Living tomorrow today

The home office will become a reality in almost every home.

The world is changing. Well it has been changing all along. But more so now … within ten to twenty years, the following drastic changes would be seen more prominently:

Companies and organizations offering pensions will be reduced only to the forces (army, navy or air force,) – and a couple of more companies – the rest would be offering better pays and no emoluments. You would have to fend for yourself in case of any other personal issues like health, accidents or unexpected problems.
Most people would be working from home. – Already, working from home is becoming a reality, even in Pakistan.
Therefore most homes would be having home offices.
So, lives at home and home-life would be changing too. This would affect family life drastically. The design of homes may also shift to having a home-office in it, probably next to the garage, so that the clients wouldn’t affect the family life.
There will be more entrepreneurs, as people wouldn’t find jobs and will have to start their own companies and services.
After having tried working outside the home, more and more women will become full-time homemakers. They will take care of their own children and prefer to do home chores themselves. Many of them, would be having some home-based ‘work’ or ‘business’ which they would be running from home; having online sales.
Home delivery systems and online purchasing would become the norm – even in a country like Pakistan.
Use of technology will become more common, accomplishing all one’s business on one’s smart phone, or computer.

So, my dear reader: what do we do to keep ourselves fully in tact through it all?

Make ourselves more technology friendly and learn all one can. This is not possible unless one applies what is learnt in ones’ life. It is good to learn everything to improve your present life.
Have a home ‘office’ for one’s spouse, oneself or children in each one’s room. Many people use their kitchen counters or dining tables for the purpose. Do whatever fits your home or lifestyle. It is best to find a place which is untouched, even if you have to leave suddenly. So that your equipment isn’t disturbed, nor it disturbs others. It is best to convert one bedroom into an office. Sometimes the place under a staircase can be made into an office too. I’ve known one walk-in cupboard to become a home office, you open the door, and your set up ‘office table comes into view, you work, then ‘lock’ your ‘office’ after ‘work-hours’.
Find an ‘order’ in all this, as the timings in home office can become erratic and finding family time becomes almost impossible. Therefore keep changing routine to find the best one for all, making sure there is at least one time in the day when whole family is together without any distraction of mobile phone, laptop, office calls and television. Even if this is just for fifteen to twenty minutes in the day. Having family outings like picnics and dinners out need to become a weekly or monthly event.
If your work permits, do include the family and pets into your ‘work space’ during specific timings. It will make you feel better if they are in front of your eyes and they have their own little ‘work space’ within yours!