Working from home each day-- with little contact with the outside world (street crazies aside) -- people often ask me how I can stand to be alone so much for the time. The answer? I love it. I love having my own mental space to think, to create, to dream. I love not being interrupted, and most of all, I love the silence. I'd happily withdraw to a cave in the side of a hill and eke out my life eating snails (with garlic and wine).
Okay, so I'm exaggerating a bit. I'd miss Mr TR, of course, and chatting to my friends. But all it takes is one shunt on the Tube in close contact with another sweaty commuter, and my cavewoman dream doesn't seem so far-fetched.
What about you? Do you dream sweet hermit dreams? Have a great weekend!
Ohmigosh - i totally connect with you on this one. My family's nickname for me is 'The Hermit'. And I like being that way. I hate having to drag myself out of my comfort zone cave.(I wouldnt eat snails though...my cave would be stocked wth vanilla ice cream and red jello.)
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your blog!
I'm the complete opposite. I love to have people around me, even when writing. I find I work better in a library or other communal work space. If I give extended periods at home, alone, my personality actaully changes a little and I begin to get a bit whimsical and random when I am around people again!
ReplyDeleteOh, yes. I'd be right there in the cave with you, if that didn't defy the purpose. I love my me-time, and cursed be anyone that takes it away from me. Even if it is my dear, beloved family that I adore spending time with... I'm currently so starved for proper aloneliness that I seriously consider renting a hotel room for a couple of nights, just so I can sit there without anyone bothering me (okay, I'm not SERIOUSLY considering it, but that's a money issue not a social issue...)
ReplyDeleteI've worked at home for about nine years now and there are major upsides, but not having anyone to speak to all day means that my poor wife suffers at least an hour of non-stop babble from me as soon as she walks through the door!
ReplyDeleteThere are other weirdnesess too, like struggling to speak on the phone because the person who has called you is the first person you've spoken to for seven hours!
I love the solitude of being a writer -and it's easier to go out and find company than it is to escape from close contact that's been forced on you by circumstances.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea. I used to hate my own company for long periods of time, but now I enjoy it and have lots of ways that I can fill the solitude. :O)
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteHow did you guess? That's me! I can lock the main gates and no one can get past to motor down the driveway. The postie has his own box, and delivery men toot horns if necessary to alert the hound. Best of all, my nearest neighbours (farmers)are two and three fields distant! Pure bliss!!!!
best
F
I couldn't agree more. The best part of being a writer is being able to lock yourself away from the world. Let's hear it for the hermits!
ReplyDeleteI think I already live like one! LOL. I love hermit life. So nice not having to report to anyone!
ReplyDeleteJessica @ The Alliterative Allomporph
Talli,
ReplyDeleteI am so with you there...the days just glide by when I'm at home accompanied by silence; ahhhh!
Definitely, yes! I love my quiet, alone time.
ReplyDeleteI definitely need my space. But I need people too...a healthy mix of both I guess. If I don't have enough alone time I get cranky. Everyone is happier if I get a little space on a regular basis.
ReplyDeleteIn the words of the bestest and most iconic of Hermits that ever lived:
ReplyDelete"I vant to be alone".
:-) Take care
x
I love my own company. Not sure about the cave idea, especially not the eating snails bit!
ReplyDeleteI homeschool my kids and I love being with them most of the time, but those rare moments when I can be a hermit are really cherished.
ReplyDeleteI love being a hermit, I get just enough of others at work and the stables, but then I can come home, lock the door and be in my own world, wonderful :-)
ReplyDeleteI could stay in and it wouldn't worry me in the least, but living alone one has to eat.
ReplyDeleteHave a good week-end.
Yvonne.
Hermit does get a bad rap. There's nothing like alone time.
ReplyDeleteMason
Thoughts in Progress
After a long stressful day at work alone time is welcoming, but I don't think I could be a hermit! Although, I do like being alone with myself, but I do need to get out and do stuff!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I definitely like being home alone and left alone!! After working for myself for several years, I do not miss the workplace drama at all!! I listen to others complain about so and so and I am so happy to not have that crap!
ReplyDeleteSo recognisable, especially after I replaced 'snails' with chocolate! :-)
ReplyDeleteI too could be a hermit. As it is I'm definitely a recluse. Don't know if that's bad or good, but I've been this way most of my life.
ReplyDeleteHermit how lovely you are. I wish I had one day, just one day to be truely alone!!!!
ReplyDeleteHey Talli ~~ my first visit to your blog ! I prefer the solitude of my own company , although I can and do socialise on quite a big scale (it's work-related , though ...)
