What it Takes to Enjoy Success Working from Home

Since I work from home, I thought it might be helpful to do some short blog posts based on what I've learned. I hope it will be helpful to you if you or someone you know works from home or is considering this lifestyle ...

The work-at-home lifestyle attracts many people because of the simplicity and long list of anticipated benefits. 

• You don’t have a commute. 
• You don’t have to punch a clock. 
• You don’t have to sit for eight hours in a cubicle. 
• You simply get to wake up, walk down the hallway, and get to work. Right?

This is what many people envision the work-at-home life to be. In reality you have to possess some special qualities in order to be successful and make this type of transition work for you, especially if you're used to a JOB where someone else tells you what to do.

Self-Motivation – This is a must when beginning any entrepreneurial venture. When you work for yourself you need to be a self-starter and have the motivation to push yourself forward even when no one is telling you what to do. You will be reporting to yourself.

You won’t have a boss looking over your shoulder keeping tabs on your projects. So you must make the effort to decide what has to be done and create those deadlines for yourself. It makes sense to compose a list of short-term and long-term goals so that you have an idea of where you are headed in your business. Really take some time to do this and listen to what your heart is telling you. The truth is within you!

Organized – You have to have some sort of organizational skills in order to succeed at working from home. This can be a challenge especially if there are small children in the house. When life feels like it is constantly in disarray, you won’t be as focused on the work you need to get done. 

Although your work space doesn’t need to be perfect, it's a good idea to have a dedicated space with computer, files and other organizing tools. This helps boost productivity throughout the day as well.

Flexible – This is especially true of the work-at-home mom. If you have small children in the home, you must be willing to change up your schedule at the drop of a hat. Things come up that may mess with your hours and cause you to work late at night or super early in the morning. You must be willing to put in the time anytime of day to make it work. 

If you go into the work-at-home venture knowing you need to be flexible with your schedule, it will be much easier to adapt to this type of lifestyle. I always ask myself throughout my day, "is what I'm doing right now a business-getting activity?"

These are just three of many qualities that work-at-home entrepreneurs should possess. (Working from home isn’t nearly as simple as a lot of people think it is). It requires discipline, hard work, and sacrifice to make each and every day work. Not everyone is cut out for this type of life. You have to have a clear, concise idea of why you started this business and why you want this type of lifestyle. Once you understand your "why" it will be easier to focus on what it takes to succeed. 

P.S. - I strongly suggest that you post your "why" somewhere in your work space so that it's visible to you every day. You'll be glad you did when those moments come that make you want to stray off your path to success. 

Hope this helps.

3 Bad Habits to Eliminate When You Work From Home

It sounds like a dream lifestyle. No endless commute. No nagging supervisor. And every day is casual Friday. But ask any work-at-home entrepreneur and they’ll tell you that it’s also super easy to pick up a lot of bad habits. Unless you take steps to avoid them, these pitfalls can leave you disenchanted with your career choice.

1. Taking on too much – When you first begin to work from home it might be easy to say yes to every gig that comes your way. You want and need the money and are willing to work extra hours even for the jobs you don’t really want. This could be a hard habit to break, but until you get it under control, you’ll be stressed and burned out. Instead, focus on what type of client you really want and what type of work comes with each client. 

Determine the services you really want to offer and make it clear that you won’t step outside those boundaries. You might already have enough on your plate taking care of the youngsters while working. You don’t need to cause yourself undue frustration.

2. Bad Sleep Patterns – You might try to say that it makes sense to work at all hours of the night while everyone else is sleeping. You can get a ton of work done that way with no distractions. However, you are preventing yourself from getting a good night’s sleep and this will eventually catch up with you. I’ve done this myself and it WILL catch up to you.

Developing and maintaining a decent sleep schedule makes a world of difference when it comes to productivity and motivation during the day. If you feel the need to get things done after everyone else is sleeping, be sure you monitor how long you work. Don’t fall into the habit of staying up until the wee hours just to feel productive.

3. Procrastination – When you work from home it’s easy to fall into the habit of putting certain things off until later. Discipline and self-motivation are two important qualities that anyone who works from home must have. If you don’t, you may talk yourself into starting tomorrow on almost everything, including work that will bring in some good income for you and your family. It’s easy to say “I’ll do it later,” but it’s detrimental to your business and your overall success.

It’s important to develop good habits right from the start. Having control over your income is something we all want, but also a huge responsibility and it takes a lot of dedication to make the business work. Developing bad habits will not only hamper your success, but it will also create unnecessary frustration. And who needs more frustration?

If there’s one thing that can make or break a business it’s the sheer will and determination of the person running it. Avoiding bad habits from the start will give you that extra push you need to succeed.

When doing anything during your day, ask yourself, "Is what I'm doing right now an income-producing activity?"

Hope this helps!