Perhaps you’ve read over our last look at ways to earn extra cash using the internet, or you’ve found a remote working job from home, or you’re even looking at starting your own business.
Whatever the case may be, working from home can be hugely rewarding, not to mention cost-saving, but it is by no means easy. It can be highly stressful if you don’t approach it with the right resources and methodology laid out.
So, here are some ideas on what you need to make sure that your work-from-career goes much more smoothly.
An office
This is crucial.
Simply taking your laptop into the lounge and sitting on the couch all day while you work is not going to be conducive to a productive day. You need to create a real home office space. If you have an entire room that you can dedicate to your work, then that’s excellent.
Otherwise, setting aside a corner of your bedroom or another room in the home can work just as well. It needs to be free of distraction and properly outfitted with a working desk and a chair that can offer full support for hours of work on end.
A routine
The office space is there to provide something of a boundary between your working life and your home life.
The routine does the same thing, it simply does it with your time rather than your physical space. You should have a set time in the morning that you start to work and a set time in the evening that you stop.
If you have a busy family life, it’s not uncommon to work the graveyard shift, but the fact remains that it is the routine itself that is essential. Structure your work day, separating your time into different slots of time allocated to different tasks.
It helps ensure that you’re always using time thoughtfully and makes it easier to measure your progress towards different goals, keeping you productive.
Some boundaries
Whether you have a partner, kids, siblings, or housemates, they need to respect that you work from home.
Many people in your situation will find that those living with them have difficulty taking the career at home seriously. They haven’t got used to thinking of it as real work.
When they’re in that mindset, they will be much less thoughtful about interrupting or distracting you. You need to have “the talk” and set boundaries with them.
For instance, let them know that when you start work, you are essentially beyond their reach for everything but emergencies. Similarly, they need to know that the office space is purely a place for work. It’s not a place to hang out, especially when you’re trying to be productive in there.
Decent tech
The vast majority of work from home is done on the computer.
It’s the very nature of the internet that is making it much easier for so many more people to make a living from the comfort of their own space.
You are going to need adequately functioning tech to make it work. If you’re using mobile devices or extremely old hardware, it might be worth looking at refurbished PCs and laptops to ensure that you have devices that can handle the stresses of daily work.
Also consider seriously the software you might need to purchase. The Microsoft Office package might be crucial but there are lots of specific software suites that help with particular jobs, so learn what your duties are and try to find the tools that help you complete them as effectively and efficiently as possible.
Reliable internet
With the internet being so important to your work, it’s important that you can actually rely on that internet.
If you live in a home where multiple people are going to be present, using multiple devices, you need a connection that won’t be bogged down by their own online activities. It’s worth looking for a provider that can offer up to gigabit speeds on your network.
Wi-Fi issues need to be resolved before you start working, too. Connecting yourself by a wire is the most effective way to solve any of those problems. If you’re not able to place the router in the same room as you, it may be worth looking at powerline adapters.
These adapters use the mains lines in the home, connected to your router and device on either end via ethernet cables, to provide a wired connection.
A network
Working from home is all about learning to be self-reliant and self-sufficient.
But that doesn’t mean you have to or should, work in complete isolation. Maintaining your professional network is crucial.
If you’re running your own business, it can help you find clients and potential business partners. If you’re remote working for others, it can help you find other employment opportunities. Online professional communities, such as LinkedIn, are making it much easier to network nowadays, and it might be worth looking at business meet-ups and networking events in your area, too.
The right expectations
You need to make sure you have accurate expectations of what it’s going to be like to work from home.
Yes, it can be much more convenient, much more flexible, and a lot less demanding. You don’t have to get caught up in all those seemingly meaningless office rules. However, it is not an opportunity to simply chill out and work as slowly as you like.
If you want to make money, you’re still going to have to be productive and ensure that you’re not getting distracted or following the temptation of lazing around during your work hours.
Working from home is your opportunity to have a little more control over how you work, but you still have to work. Thus, finding the right kind of work from home jobs is crucial. Find work from home jobs at WorkFromHomeJobs.
The tips above should help you set up an office, the equipment you need, as well as laying out the beginnings of your work-from-home habits.
This is just the beginning, however. Working from home is a journey of discovery, learning what does and doesn’t work for you. You have the flexibility to experiment and the responsibility to ensure that you are productive.