loopyloulaura

My very own website!!! Yikes!

Never work with children or animals! The perils of having a home office

As I have mentioned before, I have 3 part time jobs plus my blog. I would love a home office but we don’t have the space. Instead my office is a corner of the lounge.
I have constant interruptions during the day and am usually working like this:
 
At night when I do my blogging, Ollie rests his head on my knee. Cute but it means I’m trapped in one position for hours…
The printer is covered in paperwork that falls down and gets muddled up. I can’t have a hot drink near the computer for fears of a child knocking the desk resulting in scalds or spillage on electronics. There are wires everywhere which is a source of stress trying to keep the kids safe. Zach runs off with the computer mouse 🙁
I also need to work in the school office to do filing, printing and other admin. Lifting and carrying heavy files is something I need to consider carefully (but actually hefting the kids around all day is doing untold damage anyway 🙁 ).
Chris works in an office everyday and I believe he goes to the toilet regularly in order to move around and get away from the computer for a few minutes. He needs to drink plenty as the air conditioning is quite dehydrating.
Perhaps the biggest hazard Chris and I both face on a daily basis is the computer. I spend hours each day staring at a screen at both home and work. Last night I spent 4 hours solidly working on my blog. As well as being sat in a chair for that long, it was straining my eyes.

The Accident Advice Helpline have devised an interactive graphic to help make office workers aware of some of the hazards they may face in their workplace environment.
I also used it with my children to try to teach them about safety at home and school. The kids had great fun trying to identify what the hazards were and it got them thinking about our own home and potential dangers.
Check out the graphic yourself and make sure you are taking steps for your own safety.
Be safe, happy and healthy at work and play!

*collaborative post


34 comments

  1. I couldn’t imagine having a home office or having to work at home with kids around. I don’t think I’d get much done! Thanks for linking up to #ThatFridayLinky

  2. I definitely feel your pain. Before we moved, my “office” was also a small table in our lounge and yep, that photo definitely looked familiar. We’ve moved still don’t have an office. But at least I have a little nook in our bedroom. This will have to do for now 🙂

  3. Haha supermum! Look at that picture, you are bossing it. I currently have my kitchen table set up as an office (we eat on the sofa in front of the TV – naughty, naughty) and should probably take a look at the hazards around too… especially since my baby will be crawling fairly soon! Thanks so much for linking up to #Blogstravaganza

  4. I love the graphic – very clever way to explain workspace hazards! I’m always struggling with slouching when I’m working at the laptop and I know that’s bad for my back and digestion. I use an app that adjusts the light levels on my screen so it’s not quite so hard on the eyes but I can still feel the eye-strain at night too!

  5. Wow amazing that you manage to get work done with the kods trying to sleep on you! My daughter distracts me all the tine and I’m a huge procrastinator!

  6. We don’t have a home office, I literally use our dining room as my home office! I can’t work in my home when my kids are around. They are too young and I have to carefully plan my week so that I have enough time to do what I need to get done when the kids arent around. My dog isn’t usually a problem but my cat is fascinated with keyboards and constantly laying on my arms when I’m working! ugh!

  7. Totally know what you mean! I am a SAHM to my two boys and often have them on my lap or generally making their demands for food when I’m really getting stuck into something!

  8. I have a little corner of the living room and am constantly telling the kids they need to be a bit quieter so daddy can concentrate. I usually get very little done during the day and have nothing but respect for those that are able! #anythigngoes

  9. We actually bought a new home when we had my kids because my husband works from home 1 day a week and being in the dining room table was not working during conference calls. I still sit on the couch and write my blog or plan for my classes. I have been trying to enjoy the squeezes and cuddles from my kids since soon – they won’t be wanting to cuddle 🙁

  10. I’m amazed you get any work done – when I work from home the boys are being looked after or there would be too many distractions for me to get anything productive done, haha!

  11. Niharika Roy Choudhury

    I too have shared a post related to the same…and I following your insta pics I can understand very well your situation…for me to the best time to do my work is night… can’t help it.

  12. “Dogs wanting things” is always a hazard to my getting stuff done at home. For work office hazards – we now have adjustable desks that can move from standing to sitting and it is so nice to switch between the two. When I Senate properly, I never get “3 o’clock slump” anymore, and my back feels way better.

  13. The health and safety manager in me cringed at the scene in the graphic lol!
    I work from home and my office is either perched on my bed or at the kitchen table. Most days I’m in front of a screen from around 11am to 7pm then around midnight until around 4am – not perfect, but needs must!
    Thanks for linking up to #AnythingGoes 🙂
    Debbie

  14. I hate that I am sat at a computer for so long at work. When I am working on my blog I have at least been active at some point during the day but on the two days I work in an office I sit at the computer all day and then again all evening. I average about 3000 steps a day on those days and then 8000-10000 steps on the other days. As for my home office – I rarely get to use it as the kids just seem to have moved in!! ‘#KCACOLS

  15. Peachy loves to run off with my mouse too. It’s hard to be productive when your work is constantly interrupted by a spontaneous game of tag. Thanks so much for linking up at #KCACOLS. Hope you come back again next time

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