Work From Home = Paradise? Yeah right!

Hey Sal - Yup I have some troubles too. But because I split my time between a few different locations I haven't really gotten a chance to go the small office route. I would like to be able to go to one when I want/need to though.

I still currently work within an office environment, but will be transitioning to a work-from-home setting shortly. However, if it doesn't cut too much into your $, I'd recommend checking out some of those shared office space rentals. Seems to be extremely popular right now. There are some in the Denver, CO area that start at $300 a month. If that's what it takes to be productive, and to feel like you can really "get to work," then I'd suggest checking it out. Plus, it also offers a great opportunity to work with individuals in other creative fields. Nothing wrong with networking. And, if there are some creative sectors that fit in with your business, you might even get lucky & be able to trade/find services which can benefit you and your shared office workers.

Also, I know you're not asking for some advice, but i'll give a bit more anyway. I've found that eliminating those distractions can be difficult, but if you wake up, shower & dress like you're going to work, (the standard dress shirt & pants), it might be just the trick to give you a little more motivation.

Yeah, serviced office is the way to go. I had one before, then our new home had a dedicated office which is cool.

I think creating routines is very important, because you don't have the same external motivators you have in an office.

Planning what I want to achieve the night before, waking up at the same time, and having a set amount of work or time that I need to get through all help me to improve my productivity

That said working at home definitly has its challenges

There are a number of people with real jobs who are in great financial stress as companies have laid off workers, cut back on hours, or renegotiated contracts.

I have had an office at home for my offline work since 1992. It is challenging at times, lonely at others, and the day-to-day chores of being home sometimes swallows up a lot of my time. You can compensate somewhat by shifting working hours so that the bulk of the work is done during periods when you know you won't be disturbed. I also have an answering machine that is on 24/7 that I use to screen all phone calls.

Working at home is something that I enjoy like I never enjoyed working in an office. That said, it is not for everyone. Being your own boss is difficult, working in an environment where family members around you are relaxing and playing is even more difficult. Trying to do those 2 things plus take care of the home is a real handful.

Hey sal...

All of the choices in your poll are negative. How about one that says, I love working at home, it's ideal.

Mostly I miss talking to and being around other people. There are coworking centers where you can basically rent a desk and work on your own projects. However, there are other people around to talk to and shared resources like printers, fax machines, etc. I'm looking for one in my area.

Here's what I do and it works well - First of all I'm lazy and come 2 or 3pm I like to call it a day do something with the kids 'and or' be at a game of one of the kids etc... Plus I'm in the gym every day at 1pm - So in order to make a fortune and be lazy and be available to my family I get up at 5am work for 6-7 hours and Im done!

I'm done by 12 noon every day !! (And if I ever need to (RARE) I can put in a few more hours here and there)

I can be real productive and a lazy A@@ like this - its awesome - YES 5am hurts sometimes, but I get so much done in that time its like having 2 days in 1 every day!

M

The inability of others to understand "Work From Home" is not the same as "Home From Work."

I love working from home. It's more comfortable

I do miss having a routine though.

I recently moved back home. Having worked in my own office, a home office and someone else's office, I infinitely prefer my home office. However, I do find myself working a lot more hours. One client currently requires more than 8 hours a day and so I spend a lot of the normal off time trying to keep others clients afloat.

Were it not for the contract with the one client I would be extremely happy. But the one contract pays the bills plus while the rest of my business is allowed to grow. It is like trading one devil for another but the security of a strong client makes it worth it.

I no longer travel or eat out. I am home when my wife appears and when emergencies arise I am able to take care of them. Plus the dogs all love me being home.

Work is work and you have to plan your time. Time management makes all the difference.

David

Even though I work from home, I still make sure I have a daily routine every day..gym, early lunch, work online etc...I love it and I love staying on task with this routine. It is also great to know that I am my own boss so whenever I want to break my own routine I can

Sal,

Might I suggest another option "All Thee Above"

Although the "Too many distractions" option is definitely an issue here. Especially, with 3 teenagers, a wife, and a 1/2 dozen cats... arrrgghhhh! -"There's no escape!"

