Stick-to-it-ness

Yes, it may seem like a funny title … but if you are going to be successful in your work at home (WAH)  job or virtual employment, you will need to have the discipline to stick to it – in other words, you must have “stick-to-it-ive-ness.” Out there in the ‘real world’ you have obvious job descriptions and expectations, superiors who provide you with direction and job performance reviews, and definitive structure that leaves no doubt as to what you are supposed to do and when you are expected to do it. You also have a place that you travel to each day and that you leave behind when you return home – but here is the reality: when you work at home, home is also now your workplace.  You have chosen to return home – to work!

If working at home is your heart’s desire – for whatever reason you have determined – then you will want to be successful and stick to it. Perhaps the most difficult part of becoming a work at home or virtual professional is that you no longer have all of that structure and pre-determined schedule and list of tasks to accomplish. The lines between home and work often become blurred and confused; hence the necessity of possessing the quality of ‘stick-to-it-ive-ness’ – otherwise known as tenacity, persistence, determination, or fortitude.

Structure is one means of acquiring this quality and enabling you to stick to it.  It is always good to have some flexibility within the structure, however – after all, is not that part of the reason so many people choose to return home to work? They want to be their own bosses, work their own schedules, at their  own paces – at least to some degree.  The truth of the matter is that any job carries expectations and deadlines; even as a work at home professional, you will need to structure your days in such a way that you can accomplish the work according to the needs and expectations of your virtual employers or clients. Yes, even in your work at home environment – in order to stick to it and be successful – you will need to maintain a structure and a schedule which will allow you to accomplish the expected tasks.

Posted:Wednesday, March 04, 2009