People Who Work From Home Must Remember These Important Things
Kevin Harrington
Inventor of the Infomercial | Original Shark on Shark Tank | Author: Mentor to Millions
More and more people are working from home nowadays. In some cases, it is a smart business move because companies don’t have to pay for expensive offices. In other cases, it is bad for business because bosses can’t check on their employees whenever they want to. No matter which side of the argument you stand on, the folks who work from home must take a lot into account.
Working from home might seem like the ultimate dream for many people. If you do it correctly, then it really is. However, if you are slacking off and missing deadlines like it is your job, then it is going to become a burden, and stress you out in the process.
Working from home is a great gift, but folks who do work from home must remember these important things.
People Who Work From Home Must Remember These Important Things
- You Still Have A Job To Do
- You Have As Much Freedom As You Give Yourself
- Not Making A Schedule Will Eat You Alive
- Communication Is More Important Than Ever
You Still Have A Job To Do
Yes, you work from home. Yes, that usually means you can make your own schedule. However, you still have a job to do. The idea that working from home is easier than working in an office is a myth. The distractions are greater when you work from home, the only person holding you accountable to get work done is yourself and the sense of urgency might not seem as great.
Nonetheless, it doesn’t matter if you work from home, in a cozy office or on the moon, work is work is work. Therefore, you need to treat it as such.
You Have As Much Freedom As You Give Yourself
Working from home comes with a whole lot of freedom. For instance, you can work in a coffee shop, in the park, at your house, on the couch — you name it. With the office life, people typically only have the option of working at their desk.
With that said, many people get into the habit of working at a desk when they start working at home, and the fairy tale of working at a coffee shop dies. It is crucial to get into a daily routine, but work-from-homers must remember they can work from a coffee shop, or anywhere, if they so please. The key, of course, is to stay productive no matter where you decide to set up your office.
Not Making A Schedule Will Eat You Alive
When you first start working from home, pushing things off to later on in the day is only natural. We are here to say this: If you do push things off to later in the day, and if you don’t stick to a schedule, you are going to make working from home your worst nightmare.
The last thing you want is to upset your clients/employer as a result of missing deadlines, or not doing your best work.
You might not like the idea of being a creature of habit, but you still have to make some form of schedule. Making an all-star schedule is likely one of the biggest problems work-from-home employees come face to face with. Making said all-star schedule is the only way a person is going to meet every deadline, and hold themselves accountable in the process.
Not making a schedule could lead to a world of stress and feeling overwhelmed. Your boss might not be able to see you slacking off during the day, which is why you have to be your own boss and hold yourself accountable.
Communication Is More Important Than Ever
If you are self-employed, then this key ingredient might not apply to you as much. However, if you still have a boss in any sense of the word, then communication truly is key.
You have to show said boss that you are still invested in the company, and that you still want to be part of the team. The funny thing is the more you actually do communicate with your boss, and the more you try to make yourself feel part of the team, the more you will be invested in the company and feel like you are part of the team.
On another note, communication is also key because you need to make sure everyone is on the same page. Not being on the same page could result in wasted time and the job not getting done properly.
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Senior Account Executive | Sales, Team Leadership
8 年Good practical, high level advice. I just started working from and home and appreciate the pointers. Not sure why someone would take the time to be critical of what was intended to be high level article. Thanks again.
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8 年I agree not following a schedule will make working from home difficult
I have learned, through my own experiences, that great Leaders make decisions differently, based on core values, making gray areas disappear, and stating choices in black and white terms.
8 年I appreciate the time you took to write this, however, not trying to be unfairly critical, I thought it was a bit superficial. I have worked from home for 2 1/2 years now, and I think there is more valuable and detailed advice you can give those that are doing it, or that have an opportunity to do it, specifically around: 1) how to effectively engage with boss, peers, team members and other constituents, 2) the use of technologies to be more effective in working from home, 3) Not just making "some form of schedule" but institutionalizing schedules into your work day, 4) how to institute "virtual drop-ins" as you would be able to do if you were physically in the office, 5) other techniques for "virtualizing" yourself even when you are not physically there, etc. I'd be happy to elaborate if you care to hear more...