While I am pretty good at 'blocking out' my surroundings, I am looking forward to the day I can "move-up" to a dedicated home office. I'm sure a log cabin in the mountains for an occasional writing sabbatical wouldn't hurt my feelings either.

All the Best,

Art

It took me a solid year before I was happy and efficient working from home. I've been full time from home now since the year 2000.

In my opinion the biggest drawback is the lack of social activity with others from day to day. It's easy to become a bit of a hermit and work way more then you would if you traveled to your office. It's just way to convenient to work non-stop while you're home.

Its distracting to work at home.. you never take it very seriously.. and you dont feel proffessional.. i am just waiting till something picks up for me and i am gonna rent or buy a small office..

Ive been working from home now for 4 years.

My thoughts on it are varied, but I do have to say, the isolation is a killer. And with that, comes other habits that I seem to have adopted. Such as working in my undies until late in the afternoon, not shaving for days on end, and working ridiculous hours that some days l see maybe 2 hours of sunlight.

On the other hand, the traffic update on the news is a reminder of just how good I've got it. That and of course the absense of stress.

I think eventually I'll move into a small office, and hopefully hire a team of people.

I worked from home for approximately 18 months because I HAD to...even though it had been a long time dream. I was laid off from my job. I learned some things in the process.

It takes a massive amount of self discipline to "be your own boss". A number of things fit in to this discipline such as consistency and routine.

While working from home is still my dream, I'll be seeking ways to stay out of the house next time by renting some office space. Because...

- Going to an office and having a routine is huge.
- There really are too many distractions at home unless you have an office space that isolated from both your comfort zone AND family.
- The stigma of "if you're not leaving the house, you're not really working".

I think you need an office because you are going to work but you are at home, this will give you some psychologically reminder. I find that i waste way too much time at home which is a big problem.

As many have suggested, I too find it difficult to stop working. Too many times I'll set a time limit to call it a day - like midnight or 1-ish, and awaken to the realization it's 6:30am and the sun's coming out.

I had a hard time choosing, but lately, I have been entertaining the idea of trying out some places (i.e. park, lakeside, beach, etc...) to find new inspirations for writing.

I agree working from home can be difficult. Construction work next door (means videos need to be done late at night), barking dogs, easy to procastinate and do the housework before starting work and then of course....the office is always there!

I love working at home and wouldn't have it any other way! I don't really have a routine, but I actually don't mind that. I go with the flow. I play with my kids when they want to play and work whenever I'm not doing something else. I do work more than I ever did at a regular job, but that is just because I enjoy my work so much!

Honestly, I wasn't the most social person before I went into IM so that doesn't really bother me. Besides, I do have Skype and WF if I really feel the need to talk to someone.

As for the office thing... I actually work from the couch! I know it seems odd, but I like being in the middle of the house where I can see what is going on around me with my family. I love being able to work while the kids sit up on the couch with me watching a movie. It makes me feel like I'm not missing anything. I have a small table with my laptop and a small file cabinet in the living room and that is like my office. I do have a desktop, I just barely use it.

Great thread Sal.

I really don't know what works best for MOST people but I personally take plenty of breaks to go out and get some sunshine (did you know sunshine is the #1 source of vitamin D, one of the most important mood enhancing and testosterone raising hormone?).

I also make sure to exercise, go out for drinks and spit some game and generally keep it balanced.

Now, discipline is a tricky subject because some people NEED structure and routine and a boss to stay focused and productive. I thrive on freedom and the opposite is true for me but I recognize that other people work best under different conditions. That's where setting up processes and circumstances to engineer maximum productivity come into play. Go to a Starbucks where you'd feel embarrassed to sit looking at Facebook for an hour or work at a co-working office where other people inspire you and the fear of shame motivate you. We can't always control our behavior worth a damn, but we can control the circumstances that make useful behaviors inevitable. It's what Eben Pagan calls inevitability thinking and it's dern powerful. