Working from home is something that most people have considered at some point in their careers, and there are many reasons why one would want to do so. An open plan office with dull cubicles and gossipy colleagues is certainly not appealing to many, yet similarly, not everyone can adapt to working from home.
Before taking that momentous first step, you need to consider your character; are you an independent worker, able to motivate yourself and manage projects without someone guiding you all the time? These are just some of the essential traits required to work for yourself, but there are others which one should exhibit.
Determination and Focus
Working from home can expose you to many interruptions and even temptation. Having fixed working hours can help, especially when you are tempted to do a bit of extra cleaning around the house, go out to do household shopping, or even spend extra time with your family. Anything that clashes with your business hours, or outside of any scheduled breaks, should be left until later.
Courage and Certainty
You have to have confidence in what you are doing, and your skills, to be an efficient home-office worker. You will not have colleagues or a superior with whom you can discuss ideas or concerns before proceeding. You have to make all the decisions on your own, and be sure that you have made the correct one.
Initiative and Ingenuity
In a traditional office environment, you have access to a wealth of resources, from access to information, to the combined knowledge of your colleagues. In your home-office you will not always have easy access to excellent resources, so you have to be confident that your personal ingenuity will serve you well in finding suitable answers and solutions.
Working with Deadlines
In your home-office you will not have anyone setting deadlines for you, or monitoring you to ensure you meet the deadline. Will you be comfortable setting your own deadlines and meeting them, no matter what?
Remain Relevant and Open
Working from a home-office can mean you are less visible to other people, requiring you to put in some effort to prevent this. Keep yourself visible and relevant by attending seminars, networking events and by being active on social media sites. LinkedIn is perfect for this since it positions itself as a network for professionals so you would be exposed to potential clients, along with people in your own industry. While some feel this implies an extrovert is better suited to working from home, it is not strictly true. Introverts tend to be extremely focused and committed, and would be still be comfortable networking in this new environment.
A final point is to remember that once you step out of your office at the end of the day anything work related stops too. Working fixed hours helps with this, and though it is acceptable to follow up on the occasional urgent email or call, this should never become the norm, or intrude on your family life.
About Out of the Office Virtual Assistance:
At Out of the Office, we are committed to providing earth-friendly administration and offer ideas and ways to increase your productivity, decrease your workload, and work more efficiently. We nurture a successful business relationship, while continuing to grow as your business partner. We are focused on streamlining your administration, social media planning and execution, and offering creative solutions for your business success.
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