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Working from home can sound like the holy grail to many folks, especially if you work in a cubicle somewhere. Yet whether you get the opportunity to work from home as part of an arrangement with your employer or YOU are your own employer, you need to be conscious of your choices and focused to reap the benefits. Some of the biggest challenges include things like: distractions, urge to goof off, urge to work nonstop, meeting customer/employer expectations, dealing with technology requirements/problems, and creating a physical space conducive to work.
Working from home can work out splendidly and be a win-win all around, but only if you set yourself up to succeed. That takes some planning and conscious decision making. I know personally I have had the opportunity to work from home both as an employee and now as a self-employed business owner. I have been successful at both but also faced challenges that needed to be overcome.
I have noticed a little different mindset between the two. When I worked for someone else I felt a lot of stress that came from managers feeling like they needed to keep tabs on anyone working remotely. They treated it like something to be discouraged and that couldn't be trusted. So, I would find myself worrying about when I was logged on, for how long, how many emails or phone calls I made whether I needed to be doing that or not to meet my agreed upon deliverables. With my employers there was a level of appearance that needed to be maintained regardless of results. This facade that had to be maintained and the grief one took for being "privileged" to work remotely was one thing that made even a good deal feel crappy. Far from a results mentality.
On the other hand, working for oneself is a whole different ballgame. No one at all is monitoring your degree of focus, commitment, or delivery. However, if you don't get efficient, productive, and accountable you will quickly find yourself out of business. So the biggest challenge I have found is that between wanting to be available and successful while also creating a strong boundary and space for my personal life. That is, establishing a clear line between "being at work" and "being at home" when the office IS at home.
I know what works for me, but everyone is different. So, I went to the web to see what some of the best tips and strategies are for working from home.
I liked this article "Setting up Your Day for Work at Home Success" as much for its conscious intention for setting up your day as for this tip of advice:
The one thing you should savor is the thirty second commute to work. If you previously worked outside the home, any time spent on getting to and from work is now newfound time. This found time is yours. Use it as your gift to yourself to do with as you wish.
I have to say many days I totally fall short on this one. Sometimes I savor that extra time, but often I find I fritter it away and find myself rushing from breakfast to the desk. Of course considering I used to eat my breakfast AT my cubicle, perhaps it is an improvement!
Handling distractions is a key skill for anyone who works from home. Focus can be a challenge for anyone at work, but when the TV, errands, laundry, pets, children, and interruptions from friends and family beckon it can be even more challenging. I pride myself on being very disciplined and responsible. I've simply built habits over the years that make it natural for me to be productive versus say killing time on unimportant things. Yet even I can find it difficult to focus when my attention turns to the nice weather outside or the number of personal things I could start doing instead.
One of the best things I can recommend for managing distractions is to take control. YOU hold the power to hit the delete key for irrelevant emails, turn off the phones to limit interruptions, and generally move away from the things that are pulling your attention. It is not uncommon for me to turn off all the phones, shut down email, turn on some good music, and just start plowing through work. It is pure focus time and allows
