What Does It Take To Work From Home?
First, let's take a look at the Pro's and Con's of working from home.
Advantages
- No daily drive to the Office. Huge savings on gas and maintenance on your vehicle.
- No Office politics to deal with
- Working hours are flexible
- Able to control your work schedule
- Some tax advantages - you may be able to write off many things you use around the house anyway, like computers, printers, Internet service as well as some of your Utilities. Check with your CPA.
- Work from homers can become bored or lonely. This by itself can be a distraction.
- No immediate tech support should you need it
- It can be hard for many to separate work from home life
- You have to be a self motivated person and be organized to be productive
What type of People Succeed At Home?
The type of people who succeed at working from home are those who are self motivated. If you're the type of person who oversleeps all the time or constantly running late for work, then working from home is probably not for you.
It's been my experience, by way of working with hundreds of people who work from home, that working from home tends to multiply bad and good habits.
A person who isn't motivated or who needs constant reinforcement from co-workers, will be negatively affected when working at home. If your Boss is constantly having to kick you in the pants to get you to do your job, you'll fail miserably at home. The same is true is you're the computer Solitaire champ at the Office. Sorry, that's just the brutal truth.
The opposite is true also. A person who is already motivated to go out and succeed will need no prodding to go out and make things happen.
Before making the switch from working at home and giving up your day job, sit down and take a long hard look at yourself. Make a list of your bad work habits as well as a list of your good ones.
Tips For Working At Home
Check with your company about doing your job from home. Surprisingly, many companies have programs that will allow employees to work from home, while others have limited programs. For example, they may require you to come into work only two days a week and the rest you can do at home. It's worth checking into.
If your company doesn't offer such a program, why not go out and see if you can find another company in your industry that does offer such a program? With the price of gas these days, even working from home a few days a week can really add up to big savings.
Dress for success. Forget about slinking around your home all day in your bathrobe. Working from home isn't much different that going into the Office. Studies have shown that work at homers who still get dressed as if they're going into work are more productive and more efficient than those who drag around in their underwear all day. It's something about getting ready to go to work that affects our productivity.
Get rid of the distractions! Staying at home to take care of Kids and trying to work from home at the same time seldom works (no pun intended). The same can be said if your friends and family are constantly calling because they know you're at home now. Remember, you still have to WORK in order to get paid!
If you're not organized, get that way! Even if you have to hire an organizer. Studies have proven that organized people are more productive than slobs. (I fit the slob category once also...before I worked at home!)
Hey, I never said working from home was all work and no play. Just sit down and structure your work day. If you start working more hours from home than you did in the Office, then working from home isn't a huge benefit!
Make time for networking, especially if you're self employed. Networking keeps you in touch with others in the same industry. A nice lunch or Coffee break with other like minded professionals keeps the job fun.
Do a reality check on your equipment. If you're still working on a Windows 95 computer from the stone age, think about upgrading. That doesn't mean run out and charge up your cards replacing your 2 year old computer, but old computers, printers and other equipment can have a direct affect on your productivity. Not to mention the risk of a computer crash with older equipment. If you're still on dial-up and Cable or DSL is available in your area, consider upgrading, especially if your job requires Internet access. Not only will you get things done on the Internet faster, but it will more than likely be a tax write off since you use it for business.
Create a functional workspace. This could be thrown into the "get organized" category, but I don't consider them to be the same. A well laid out work area will greatly enhance your productivity. Set aside one whole room of the house for your business if you can. If you've ever worked in a cubicle, then you should have some idea of how to organize your work space to be efficient. Even if you're working from a Niche in your home, arrange your work area to be productive!
Think about hiring a daycare to care for Lil' Johnny. Sure, everyone thinks they can stay at home and take care of the Kids too. Many can't. Most of the time, Kids are a big distraction. If they aren't making too much noise, they're too quiet causing you to have to get up and see what they're up to. If you worked in an Office, you'd more than likely have to have daycare, treat this as no difference.
Fend off the Time Thieves. It's amazing how many people think you have all the time in the World when you work from home. Friends will call to see if you have time to go to the Mall, Family will call to see if you can do errands, and the list goes on. In fact, I've known many people who worked from home that had to sit down and tell friends and family that "Hey, I may be working from home, but I'm still working!"
Working from home can be rewarding and increase your quality of life. But it's not for everyone, no matter how bad they want it to be true. Follow these work at home tips to help you make a smooth transition.