ReplyDeleteI have always been more of an introvert than extrovert .
~MICHELLE~
http://writer-in-transit.co.za/category/other/rambles-rants-and-raves/
Oh honey, I didn't leave my house yesterday and it was heaven! I think because I normally have so much contact with people through work, I really relish days of solitude.
ReplyDeleteAs a jr. high teacher, I'm overwhelmed by noise and human interaction every day. So when I have a Saturday like today to be a hermit and write and drink vanilla chai lattes, I relish it.
ReplyDeleteI'm *so* with you on this one. Give me a quiet afternoon in my house any day of the week.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you! I'm not a fan of crowds. Even when it's a crowd of friends/loved ones, after a while, I need my quiet, my alone time.
ReplyDeleteI could easily be a part time hermit/recluse. Yep, that would be me-the reclusive crazy cat lady who writes weird stuff and has tons of money, ha!
...as writers we all need to be comfortable with "hermit time." One simply can not ink the next Pulitzer, while inviting the neighborhood over for nightly drinks and gossip:)
ReplyDeleteEL
I work with 30 children every day and there are certainly many moments when I would love to be locked away by myself.
ReplyDeleteI also just wanted to say, I bought 24 Hours London and it has been a great help with my A-Z Challenge on my London blog, Girl About Town...thank you :)
This is so great :) I'm definitely a hermit. Thanks for sticking up for hermithood!
ReplyDeleteSarah Allen
(my creative writing blog)
i would be a hermit at the drop of a hat :)
ReplyDeleteI'm with you! I have my random times when I really want to go out and have a few cocktails, but for the most part I love to be by myself. Solitude is a beautiful thing.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely dream hermit dreams! Don't get me wrong, I love people and interacting with them but like you, I enjoy my time a lot. It might be a writer pre-requisite. ;)
ReplyDeleteActually - no. People probably think I like to be alone, but I don't. Fortunately, there are plenty of people in my house. ~Miriam
ReplyDeleteI prefer to hide at home as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm a happy hermit too. It's good! As long as I venture outdoors once in a while otherwise I lose the ability to speak to other humans, hehe.
ReplyDeleteSome of my best days are spent at home in my pajamas or in a robe. Gosh do I sound old! Julie
ReplyDeleteSilence is golden! I love being a hermit. You nailed it when you wrote the no interruptions part. I used to love that when I worked from home a few years back.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand, Talli! The world is great and all, but home is where it's at.
ReplyDeleteI love my alone time when I am writing. But I am SO a people person and need human contact often. Right now I'm still in Florida, the person I stay with is out of town on business and I'm alone. I don't know anyone here except a few of her friends, but they have their lives. So I feel a bit lonely..... BUT then I visit my blogging buddies and all is well again.
ReplyDeleteOooer, I like this one Tally!
ReplyDeleteI'm the biggest hermit and my trouble is, I have to MAKE myself get out and about.
My hubby thinks it's not normal. But I like my own company and on occasions when the family/noise gets too much, I crave to be alone.
There's a huge difference between solitude and being lonely.
xx
Teaching requires me to interact with other people, but working with students in the classroom is the best part of the job. But I also like working on my graduate research and fiction writing on my own; a lot of the time I prefer solitude because then I can do what I want when I want. I also happen to get easily annoyed by other people on a regular basis. :)
ReplyDeleteI like people. I even like socializing :) but I prefer solitude. I'm never lonely. So many people confuse the two. Solitude is heaven!
ReplyDeleteI'm an extrovert, and I love being around people, but I work from home one day a week, and I love my chance to hermit it up!
ReplyDeleteConsidering all those who agree (myself, included), we may actually be a world of too much closeness and non-stop communication that makes us dream of time, alone, if we don't have it. I worked from my home my entire business life and wouldn't have traded it for the world... good post.
ReplyDeleteHello, fellow A-Z Challenger! Here's my latest entry. Come visit either of my blogs when you can and leave some comment love:
H is for Hospitals in the A-Z Blogging Challenge
http://rockinchairreflections.blogspot.com (A-Z)
http://www.mainstreamsolarcooking.com
Twitter: @SolarChief
I'm with you...100%. I used to think I was a bit of a misfit until I read "Party of One--The Loners' Manifesto" by Anneli Rufus. Now I'm not only independent...but proud of it.
ReplyDeleteI am a hermit once or twice a week. I need that time.
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm trying to write I wish I could be a hermit and get away from all the kid/hubby related distractions. But I also love my job working with kids all day.
