your tax return…
Judy Heminsley: Oh yes, well that would be a big one.
Andy White: Yes. The first slice… I mean that’s the horrible one that most people hate. The first bit of it would be going to find your, I don’t know your bank statements and getting them and putting them in a pile ready or something.
Judy Heminsley: Yes. Yes, I’m also a great believer in reward. You do that and you find all those different bits of paper and you put them in a pile ad then you go and have a coffee.
Andy White: Yes.
Judy Heminsley: Or you allow yourself to read the paper or whatever it is you like to do. Give yourself a bit of a break and then maybe come back and do a little bit more.
Andy White: That’s right. As long as the reward doesn’t last the rest of the day. (Laughter)
Judy Heminsley: This is true. You have to be a bit careful with that one, yes. And yet I think you also have to know what you’re going to do next.
Andy White: Yes.
Judy Heminsley: Because if you don’t it can be hard to get back into it.
Andy White: Yes, absolutely. Now what about productivity? Because I know that when you’re sort of working on your own it’s quite difficult to motivate yourself sometimes. What tips have you got for sort of motivating yourself and becoming productive, or maybe some sort of streamlining tips you can give.
Judy Heminsley: Well, I always find that probably the worst part is actually starting work in the morning.
Andy White: Yes.
Judy Heminsley: That may just be me; it may be lots of other people too. But I find I kind of, I’ve developed this kind of technique where I almost tricked myself into getting into the work frame of mind. And what I tend to do is I come into the office, I sit down at the computer and I have a list of various sites that I like to check out in the morning. So they could be newspaper websites, other sites that have up-to-dated news and just kind of feel as though I’m keeping myself up-to-date reading a bit of gossip maybe, a bit of news, find out what’s going on in the world out there. And then sort of make them slowly more kind of work orientated and then you can gradually get into doing something without even realising it. And also if you then check your email accounts of course because then you’ll probably have stuff from other people saying “Please I want this, I want that.”
Andy White: Yes.
Judy Heminsley: And that’s a very handy hook to get you into the day and working.
Andy White: Absolutely. So it’s sort of, it’s interesting that you mentioned that because it’s a bit like having a sort of ritual first thing in the morning isn’t it to help you get into the swing of work.
Judy Heminsley: Yes. I think that’s quite useful. Mine does actually change all the time because I get fed up with routines.
Andy White: Yes.
Judy Heminsley: And so if you’ve developed a routine and then you find it’s getting a bit boring don’t hesitate to do something else.
Andy White: Yes, absolutely.
Judy Heminsley: And just to keep it fresh and invigorating. Because if it’s no longer working for you there’s no point.
Andy White: Yes.
Judy Heminsley: I know occasionally I’ve had a routine that involved tidying up the house a bit before I went into the office. That worked for a while. Now I tend to ignore that and just come straight in.
Andy White: Because a lot of people, a lot of freelancers work from home – what would you say to people that are having trouble with being distracted by, say for example they’re working and think “Oh God, I’ve got to do that washing,” or “I better go and do that washing up and sweep the path,” or something. What would you say to people that are having that problem?
Judy Heminsley: I think you’ve really got to be quite firm with yourself and say “Well, actually work is my priority because if I was going out to work I wouldn’t be here to see those things and do those things.” So don’t feel guilty that you can’t do them. And just the fact that you happen to be in the house doesn’t mean that you have to making it tidy and clean all the time.
Andy White: Sure.
Judy Heminsley: I know people have said to me “Well, I couldn’t start work until the house was tidy.” But they’re not actually people who work from home and I think those of us who do, we probably get used to the idea of ignoring things. I think it’s probably more difficult to ignore things, pleasant distractions like in the summer when the sun’s shining and you think “Actually I’d rather go out in the garden,” and that kind of thing. But I always find that it’s very motivating that you have to pay the bills and you’ve got to satisfy your customers and you’ve got to get your money in.
Andy White: Yes.
Judy Heminsley: That in itself is quite motivating.
