Compared with the benefits, there are not many drawbacks from working at home, but a few are set out below:
- You must have a designated work area. Preferably this would be a custom built office, or, failing that, a good size corner of your large bedroom which is set aside for work. Make sure that your desk and chair are adequate and comfortable and you have everything you need like your computer, printer, telephone, and filing cabinet close by. Never have work related things spread all over the house.
- If your spouse is at home, especially with a pre-school child, ensure you can have privacy and will not get distracted on a regular basis.
- Set yourself strict working hours, and stick to them as you would in a large office down-town. It is quite acceptable to have pre-set coffee and lunch breaks when you can relate to other people in the house in the lounge or kitchen, but make sure you keep to them and return to work in your designated area at the designated time.
- Never get distracted by nice weather and take the opportunity to mow the lawn or perform some other chore you are being nagged about. As you will discover later in this article, you will have more time for this important aspect of your life in any case.
- If you find that you can work with background music, keep it gentle and not too loud. Never try to listen to a talk show on radio or television while you are working, it will distract your attention from the job in hand.
Well, that is just about it for the disadvantages, now let me spell out some of the many advantages of working from home.
- You can wear much more informal clothing, as informal as you like. This is not only more comfortable but it saves time in the morning. Time is valuable.
- There is no commuting involved. This saves a lot of money as well as time. No fuel costs, no parking costs, no public transport costs, reduced lunch costs. If you normally drive to work, there will be reduced overall car running costs, and your car will last longer, not to mention avoiding the stress that commuting puts on your body and general health and well-being.
- It saves time, a lot of time. Say you start getting dressed for work at 7:00 am for a 9:00 a.m. start down-town and, after leaving the office at 5:00 p.m., you finally collapse exhausted on your settee at 6:30 p.m. after working for eight hours including breaks. However, if you worked at home you could start work at 7:00 p.m. after slipping on a tee shirt and jeans. (Men need not shave every morning, and ladies can do without make-up, but I would still recommend a daily shower and brush of the teeth!) If you spent the same time on the job, and the same breaks, you would be finished by 3:00 p.m. ready to mow the lawn, wash the car, or play with the kids as soon as they got home from school. Not to mention the extra time you get to spend with your other half. That’s 3 1/2 hours more quality time every day and a lot more energy with which to enjoy it.
- You will find that you will not get distracted by outside influences, like team meetings and colleagues selling you raffle tickets. So, even with saving 3 1/2 hours you will find that you will get more work done and achieve your goals quicker.
- Although taxation rules vary from country to country, in all probability, if you set up your employment vehicle correctly you will be able to set off a proportion of your household expenditure against your tax. Speak to a local tax agent to make sure you claim everything that you are entitled to; but do not go overboard and make unreasonable claims.
- Should there be a special event during a weekday afternoon, a school presentation for example, there would be nothing to stop you attending and making up the lost time on a Saturday or Sunday morning.
- You are always on the spot in the unlikely event of a major emergency. If your spouse or young child suddenly needs to go to hospital, or an older child needs to come home from school early, you will always be available to drop what you are doing and be in position instantly to do whatever needs to be done to resolve the situation.
To sum up, whether you work in the off-line world or the on-line world, working from home has financial advantages, advantages of flexibility in many areas of life, and offers a better quality of life.
For more information and, the opportunity to download a free e-book expanding on the subject of working from home, go to: http://www.todaysonlinemarketingsolutions.com/homework
Phil also has a very informative blog at http://www.phil-ramage.com
(C) 2012 Philip Ramage All rights reserved
