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I have been falling further behind with my thirty day challenge materials, my best efforts to keep up to date waylaid by an insidious stream of diversions, distractions, and distressing detours. But that’s ok, because I work from home, and can make it up whenever I feel like it, right?

That’s exactly what I was doing on Tuesday, “making it up”, trying to catch up on the 30DC materials when my son wandered into the living room.

“Umm… Mom, Dad? I think I broke my arm…”

So no catch up on Tuesday, Wednesday was arbitrarily designated “de-stress day”, and Thursday we were back at the hospital, getting Junior’s cast re-applied, as it was applied too tightly the first time. This weekend will be a 30DC – The Intense Challenge, as I try and get a week’s worth of study done in two days.

This is what it’s like to work from your own home. Maybe not always as dramatic, but the idea of “making your own schedule” is a myth. Your life makes your schedule for you. That’s the reality. As I go through the Challenge materials, I gather that some people have criticized Ed for the ringing phone, and his child talking off camera, and oh, yeah, the cat wandering in and out of frame. If these trivial details bother you, my advice is to forget about working from home, because that’s the way it is, and then some. Retreat to your office cubicle, and leave the adventure to those who are willing to embrace it.

There are countless sites on the Internet that tout the benefits of working from the comfort of your own home. No commute, no boss looking over your shoulder, and increased productivity (think: money) are some of the more popular benefits promoted. These are true and valid benefits. Some of the better sites will warn you of the need for strong self-discipline. Also true, if a little understated. Every afternoon that I spend with my family is an evening spent working, and that’s where the discipline comes in. Let me tell you the truth: it is much easier to go to work when you know that there is a boss waiting for you there, whip in hand, to keep you on track. If you can’t be proactive about your work in the workplace, your chances of succeeding from home are slim. Sorry, but that’s just the way it is.

If you’re still with me, let me just reassure you that the benefits, for those who are willing to embrace the lifestyle, far outweigh the demerits. No boss, no commute, and increased productivity are the very least of it. Seeing your children grow up, every minute of every day, and being there to take your adventuresome son to the hospital when he needs you to, that’s the real payoff. I am, and forever will be, a work at home dad, and my kids will always know who I am. And that’s the ultimate reality of working from home.