Working from Home challanges

Many people want to work from home. Very few know how to actually make it work or do it religiously. Working from home isn’t glorified playtime. It isn’t a chance to goof off. For the successful, it’s an opportunity to do what you love and reap the benefits of being at home. 

Unfortunately, there are a lot of misconceptions floating around social media and the web in general. In fact, when you see a flashing banner advertisement with the phrase “work from home,” your natural inclination is to avoid it like the plague. I don’t blame you. 

1. “Only big company employee can work from home.” About a decade ago, this may have been true. In fact, I used to know a guy who worked for IBM, and sure enough he was one of the privileged few at the time who worked from home. Obviously, the tech landscape has changed drastically in the last five years, causing an explosion in the work-from-home movement. 

2. “You can’t make real money.” When I tell people that I work from home, I often detect skepticism in their reactions. With the development of Elance.com and oDesk.com, the future of freelancing has never been brighter. Jobs from design and marketing to accounting and strategy are all online waiting. In fact, since oDesk’s founding in 2005, freelancers have earned over $1 billion online. Sounds like “real money” to me.

3. “It’s a scam.” Sure, there are a lot of work-from-home scams out there. In fact, before I stumbled onto oDesk, I had heard the same spammy radio ads that you’ve heard. Luckily, I never fell for any of them and instead spent my time building my oDesk reputation. Dozens of happy clients later, I’m busier than ever and proud to say that I never spent a dime on any gimmicks.

4. “I would never be able to stay focused on work.” Most commonly, people wonder how I can resist the call from -- well, anything that seems more enjoyable than work. The incomplete honey-do list.  The dripping faucet.  The fridge. Staying focused on work is all about boundaries. In all honesty, is your current cubicle all that effective at keeping your attention?

5. “My kids would never leave me alone.” Your home office should ideally be separated by a physical boundary. If having a room set apart isn’t feasible, consider partitioning off a section of your room with a wall divider.

Beyond that, it is important to set clear expectations with your family. During work hours, you’re “at work” -- even though you’re technically still at home. Get buy-in from your spouse and ask for his or her help to keep these boundaries.

6. “Clients won’t take me seriously if I work from home.” As long as you provide value, clients don’t care where you work. Most of my clients use freelancers from every corner of the globe. Once they hire a freelancer, location and office configuration is seldom ever discussed. The only exception to the rule is if the freelancer’s Internet or cellular connection is undesirable, which can create friction for the client.

7. “I’d feel weird working in sweatpants.” That’s your problem. Personally, I can’t relate. You may want to talk to a psychologist about why you have such a deep attachment to wearing slacks.

8. “Need to think of benefits for both sides.” Working from home can be convenient to employees and help companies save money, but it’s not the right fit for every worker. Distractions are plentiful when you are home, and often it’s only the most disciplined who can remain productive and efficient.

“Working from home should be considered dangerous and could be a disaster when you consider the potential impact on your quality of life,” warns Grant Cardone, author of If You're Not First, You're Last. “The level of discipline it takes to work from home and generate solid results is intense and most people fail at home because of this one fact.”

If your idea of working from home involves wearing pajamas and juggling personal and work responsibilities at the same time, it’s time to reshape your priorities. Follow these five tips to effectively manage work and life as a remote worker.

9. “Need to office feel even working at home” Just because you don’t have to go into an office and sit behind a desk everyday doesn’t mean you can stay in bed or in front of the TV with your laptop trying to complete your work.

Career experts recommend setting up a specific office area in the home so you can “go to work” and not be distracted by dirty dishes, a crying child or a favorite TV show.

“Where your workspace is makes a big difference,” says Sara Sutton Fell, CEO of FlexJobs and a at-home worker for nearly 10 years. “When my second son was born, I realized it was really important for me to get more separation, so I moved my office to a space above our detached garage rather than in the house.”

10 “Set Clear Boundaries” Having a dedicated work space is half the battle, but you also need to set rules about who and what can enter your office.

“Create very strict boundaries where there are no dogs, kids or spouses allowed,” says Cardone. “The door needs to remain shut with only those that have top clearance allowed access.”

The work space should also be void of distractions. For instance, forgo putting a TV in your office or checking Facebook five times a day.

12” Keep Regular Work Hours and Prepare” Maintaining normal office hours can help maintain productivity.

 “Your family and friends need to pretend you simply aren't there, unless it's a dire emergency,”. “Remind your family of these hours and let them know you expect them to respect your work time so that you won’t have to work when you should be spending with them.”  In addition to setting the hours, career experts say it’s a good idea not to work all day in your pajamas. Keep your normal preparation routine, take a shower and get dressed, even if your commute is just down the hall.