Honest Advice for Work-at-Home Wannabes
Wed Jan 2, 2008 2:08PM EST
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It's been a decade since I moved my office home and began my working life as a freelancer. My third child was a baby, and I craved even more flexibility than a terrific three-day-a-week newspaper job allowed.
Ten years in, I can say honestly that working from home is a messy, imperfect arrangement. Much like the rest of life. The lines between work and home blur to nonexistent many a day as I move between work, kids' homework, afterschool activities, dinner, back to work. I've given up a lot, but gained a lot, too. Mostly time with my kids, who see me in in all my imperfect work/life splendor.
Working from home is not for everyone, nor does it fit every kind of job. If you're thinking about making the career move home, either by pitching your full-time employer for a telecommuting gig or freelancing on your own, here's a new piece of required reading from Web Worker Daily: "Work from Home: A No-Nonsense Guide to Home-Based Work," Chapter 12 of "Connect! A Guide to a New Way of Working"— a book by Web Worker Daily's Anne Truitt Zelenka, with Judi Sohn.
The GigaOm web worker site offers free access to the home-based work chapter. It's no rah-rah "you can work from home and make lots of money, too" read, and that is a welcome thing. After laying out the facts ... most employers still do not embrace at-home work, you'll probably earn less working from home in the long run, you need to be wary of a bounty of home-based work scams, and the line between work and life may never be clear again .... the chapter offers some excellent advice and resources on pursuing at-home work.
You'll find tips for pitching home-based work arrangements, communicating well so that you're top of mind though out of sight, and staying disciplined when there are no coworkers or bosses around to see you hard at work.
Check it out, and if you work at home a lot of the time, let us know your tips for making it work. Or tell us why it didn't.
LINK: You Can Work from Home: A Free No-Nonsense Guide [Web Worker Daily]
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2 Posted by duffell00 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:49PM EDT Report Abuse
I worked from home for about three years before a new building had enough space to have an office for me at the company. It requires discipline. I find that punching in and out on a remote office program works well to keep me on track. It's just like being at the office and punching the time clock there. Keeping a close eye on my office e-mail also helps. When the wife leaves for work, that is my que to punch in and go to work also. I found I was more productive because I received fewer calls at home and fewer interruptions from coworkers. I still work from home occasionally. It's also helpful when you have to wait for a repairman or service person to come to your home for whatever reason. It's also great when you don't feel well enough to go into the office, but can get something done at home in between rests and medication, etc. If you can do it, by all means do it!
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3 Posted by lisedriggers on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:53PM EDT Report Abuse
I have been working from home for the past year as a programmer. Our company uses an online meeting service, email, IM and phone to keep in contact. The commute is great, but it can be difficult to seperate work from home. The office is always there, and there is always work to be done. It is good to be home for my teenage boys.
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4 Posted by debzoernerums on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:40PM EDT Report Abuse
My question is how in the world do you find a legitimate "work at home" computer job? Everything I have seen is a scam!
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5 Posted by elfqueen123 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:53PM EDT Report Abuse
you just have to do your research and what fits you might not fit the next person .. i work from home and I like it alot and make a good income doing it too .. I have info in my profile if anyone is interested .
1 Posted by nolo_8 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:40PM EDT Report Abuse
Working from home, eh? I was thinking of attempting to do that after getting my BA in accounting and opening my own tax service after a few years in an office, but I think it sounds too complicated and messy. Who knows I still may end up doing that, but who knows what will happen?