| Working from home sounds like a great option doesn't | | | | work space that you can use for your home office? |
| it? Certainly, you can read many articles on the Internet | | | | You will probably find that your best bet to help |
| extolling the virtues of working from home and | | | | separate your work and personal life is to have a |
| probably wish you could park your car in your garage | | | | dedicated work area (ie. a room solely used as your |
| and start telecommuting right away! | | | | home office) to really set out your work space. If you |
| I've worked from home for close to two years now | | | | simply work at the kitchen or dining room table, not |
| and absolutely love it. | | | | only can things get messy quickly it can make it harder |
| This article will not list the benefits of working from | | | | to separate work from home. If you have a room in |
| home. Anyone can quickly figure out on their own that | | | | your house that you can use strictly for work, you'll |
| having no commute, no office politics, flexible work | | | | probably find it easier to walk away from work every |
| hours and closer proximity to your family are just four | | | | night and concentrate on your personal life for a few |
| possible benefits that are achievable when you work | | | | hours! 4. Do you have a job that lends well to working |
| at home. | | | | from home? If you have a job that requires frequent |
| You can figure out the benefits of working from home | | | | meetings or that requires you to work closely with |
| that are important to you without me telling you. | | | | other staff face to face, you might find it difficult to |
| What I believe is more beneficial is a brief discussion of | | | | work from home without having to pop into work |
| what you need to consider before thinking about | | | | frequently which might end up defeating the purpose |
| setting up a home office and working from home. | | | | of telecommuting in the first place. Having said that, |
| These are all things I've experienced and noticed since | | | | your employer will probably help make this distinction |
| I started telecommuting: | | | | with you and working from home several days per |
| 1. Can you balance your work and your personal life? | | | | week to start might be an option you could look at, if |
| In other words, can you easily take off your work hat | | | | possible. 5. Do you need social interaction with other |
| and put your family hat on, and vice versa? It's easy to | | | | people? If you need a great deal of face to face |
| say but sometimes hard to do. I have found it difficult | | | | contact with other people, working from home may |
| at times to leave work behind for the day because | | | | not be in the cards for you. Some people simply need |
| when you work from home, you don't leave the office | | | | the social interaction that working in an office provides |
| to go home as before because you're already there! | | | | and if you do, you might find yourself calling people on |
| Don't underestimate the importance of being able to | | | | the phone for no reason other than to hear someone |
| switch from your work persona to your personal life | | | | else's voice, which can really harm your productivity. 6. |
| persona. It can be hard to do sometimes and can | | | | Are you easily distracted? If working from home |
| cause grief in your personal life. 2. Are you | | | | means that there is a chance you will spend a great |
| self-motivated? Since you won't have your boss or | | | | deal of time watching tv, running personal errands and |
| co-workers to motivate you, you'll have to do it | | | | otherwise wasting time during "work hours" then |
| yourself. Working from home requires someone who | | | | telecommuting might not be for you. Depending on |
| can work on their own without a lot of direct | | | | your job, you will most likely find your powers of |
| supervision. Can you maintain a high level of work | | | | concentration tested every single day. |
| output on your own? 3. Do you have a dedicated | | | | |