Working online at home is a great way to earn a living.  There are many, many benefits for all kinds of people who either cannot go out to work, or choose not to.  There is no commuting, no traffic jams, no suits & ties, no boss, no staff meetings – and you get to choose the brand of coffee you drink!

 
Sounds good huh?  Well, it is.  But of course, there are some downsides to working at home.  Besides the obvious loss of guaranteed monthly paycheck, there are distractions (from children, friends, deliveries etc), the responsibility (it’s all down to you, now – you don’t get paid for hanging round the water fountain), the loneliness (no staff room giggles) and the inevitable merging of home and business life.

 For me, these disadvantages do not go anywhere near outweighing the advantages, but all the same, they can be a problem.  I have been self employed for five years now, and I have found the following systems work for me. 

 1.  Time Management.  It’s important that you have a definite system of work.  Whether your business is part-time or full time, you need to designate the hours you are going to spend on it.  Put together a weekly timetable that suits your own lifestyle and family life. 

 2.  Friends and Family.  No matter how supportive your nearest and dearest may be about your home business, they can sometimes forget that you are actually working, and not just sitting at home available to take their calls!  Make sure they know the times that you are unavailable for all but emergency calls, and give them some suitable times when you would welcome their call. 

 3.  Discipline.  It can be difficult going from a job where you had to arrive on time, and leave at a specific time.  Now, there’s no-one to give you a punctuality warning or tell you off.  But you must remember that there is no guaranteed pay any more.  You will have to discipline yourself to get the work done.  Make sure you keep to your designated timetable.  If you find this difficult, you need to find something to motivate you.  Visualise how your world will be when your business is successful; keep a note on your desk that will remind you why you are doing this: a wealthy retirement?  Your kids’ future?  Four holidays a year?  Make it something that will get you out of bed every morning.

 4.  Prioritise – When you only have yourself to keep you in line, it’s all too easy to get side-tracked by jobs that are not that important.  Make sure that you have a to-do list system.  What works for me is a daily to-do list of things that I need to do EVERY day (e.g. work on articles, answer emails etc), and then a master to-do list (written in order of priority) of things to do once I’ve completed my daily tasks.  To save yourself from being distracted by a job or task that suddenly occurs to you, write it into your to-do list or diary instead of trying to do it straight away.

4.  Support Network – The thing most people miss when they start working at home is the camaraderie of working with other people.   If you work at home online, you will spend a lot of time alone.  I find the best remedy for this is to join some online forums within your field where you can share your thoughts and opinions, ask for advice and have a laugh.  I have made many friends on online forums and I wouldn’t do without them. 

 5.  Exercise – Spending all your time hunched over a computer keyboard is not good for your health.  Make sure you have some kind of daily exercise or stretch-out, such as yoga, or a regular visit to the gym. 

 6.  Switch Off – When you work at home, the division between work and home life can become blurred.  It is important that you switch off from your work life once you have finished for the day.  Find something to do between work and leisure/housework/family time that will help you to switch from one to the other, such as taking the dog for a walk, doing your exercise session or whatever works for you.  This will help you to keep your mind off work for the rest of the day.

Making the leap from employment to working online at home is exciting, but it can also be daunting.  If you use the tips above and keep a positive outlook, it will make the switch a lot easier, and you will be able to enjoy all the benefits of working at home and never look back!

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