Work From Home
Not every one is capable of doing work from home. Anyone can start work from home but only a few succeed and are able to maintain and sustain this alternative source of income. In light of this, here are some recommendations which you can apply if you work from home or if you have plans to work from home.
Not every one is capable of doing work from home. Anyone can start work from home but only a few succeed and are able to maintain and sustain this alternative source of income. In light of this, here are some recommendations which you can apply if you work from home or if you have plans to work from home.
- Schedule.
- Creating a schedule is a good way for developing time management skills, and helps improves yourself to be well-organized and become a self-starter. The fact is that work from home release us from the traditional 9-to-5 or 8-to-5 schedule but working without any structure can seriously hurt your productivity according to entrepreneurs Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson in their book "Remote: Office Not Required." The recommendation is to divide your workday into three sessions, if possible, arranged to your liking: a "catch up" time to go through emails and read the news, a "collaboration" period when you work with coworkers on projects or talk about planning with your manager, and a "serious work" time when you get through the most difficult assignments of the day. Setting up a schedule makes it easier to maintain a distinction between your professional and personal lives.
- Savings.
- Even though you are working from home, you must consider saving part of your earnings to have a buffer in case of emergencies. Learn to have a savings goal by having a target amount of savings so that you will be motivated to save.
- Skills.
- Improve your technical skills because technical help is not always around when you encounter technical problems. You are left to your own devices if you encounter a technical glitch and you may be left alone wondering what to do. There are also some free and some paid softwares you can use for giving presentations and are really useful for you to become conversant such as Web-based meeting programs like GoToMeeting, Cisco WebEx, Join.me, TeamViewer or Google+ Hangouts.
- Paperwork.
- Get the proper business paperwork, with emphasis on "proper", especially for those who have small home business operations, proper tax registrations, business and occupational licenses and permits from different agencies are needed to operate legally. Also, you need to pay taxes in order to avoid future problems with tax agencies.
- Insurance.
- Do not forget about insurance. Try to find out the regulations regarding home business insurance because you also need to protect your valuable equipment against theft or injury to yourself.
- Dress.
- Get dressed. Although business attire is not necessary, you still need to work using a decent dress and not pajamas. Choose something that makes you feel good. Wear colors such as yellow, orange, and purple which reflect creative auras and has psychological benefits. This is another way for you to have boundaries between work and relaxation.
- Workspace.
- Find a workspace. Designate a room exclusively for your office or workspace. If this is not feasible, then find a corner or other empty space that will serve as a workspace for you. Whatever you do, never bring work to bed. The best work-at-home jobs are often ones that demand a quiet space where there are few distractions. Try to make the "area" for purposes of work only.
- Out.
- Go out and work outside. Try to change the aura of work occasionally by going to the nearest coffee shop, bookstore, library, or park which is especially effective for boosting your creativity level.
- Socialize.
- In person, if you have extra time, get off the computer, put your phone away, and socialize. Participate in conferences, retreats, seminars, workshops or meet up with friends for coffee or lunch.
- Network.
- Network electronically by getting active in Social Media groups like LinkedIn groups that relate to your work, employer, alma mater, past employers, or other interests that suits you. You can comment on posts and add your own two cents which shows a part of your expertise and gives you a virtual feeling of being connected to a community. But be careful of photos that you posts because it might be use unknowingly by others and might lead to you being scrutinize by others.
- Creativity.
- Routine is a slow process of creative suicide and in order to avoid boring yourself to death, try to develop a new technique for your routine by downloading a new software, decorating your workspace, calling instead of e-mailing, discovering a potential partnership, reading books, attending workshops or taking on an intimidating challenge which can get your creative juices overflowing again.
- Break.
- Take a break. A break is one of the biggest advantage you have if you work from home. Sitting for long periods of time without a pause is personally and profesionally unhealthy. Try to go for a walk, have lunch at the table, reserve an hour for reading magazines or newspapers or prepare your dinner. Never take a break that consist of more screen time. It's not good for your eyes. It's bad for your health. Try to relax. Get some fresh air. Walking rejuvenates us and stretching helps boost our energy. If you are tempted to do a mid-afternoon nap, if you have a budget, consider working at a local coffee shop or library. According to the book "Remote: Office Not Required" by the entrepreneurs Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, "It sounds counterintuitive, but the presence of other people, even if you don't know them, can fool your mind into thinking that being productive is the only proper thing to do."
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| The Book "Remote: Office Not Required" available at Amazon |
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