Tuesday

Working from Home – Nightmare or Dream Come True?


You’ve reached the top, the ultimate in freedom! Free from the burden of ties and skirts and pantyhose – you get to telecommute!  So what it’s only one day a week, you have to start somewhere.  Is it easy? Of course!  Is it better than going into the office?  It doesn’t get any better than this!  Is it practical? What a stupid question. . .

Or is it? 

My first stint working from home proved to me that teleworking isn’t all it’s made out to be.   Those cozy pictures of the woman working in her PJs, baby in her lap, dog at her feet and a smile as big as Texas. . .definitely a paid actress.   There are many things that HAVE to be considered when working from home, and I’m going to help you out so that you don’t have to go through the trail-and-error stage that so many of us endured. 



CareeRealism.com had a great article with 14 tips for Working from Home, and I am going to highlight those that I have found are especially useful:

  • Understand your employer’s expectations – This can’t be emphasized enough!  When you have already established rapport in the office that is great – your employer is already familiar with your work ethic.  But if not. . . then there is the possibility of some major misunderstandings.  Be sure that you both clearly know what is expected and keep communication open. 
  • Do all that you can to meet and exceed your employer’s expectations.
  • Set up a comfortable, separate space for your work area. This is vital.  My first work at home job was in my bedroom and I found that I couldn’t get a good night’s rest because my job was there staring me in the face!  Also, working in a busy living room or a messy kitchen doesn’t do anything toward having a “productive” state of mind. 
  • Set boundaries with your family and friends.  When you work from home, family seems to interpret this as not working at all.  And that can be bad. . .real bad.  Communicate well with your family regarding your type of work, work hours and what you need from them during this time “on the clock”.
  • Schedule daily and weekly breaks.   As CareeRealism puts it “Many home workers find they spend too much time at the computer which can decrease overall productivity. Schedule breaks into your day. Take a regular lunch (at any time you want – no one is watching!) and stand up and walk around periodically.”  I personally found myself working  5-10 hours non-stop.  In front of a computer, that is not good for your eyes and being seated for that long is definitely not good for your body.   Take a break – you deserve it!
  • Understand your work style.  Tackle your hardest task at your mentally-best part of the day.  Keep track, be organized.  Or else you will end up frustrated from working hours and accomplishing nothing!
  • Take care of yourself.  People assume that someone working from home is “pampered” but that is rarely the case.  More often than not, we work twice as hard than when we are in the office.  

Ok - so there you have it.  Enough about what I think – what do you think?  What types of challenges have you overcome working from home and what advice would you give to a newby?

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