By CHRISTINE JALLEH

My story began when my obstetrician advised me to work from home during the last months of pregnancy with my first child. As a communications officer, I was handling media and general enquiries, updating the website, coordinating the translations of reports and managing the project budget.

Could I still do all of this from home?

I already had a study room with a phone, printer, scanner and broadband Internet.

I was also taking most of the conference calls from home since they involved colleagues from various time zones like Argentina, India, Mexico, South Africa, Tokyo, Trinidad and Tobago, the Netherlands, Britain and the United States.

Lastly, I was also used to following up on work from home.

Familiar with teleworking, my supervisors, who were based in the United States and Kenya, fully supported the doctor’s decision.

The institution that hosted our project was also supportive upon the condition that I clock in once a week at the local office.

The first day

I started work an hour earlier – I didn’t need to drive to work and with only a few months left to wrap up project work, I didn’t want my working from home to affect project deadlines.

Working steadily without any distractions, I could have gone on and on if the pregnancy didn’t force me to take short breaks!

At the end of the day, which also ended an hour later, I was satisfied to see that I managed to cross out all the items on my to-do list. Working from home works!

The first month

Working from home was definitely more enjoyable and more productive.

I started work on time as I didn’t have the hassle of dressing up for work or recovering from the commute on the road.

But I was in danger of overworking because I didn’t have colleagues calling in for a chat.

Plus, it started to get a bit lonely when I only had the computer for company!

I was glad the hosting institution required me to clock in at the office once a week as it gave me the chance to catch up with colleagues.

The final month

When the project ended and colleagues around the world emailed or Skype-d me messages for the upcoming birth, many were surprised to hear that I worked from home for the past three months.

That was the best feedback I received because my supervisors and the hosting institution had emphasised that it was “business as usual” even if I was working from home.

Satisfied with a job well done, I signed off and looked ahead to a new beginning as a stay-at-home mother.

Was it the end of working from home? I thought so too until I got an interesting phone call ….

NEXT: Working from home with a baby

Christine Jalleh is a communications consultant and writer. She has worked from home for more than 3 years and survives it by blogging at http://christinejalleh.com (and elsewhere). Her email is christine.jalleh@gmail.com.