First off, for my mom that will read this comic, please don’t ask me about this one. But here’s a link to a definition of Netflix and chill, so you don’t have to ask me about it.

George Long once said “Don’t write anything you can phone. Don’t phone anything you can talk. Don’t talk anything you can whisper. Don’t whisper anything you can smile. Don’t smile anything you can nod. Don’t nod anything you can wink.”

Sounds exhausting.

Some of you might disagree with me on this, but I’ll say it: Working from home sucks. This isn’t to say that working for yourself sucks, but working in the same place that you woke up in taxes on your soul after a while.

I changed jobs about a year ago, to one that let me work more on my own time and schedule, and a lot more from home. I thought it would be a great opportunity to get more things done on my own time. Unforunately, I’m just not built for that sort of thing.

I used to hate the idea of sitting in an office from 9–5 and the like, but I actually really miss it these days. I have to go out of my way to recapture a bit of that experience, because the truth is without that structure my motivation, productivity, and general attitude goes to shit.

If you’re different, more power to you. If you’re anything like me, here’s some tips that I constantly have to remind myself to follow:

• Keep to a routine, even a stupid one. Do the basic things anyway like getting ready in the morning, dressing like you’re about to be working, etc. Makes me feel lots more sane.
• Start each day by leaving your place. If you don’t it’s easy to get sucked in.
• Go out for little things. Start thinking of going out for food, coffee, groceries, etc. as payment towards sanity and an excuse to get out of the place. Maybe set up shop at a coffee shop for a few hours, especially if you drink coffee like I do.
• Make a to-do list. There are lots of systems for to-do lists from simple (a list) to complicated (a series of lists divided by importance and urgency) but whatever your system, keep to it.
• Talk to people. It’s the best way to stay sane.
• Set limits. Work some sort of hours (whatever works for you), and don’t slack off during them. Otherwise you wind up letting not-quite-working take up all waking hours, and you feel like shit by the end. Trust me.

As you can tell, this is a kinda personal issue for me. I’ve learned a lot this last year about how I work when I’m not at work, and I’m still learning. Share your thoughts, tips, etc. in the comments, because others, and myself, could use them.

Thanks so much for all the love on the last comic guys. It is very much noticed and appreciated. Feel free to share it wherever you think it might be best submitted as well, if you so choose.

As for this one, not much to say. Started a new job today and I’m exhausted. Check out the last comic post and help out the comic by buying some things and doing some stuff. See you Wednesday!

DISCLOSURE: I was in need of a couch and got in touch with Simplicity Sofas. In return for an honest review and ad space for a month (should be right above, but you can find them here), they gave me a discount on the couch.

A while back I moved into an apartment that has a great deal of perks. Cozy, high ceilings, and in the heart of DC. Unfortunately it had one small drawback. It is very, very tiny. Still, I was determined to make the best of it and searched for ways to optimize the space. A friend of mine suggested Simplicity Sofas, a company that specializes in couches for small apartments. What does that mean, exactly?

First of all, the furniture comes in a variety of sizes from small to large to fit whatever size apartment you have. The different styles of their collections include full-size sofas, apartment sofas, loveseats, and chairs-and-a- half, as well as other features such as a dual 20-inch deep air sleep system. This gives you the bonus of turning of your living room couch into your bed in minutes with a push of a button. As someone who once had to carry such an apparatus down 3 flights of stairs, trust me this is a much better idea. I opted for the ottoman as well, which I discovered on arrival has a compartment inside to store all my wires and video game accoutrements.

But what really won me over is the setup. Most couches arrive in one large box. Not so. Instead, this came in a series of smaller boxes. Ideal, since I had to carry each one up four flights of stairs. Once in the apartment, the whole thing comes together in 15 minutes without even those little Ikea wrench thingies.

As for comfort and wear, I’m about 6 months in and all is well. My only suggestion is to opt for the “premium” fabric or “pet-proof” fabric. Then again, maybe I just eat too many meals on my couch. Did I mention my apartment is small? A dining table would be a luxury. So check out their site.