ReplyDeleteI like having alone time too. I love being with people, but I can't be surrounded by people all the time. It zaps my energy. I need some time to collect my thoughts and be by myself to rejuvenate!
ReplyDeleteMy tarot reading suggest I need to be a hermit for a while to accomplish my goals. Since one of them is to finish this A-Z challenge, AND try to read many fab blogs, like yours, it's dead-on!
ReplyDeleteIt's rough having to interact with peops on THEIR sched, whether we're in the mood or not, but... gotta deal with it, at least for now. Thanks for a cool post.
Happy hermit here! :D
ReplyDeleteI like my Me time; If I don't get it, well then I'm the bear in the cave~ I can so relate! Pass the garlic~
ReplyDeleteI agree! I enjoy being at home, I wouldn't want to shut myself off from the world entirely, but I do love the days when I have no place to be, even better when I have 2 or 3 in a row.
ReplyDeleteOh man, I love being a hermit. I'm happy in my space, with my computer, my cats, and my books. I can only stand so much of a crowd before I'm ready to retreat.
ReplyDeleteOMG. I am so a hermit. Of course, working in a busy supermarket does push one towards solitude!
ReplyDeleteEllie Garratt
I totally agree - silence is golden! Working from home is the BEST thing that's ever happened, and proved to be my most contructive and creative advantage over my previous 9-5 existence. Until, that is, my little daughter Emma arrived 3 weeks ago. Silence shattered.... Need a cave of my own now! :o)
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean - as long as I was allowed to take a Gaggia with me, I'd be there!!!
ReplyDeleteI love long periods of silence, crave them in fact... but rarely get them - I can't stand crowds... Have a fab weekend
Lx
I am an introvert, and I do best alone. My husband and my son are all the stimulation I can take these days. If I won the lottery I would probably never leave my house again. I would just have everything brought to me!
ReplyDeleteThese days I've been dreaming about being home alone writing, while everyone else is at work and school. So yes, I am a part-time hermit too.
ReplyDeleteSo jealous of the gorgeous day you had yesterday! I love being a hermit too, but I wonder - especially since you've taught - how do you handle the promotional side of authorship? I'm terrified of standing up in front of crowds!
ReplyDeleteI kind of think I'm something of a hermit... there are certainly days when I'm isolated from others.
ReplyDeleteI'm a hermit for a good part of the day. And I love being outside. Bur as a writer much of my time is spent plopped down on my bum typing away.
ReplyDeleteI'm so jealous. My fantasy is to live alone in a shack by the beach and bum around and do what I like (something most women don't get to do as we're always 'nurturing' someone.) My reality's not too bad either but a bit crowded at times and always on call.
ReplyDeleteDenise<3
L'Aussie Travel Blog A-Z Challenge I is for Ibiza
I work from home and love it too. The only thing that bugs me is the phone ringing with sales calls. I've stopped answering the phone at all. But it still nags at me in the background.
ReplyDeleteI also love being by myself. So working from homw is a dream come true for me!
ReplyDeleteI 100% agree with you!
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in the States my fave thing to do on my day off was take a book to the beach, and when I'd tell people the next day they'd be incredulous that I'd even dream of doing such a thing on my own. I love having the day to myself and although sometimes I miss working 9-5 (not very often mind you; mainly things like the office Christmas party!) I will never ever go back unless I have to.
When people say they can't stand their own company, I think, "Maybe they're not as good company as me!" ;-D
There are only a couple of things that I enjoy more than time alone to write or think about writing. Of course, without the time alone I wouldn't be able to enjoy the other things as much as I do :) because I'd be too busy fighting my compusion to write.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with you more!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, particularly since my house is loud, loud, loud when my kids are home!
ReplyDeleteI'm totally the same; definitely a hermit! I love my own space, peace and quiet, just having me to worry about.
ReplyDeleteCJ xx
I'm a proud hermit (freelancer) and wouldn't trade it for the world (sweaty commuters, ew). :)
ReplyDeleteI'm an occasional hermit, and don't mind being one. And if you internet, being a temporary hermit can be heaven!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree! Give me a writing cave with internet access and coffee and I'm thrilled!
ReplyDeleteI love the hermit life. DH potters in an out, but on the whole, I am left alone.
ReplyDeleteI love my alone time. I don't usually get a whole lot of it, so it makes me appreciate it (and your post) all the more.
ReplyDeleteUm - you've just described how I love to live, I can quite happily close the door and not speak to anyone for ages, it doesn't feel lonely to me - it comes naturally to me ... provided I have internet access of course (now that I couldn't live without *I don't want to think about it* lol :)
ReplyDelete