What Do You Need to Succeed as a Home Based Worker?

Are you in a rut when it comes to work? Maybe you wake up on Monday morning and wonder how you’re ever going to make it through the week. It can be difficult, many of us feel by the time we get home from work we have no time to do anything other than eat, sleep and do it all again. Not only could it be your job that’s not satisfying you, but if you have a long commute then this adds extra hours to travel and lots of stress into your week as well. With zero flexibility usually available in standard workplaces, you might find yourself missing out on important events and wondering what’s the point in earning money if you don’t ever have the time to spend and enjoy it. Have you considered that working from home might be the answer to some of these problems? Not only do you have more flexibility but there’s no commute needed. You can fit your job around your life, rather than your life around your job and for some people it can make them so much happier. But what do you need to do to succeed? Here are some ideas.

An office setup

When you’re working from home, you can pretty much work anywhere you like as you work through your tasks. On the sofa, in bed, maybe even sat in the garden with a drink and your laptop on your knee. In all honesty you can do this from time to time, after all, working from home does give you flexibility and you can do things on your own terms. However, for the most part it makes much more sense to create an office set up and work from there the majority of the time. The first reason for this is that it helps to create a boundary between work and home, when your entire home is potentially a work zone, it can be quite tricky to ‘switch off’ at the end of the day. Your bed becomes your second office rather than just a place to sleep, you might find yourself feeling like you need to catch up on emails while you’re sitting on the sofa with the family or at the dinner table on your phone. If you keep these areas as generally work- free zones it really does help you to set the boundaries in you mind of work and home. You don’t want to feel as though your work day is all day, every day. Some time to switch off fully and relax enables you to return with fresh eyes and a new perspective on any problems or issues you come up against. Keep your environment clean, tidy and organised. The right storage systems will ensure you can find all of your documents when you need them, and regular deep cleans help to avoid toxins and pollutants that can make indoor air dangerous. 

A Schedule

Because of everything mentioned above, as well as having a set working area it can also be helpful to have set working hours. Flexibility is one of the best things about working from home, if you need to pop out midday or deal with another commitment one afternoon then you can- and simply make up the time later on. However, you don’t want to be working all over the place all the time since this can affect productivity. It can give your life structure by setting your working hours, for most people standard office hours of nine to five tend to suit. It’s not to say you can’t deviate from them if you want or need to, but knowing (for the most part) that you’ll be buckling down and getting things done during those hours can be helpful.

Discipline

Discipline is something we all need in our adult lives. Unfortunately we can’t just do what we want, when we want- and having the discipline to get up, turn up and grind each day is what will get us towards our goals. It applies to family, health, career and when you work from home. The difference between working in a standard workplace and working from home, is that you don’t have a boss to answer to- or at least not in the same way. You don’t have anyone breathing down your neck pushing you to stay motivated and get finished, you have to find that motivation yourself. Many people thrive on a workplace environment, surrounded by colleagues and in a very structured working scenario- if this sounds like you then working from home can be difficult to get used to. You have to create your own structure, avoid distractions and ensure all of your tasks are getting completed.

Working from home gives you flexibility, saves you time and can make you happier. But it’s not a free for all, keeping that structure and discipline for most of the time is what will help you to succeed.

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