Andy White: Now, I must talk about a subject which I have to admit I do suffer from this quite a lot. And whenever I think of this word it always makes me think of a certain song that was sung by The Mighty Boosh and Mighty Boosh fans will know which one I mean. Isolation. How do you tackle this sort of isolated feeling that you sometimes get if you’re a solo worker in your house?
Judy Heminsley: I think there are all sorts of ways that you can. And what you need to do is plan it in. So rather than ending up maybe, mid afternoon I think seems to be the classic time, you’ve kind of got a real burst of enthusiasm in the morning, you’ve carried on working, you’ve had your lunch and then suddenly you have a dip in the afternoon.
Andy White: Yes, yes.
Judy Heminsley: And then you suddenly realise “Oh, well it’s just me and I’m getting a bit bored.”
Andy White: Yes.
Judy Heminsley: So what you need to do is plan ahead. And if you need to put it in the diary – I think it’s actually first priority after actually doing the work and getting the money in from your customers. So you’ve got obviously these days you can use the internet and you can go to forums and post comments there. You can talk to people on the telephone or on Skype and or you can physically leave the house. But it is important that you recognise that these things are essential when you’re working from home. Because if you don’t do it , if you have this idea that you’ve got to be at your desk nine to five, you’re going to quickly run out of steam. And it’s fatal when you do that because you start to spiral downwards.
Andy White: Yes.
Judy Heminsley: And the thing about home workers is that they’re all there in their little offices and they tend not to talk about this very much, I mean people will go out to networking events or they’ll meet friends but they… At networking events they’ll talk about their business and what they do but you don’t really say to somebody else “Oh, do you find it difficult to sit there actually on your own at home and do this?” And so it’s something that we’ve just internalised and we all tend to think that we’re absolutely rubbish at discipline or productivity or whatever. And yet if you do talk to someone else about it you find that they feel exactly the same way.
Andy White: Yes.
Judy Heminsley: So it’s really a big priority I think and you no doubt will have your own favourite ways of doing it. And you mentioned jelly before; I don’t know whether it’s appropriate to bring that in now?
Andy White: Well, actually I was going to ask you about co working first of all. In fact my actual words were going to be “That’s a wonderful segway into co working.” (Laughter). And then let’s talk about the jelly. Yes, co working – is this something you recommend for people? It’s something that’s fascinated me, in fact talk of the devil I actually went just before I did this interview I had a bit of a late lunch and I’d just pop my head round the door of a quite well known co working office here in Brighton…
Judy Heminsley: Yes.
Andy White: And there was a bit of a buzz there. I have to say there is a certain appeal about spending at least some of your time with people that do maybe similar things to you. What’s your view on it?
Judy Heminsley: Yes. I think it’s really exciting actually and I understand that Brighton’s got quite a few places that you can do that.
Andy White: It has, yes.
Judy Heminsley: And they are beginning to crop up around the country too, which is really good for home workers and freelancers because it means we have a choice. Whereas once we didn’t really much choice – we either had home office or perhaps a coffee shop with all the [?? 0:11:04] difficulties of that.
Andy White: Yes.
Judy Heminsley: Co working spaces are places that rent out desks, from as little as a few hours a month. Or you can have a more permanent commitment on a lease. And so they’re very reasonably priced and a home worker can just use a desk in a co working space for a few hours a month just to get out of the house. And as you say they do tend to have a buzz. They tend to be likeminded people, they’re all freelancers, they’re all independent. And what happens is you go along and you can do your work but you can also chat to the person next to you and ask what they’re doing. And it’s amazing how many ideas come out of that. And of course you get lots of help. Because you might find yourself sitting next to the person who can do just the thing that you’ve been trying to do for ages, and haven’t quite managed it and they just give you a tip and it works out.
Andy White: Now, we’ve got to talk about jelly. Because I was looking at your website and everywhere I looked there’s jelly, jelly, jelly. What is this jelly thing? And I did have a quick read and it sounds very interesting but tell us in your own words how it started and what a jelly is?
