Work From Home
From HowTo.Lifehack
Working from home can be great. No commutes. No micromanagement from bosses. You don't even need to get dressed. But working from home can leave you with problems others avoid.
Contents |
Potential Problems
Lack of Discipline
Removing yourself from the office often means removing the office from you. This can result in your discipline taking a nose-dive as you procrastinate important work to sleep in, watch television or answer e-mail for the fiftieth time. This is especially true if your work is on a personal project or a self-run business where you don't directly report to anyone but yourself.
There is no quick-fix for productivity and discipline. All the tools for productivity you could apply at the office apply here as well, just to a greater degree. Here's a couple things you should consider:
- Set working hours. Compress your workday into a specific time frame. This will tell you when it is okay to relax and when you need to work.
- Set daily goals. Set goals for what you need to accomplish each day. I do this myself and it keeps me accountable for what I want to accomplish.
- Know your long-term goals. Figure out what you want to achieve and use that to drive you when working at home.
Lack of Free Time
Work at home tends to blend into everything you do. If you are driven towards a project you might end up working sixteen hour days which are a blend of life and work. Maintain a work-life separation so that work doesn't eat away at your other interests.
- Once again, set working hours. Don't contaminate your free-time with work.
- Balance personal projects with goalless activities. If your work at home consists of a big personal project, balance that with other goalless activities - even if you're already working a full-time job. This will help keep you focused by giving you time to recover your energy.
- Setting up a work only environment can also help by making your home office and the rest of your house distinct.
Lack of Social Life
Has your cat become your only companion since you started working at home? It's time to get out more. Working from home can make social life trickier because you won't naturally bump into your friends. Here are some suggestions for ensuring your home office doesn't become solitary confinement:
- Join organizations. Attend clubs, organizations or events to keep you in social contact. Toastmasters is a great organization for meeting new people, but sports clubs or classrooms can work as well.
- Schedule activities. Get some of the guys over to play poker once a month, or meet up with your friends to see a concert. Get your social circle organized to do things so you can meet up with them regularly.
- Network. Find people in your area who have similar interests or professions. Meet up with a local graphics designer or entrepreneur. Networking can be a great way to spark new connections and they can help out your professional life as well.
Lack of Organization
I'll admit, my natural state is far from organized. It usually takes me a semi-regular organization sessions to keep the chaos at bay. Organization is a crucial skill for working at home. Not only do you need to organize your physical space, but your computer files, documents and tasks lists need to be kept ordered as well.
I'm a follower that says you should organize as much as you need to be productive. Some people will require pristine conditions to keep from getting distracted and to remember where things are. Others will only require a simple organization system for the essentials. Do what works for you.
Benefits
There are benefits to working at home that can be missed if you don't take advantage of them.
Task Discretion
Your biggest advantage would have to be your ability to decide what tasks you should do. Home-based businesses and personal projects give you 100% discretion. Even working a regular job from home can afford you more flexibility with your schedule.
This can be a double-edged sword. Your ability to decide what tasks you can do also means you can pick less valuable tasks or waste time with minutia. Take steps to ensure you are maximizing your ability to choose your to-do list.
- Connect to the bigger picture. Every task you do should be connected to longer range goals. If the value of a task doesn't extend much beyond a few days, why are you doing it?
- Important not urgent. Cut out tasks that appear urgent but have little importance.
- Triage. Focus where you have the greatest impact. Don't waste time on tasks where investing time or energy won't make a difference.
Distractions
This can go both ways. At home you have more control over your environment. This means that you might be able to work in a zen garden of silence and meditative focus. Or you might have kids screaming, phones ringing and insensitive house members blaring music and television while you work.
- Do Not Disturb. When you work, put a "Do Not Disturb" sign on your door to keep out walk in visitors.
- Use the Answering Machine. Unless answering the phone is part of your job, get the machine to pick up calls that aren't work-related. If it is important they can call back and it can keep you from getting unsettled when trying to work.
- Unplug the Net. Your worst distractions are right in front of you. Unplug the internet or make sure you don't log onto distractions.
Tips and Tricks
General
- Find ways to motivate yourself. In an office situation, you have a supervisor and co-workers who motivate you to complete your work but when you are working at home, you only have yourself to push you to succeed.
- Realize what are the consequences if you don't actually work.
- Maintaining a professional attitude. Keeping your interactions businesslike will ensure that the client does not begin to doubt the amount or quality of work that is being put into their projects.
- Considering hiring a day care provider. Those who have young children may find it difficult to attend to the needs of their children while fulfilling their job obligations.
- Avoid interruption. Be clear to your family that you have a set work hour that require concentration. Set aside a dedicated time for them.
- Begin with a question - "What do I need to produce to add value?", then follow it faithfully.
- You don't have a manager so plan your objectives and goals which you could measure how successful you are at work.
Environment
- Set up a functional workspace. Set up your space so that it contains all of the necessary equipment.
- Decorate the workspace so that it is aesthetically appealing, but try to keep distractions to a minimum.
- Avoid putting entertainment or relaxing furniture or accessories in your work area. This will ensure a clear separation between working and resting. Having a radio (or other music) in the area is O.K., though, to help establish a "workspace" feel.
- Have a door to separate your work and your home life.
- A good chair will help because all of your work will be around your desk, instead of working in an office where your work will be in different places (meeting rooms, hallway discussion, etc).
- Maintain a very well defined work space, like in a separate room.
- Make yourself feel like working. When you wake up, bathe, shave, and wear something other than your pajamas. Of course, if you're like Hugh Hefner, your work clothes ARE your pajamas. At least mentally, however, put on your work clothes attitude, to keep your mind focused on work.
- Computer and communication tools: As you are working remotely, make sure you have multiple ways for people to contact you. Make sure you have a good set of computer equipment and reliable Internet access you will need it. Have a backup plan for when your primary Internet connection is down. Broadband [cable, DSL, T1 (if you can afford a dedicated T1 line, why are you working from home?)] would be preferred to dial-up, otherwise you will spend more time up- and down-loading large files than you do working on them; and your time = your money. Therefore, time wasted downloading multi-MB files on dial-up = time lost to making money.
Time and Tasks
- Establishing a working schedule. Having regularly scheduled hours when you work will help you to be more efficient during these times. Be sure to schedule work time as well as break times so that you will not become overwhelmed.
- Avoid working too many hours. In an office there is a clear signal to the end of the day as other employees start to leave the office for the day but at home employees sometimes have difficulty ending their day.
- Start working at the same time. Make sure take this seriously--treat work-from-home as a regular office job.
- Avoid volunteering for too many activities. While you may want to help your friends and family members, it is important to make it clear that your work is just as important as theirs and that you have obligations to take care of each day.
- Create a routine. Start the day with a nice breakfast and workout, and start your work day immediately.
See also
Work At Home Jobs A listing of available work at home jobs
