Working From Home 101

*Originally published on 8/11/10



Self employment is often cited as the American dream. Many people choose to start their own small business, while others make their home their workplace. It sounds like a perfect setup, you work your own hours, so you can get things done at your own pace and kick back when the urge strikes you, sadly, a lot of the preconceptions about working from home are just that. If you want to work from home, there are a lot of things that you will want to take into consideration before you make the leap.

The first thing you'll want to do is have a savings cushion tucked away. The income, alas, is not steady, so you'll want something in the bank to make sure that you can pay your bills when they come in. The cushion is important, but it's important to stay ahead of it and do everything in your power to make sure you have money coming in so that you don't deplete your savings.

One thing that is frequently brought up when talking about working from home is lounging in your pajamas all day. A lot of people say that this is ill advised. I, however, have to go against that and say that you should. It's one of the perks of the job. By their logic, you shouldn't listen to music while you work or have a cold, tasty beverage on hand while you're working. As long as you work, it doesn't matter what you're wearing...wow that sounds dirty. No, seriously, if you're comfortable and are capable of sitting down and getting everything done that you need to get done, there's no harm in working in your pajamas. Now, if lounging in your pajamas keeps you in that lounge mindset, then yes, go ahead and put on work clothes. The key is that you need to feel ready to work.

One of the perks of working from home is that you set your own hours. If you're a night owl, or are suffering from insomnia, you can get work done without having to worry about clocking in or dealing with office hours. The downside is that this can result in procrastination. This can be especially bad if there are other people around as they can see your work as something that can be done later, resulting in them asking you to do various tasks.

As such, one of the best ways to get work done is to close out the outside world. You can close yourself off in a bedroom or office, or get a good set of headphones. This helps eliminate distractions as well as help you stay focused on whatever task you need to do. A lot of people suggest that you stay away from the television when working. Much like the pajamas, as long as you can actually work with the television on, there is no problem. Although, I would suggest keeping the television off for your standard 8 hour "shift" and then if you want to watch tv and work, do it then, this way you get the best of both worlds.

While you set your own hours, you need to work those hours. If you work from home on a computer, the lure of email, twitter, or other websites will prove quite tempting. I find that breaks aren't such a good idea as you lose momentum. I also find that the day can fly by if you let it, so what may've started out as a half hour break will suck up your entire afternoon if you don't watch yourself.

Habit is very important. If you take a month off after quitting to just unwind, you'll find it hard to get back into the work mindset. It's important to start working early so that you can reinforce the habit nice and early so that your work ethic is as strong as it possibly can be.

You should also be ready to put in more than the standard amount of hours. If you enjoy what you're doing, it'll be a moot point, but just because you're working from home doesn't mean that it's free time to relax.

If you find something that allows you to make money from home, you'll want to start before you actually quit your day job. By viewing it as a second job, you can establish yourself so that you have a better chance of pulling in enough money to make a living.

Working from home is quite great, there's no commute and the hours are flexible. It can be a fun gig, but it's still a job and it is important to view it as such. It's easy to get distracted by everything else, but just as it would be put off if you were working an office or retail job, you need to have the discipline to the same when working from home.