Judy Heminsley: Right, well jelly actually started in New York in 2006. And it came about because two independent I.T. workers in New York were having a bit of a moan one day about the downsides of being freelance and working from home. Namely being the fact that you do get isolated and you tend to look at your same four walls all the time. And they thought “Well, wouldn’t it be great if we just all got together once in a while and work together.” And that would mean that those problems would be overcome. So they decided that they would do that and that’s how it all started. They did it first of all in the apartment of one of them and got a crowd of people that they knew to come round with their laptops and they all worked together. And the reason it’s called jelly is because apparently they were eating jellybeans at the time when they came up with this great idea.
Andy White: And there was me thinking it was some really profound reason like it was a very flexible way of thinking or something. (Laughter)
Judy Heminsley: Oh right, oh that’s very lateral, yes. I think we just have to be grateful they weren’t eating cabbage. (Laughter)
Andy White: So basically, let me get this right. It’s the idea of lots of, it’s a bit like co working but the goal isn’t so much to get work done; it’s more to swap ideas and do a bit of work. Is that the idea behind it?
Judy Heminsley: It is, jelly is co working but jelly is just a one day event.
Andy White: Oh, okay.
Judy Heminsley: Which is held usually by a home worker for others to come along. It’s entirely free so you have to find a venue that is willing to host you for nothing, for no charge.
Andy White: Yes.
Judy Heminsley: And usually people will do that because they’re glad to have people come along and be there for the day. I mean you can do it in a café which means the café’s got a buzz about it. It’s got a table full of people who are buying food and drink all day.
Andy White: Yes.
Judy Heminsley: And hopefully spreading word of mouth advertising. And you can do it in a co working space. So one of these places in Brighton might be happy to host a jelly and that would mean that people would come along and spend the day there that perhaps normally wouldn’t know about that place. And of course they may then return and pay for a desk at a later date.
Andy White: Is it taking off much in this country? I know you said you mentioned it started in the United States didn’t it?
Judy Heminsley: Yes, that’s right. It really seems to have started to take off now actually. Here in the Bath and Bristol area we’ve got someone who was really worked very hard and started organising jelly and he’s called [Lee Cottier 0:14:22] and he’s very interested in it. He found out about it last year and he’s now got it going regularly in Bristol and Bath. I came along and with Lee’s help I started here in Frome. And we started Tweeting about it and we got lots of enquiries from people all over the place saying “How do we do it?” That’s why I put the jelly guide on my website to answer people’s questions.
Andy White: Yes.
Judy Heminsley: And we’re now hearing from people in Cambridge, Yorkshire, Bradford I believe there’s one starting.
Andy White: I’m just writing on my to do list actually, start a jelly in Brighton, okay.
Judy Heminsley: The great thing about it is it is easy to do. It’s not particularly time consuming. And it’s a really good event because the point of jelly is simply to get together and work with likeminded people. The purpose isn’t to sell or to pitch your business or anything like that so it doesn’t have the same atmosphere as an event where people are to promote themselves.
Andy White: Yes, it’s not so much networking then?
Judy Heminsley: No, absolutely not. It’s definitely not. It’s a completely different vibe to that. But people to chat and they talk about what they’re doing and what their ideas are and who knows what wonderful new business or new projects might arise out of it. Because they’re people whom otherwise wouldn’t normally meet.
Andy White: Well, that sounds a really good idea. I really quite fancy the idea of getting one of those started. So thanks so much for talking to us. Just again the book is called…?
Judy Heminsley: Work From Home.
Andy White: Work From Home. And all good bookshops plus Amazon?
Judy Heminsley: Absolutely, yes. It’s published by “How To” books and you can get it from your local bookshop or if they don’t have it then they’ll order in for you in a couple of days. Or you can get it from Amazon.
Andy White: So, Judy Heminsley, thank you very, very much for talking to us today.
Judy Heminsley: Thank you.
Andy White: Hope you enjoyed that interview with Judy. One thing we didn’t mention in the interview her website is www.workfromhomewisdom.com. Do check it out, lots of great stuff there. Thanks for listening. See you next time.
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