One of the challenges that many home – based professionals face is isolation. Sure, we have our families at home with us for all or part of the day and we have friends that we can call or visit when they are not working, but many of us do not interact with other professionals on a regular basis. Fortunately, there is no rule that says that the life of the home – based professional must be lived in isolation from other professionals.
The great thing about being a home – based professional is that you get to decide when and how you will spend some time with other professionals as well as which other professionals you will spend that time with. This is a benefit that many of our colleagues who work outside of the home may wish that they had from time to time when they feel like they need a break from their co workers. Some ways that you can spend time with other professionals include going to lunch with one or more people that you know on a professional basis (who may also be your friends too), attending professional development seminars or workshops, and attending networking events.
I am very excited because a few days ago, I received an invitation to have lunch with a group of other female lawyers. Even though lunch is not normally a time when I am available, I am definitely going to make arrangements for the kids to spend time with someone so that I can attend. Last year, this same bunch of ladies met for lunch and I went with them. We had a great time talking about all kinds of work related things (and had fun talking about things that were not related to work) and I came away from the experience with some new ideas for my own law practice. I’m looking forward to seeing that group of professional friends again.
Do you have plans for some professional interaction?
Photo by clarita on morguefile.com