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John came to Shreveport in January of 1977 when he was transferred to Barksdale AFB.

He’s been active in Shreveport politics since deciding to make Shreveport his home.

John practiced law for 40 years and he now monitors local politics. He regularly attends Shreveport City Council and Caddo Parish Commission meetings.

John is published weekly in The Inquisitor, bi-monthly in The Forum News, and frequently in the Shreveport Times.

He enjoys addressing civic groups on local government issues and elections.

 

WORKING FROM HOME — WHERE DOES THE MOTIVATION COME FROM?

JIM'S WIFE

I am in awe of people who are selfmotivated, and I applaud you . I am also suspicious. What are you hiding in all that perfection? You accomplish something every day, whether it be to wash windows, write a song, paint the trim, weed the garden or sew up a dress. I get teary-eyed if I manage to mop the kitchen floor and don't understand why my family does not give me a standing ovation.

Maybe it is not self-motivation; perhaps it is all about being goal-oriented. If you set a goal for the next day, you will accomplish it. I tried that. Nope. Not if there is a bag of potato chips in the house and a good season of "Sneaky Pete" waiting to be streamed.

I would probably need to have a terrorbased deadline. If I received a text at 6 a.m. that if I don't get all the clothes washed, folded and put away today, someone would steal my dog. Or if I don't get the flower beds weeded, they would get spray-painted. Hey! There is a new line of business: threatening people into doing their chores. Or does that already exist?

It must be a hard call with more and more businesses considering the possibly of allowing employees to continue to work at home versus returning to the office. I am glad I am not the one making that call. If I did not have to get up by the alarm clock, get dressed and drive to work, I'm pretty sure I would find a dozen things to do. Sleep more, read , do a sing-along with the radio, watch a movie.

I have heard people say that by working from home they are working harder and getting a lot more done than if they were at the office. Which makes sense. No distractions with finding out what the coworker did the night before, who is mad at whom and no phones to answer. But by the same token, with no distractions, are the bosses expecting a percentage of more output?

There should also be more savings in working from home. No office attire to invest in . No gas in driving back and forth to work. I would miss the social interactions with my co-workers that I do not think the cashier at the grocery store can meet.

I think I am pretty much fear-based . If I don't make money, I cannot pay my bills, which leads us back to the terror-driven goals. So maybe I am cut out for working from home. Huh.
 

THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN THE June 5 ISSUE OF FOCUS SB - THE INQUISITOR.

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