Committing to working from home

Certainly, the words flexibility and autonomy come to mind when considering working from home. The virtual employee is fortunate in the sense that often work can be done at any time day or night, and in marathon sessions, or a bit at a time. Working from home offers parents a way to spend more time with their children and offers those who simply don't like the corporate office setting a way to circumvent it. However, working at home does not mean complete freedom.

When considering becoming a virtual employee it's important to remember that your job, or jobs if you are freelancing, will still come with deadlines to meet and the expectations of your employer(s). You will most likely be expected to check in on a regular basis and may be required to be available at certain times or on certain days for conferences, or to receive phone calls. Your virtual job must be treated with the same amount of respect that a normal office job or out of the house job would be.

This means still having to stick very closely to a schedule and having your planner by your side at all times to make sure that you are completing assigned tasks on time and not missing important milestones. Even though you will most likely have more flexibility in your schedule, you will still be accountable. For some, working at home doesn't work well because they need to have the structure of a set daily schedule and an office environment to work within. If you are this type of person, you should give great thought to making the change to working at home and know that you are capable and committed to keeping to your new work routine, before you actually quit your "real" office job.

Working virtually is a wonderful way to work for the individual who is able to self-direct and is quite organized. These qualities can be learned, so if you aren't there yet, but want to work from home, don't despair. Take time to organize yourself and commit yourself to developing the habits needed to be successful.

Posted:Friday, September 07, 2007