On Sat, Mar 10, 2012 at 07:10:30PM +0000, Robin Wood wrote: > On 9 March 2012 07:32, S. R. White <[email protected]> wrote:
<snip> > > Ok, this is so vaguely infosec related I almost hesitate to bring it up. > > Many pen-testers/security folks seem to work from home/telecommute, more so > > than any other field I personally know. I'd love to get folk's thoughts on > > how they carry on that lifestyle. A few breakout questions: > > > > 1. How do you stay productive enough so you are still of value to > > your employer? Interesting work, self-discipline, both of which I mostly have most of the time ;) The other side is to ensure that you are seen to be productive - tell seniors what you've been up to, keep than up to date on projects. > > 2. Do you feel isolated at home, and what do you do for a social > > life? No, but I use online methods to stay in touch with colleagues and friends alike - just keep in mind that half an hour chatting to a friend can feel like five minutes, whereas five minutes working on a proposal can feel like half an hour. > > 3. Any tips on separation of home life and work life? Depending on the nature of your work this may not be possible, in the same way that you'll deal with personal stuff during work hours, work stuff might pop up during personal hours. Use your home life as a break from work, i.e. doing the washing up is a ten minute break from your desk when exploit x or software y isn't doing what it should. > > 4. Anything else you think an infosec telecommuter should think about? As has been said, security. > I've been working from home for the last 6+ years, I have one desk > completely covered in stuff, I get distracted about once an hour > during the day to hold the baby while wife does something, I take > random amounts of time for lunch and take it at random times. Unless > I'm doing a test where I have specific times from a client I start > when I want, finish when I want and usually work a few hours at night. I.E. this is roughly my approach, but maybe not as well thought out - the "separate room to work in" idea is a good one, but depends on your circumstances. > It seems completely disorganized but works brilliantly for me. Guess > how you handle home working depends on your own personality, I know > some people who just can't do it, some who feel isolated, some who > can't motivate themselves, I've managed to avoid all of that. Seconded, there's a lot of variety in what suits people; so to the OP look for what suits you, rather than for the ideal solution. I.E. I've looked at some of the GTD stuff for personal time management, but it doesn't seem to fit my kind of work, in the same way you may find "ideal" from home solutions, but they may not fit your particular requirements or personality. I've found http://www.workshifting.com/ a useful resource for the area in general, more to provoke thoughts then provide solutions. -- "It's too bad that people that really understand geopolitics and economics are too busy with Internet forums" _______________________________________________ Pauldotcom mailing list [email protected] http://mail.pauldotcom.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/pauldotcom Main Web Site: http://pauldotcom.com
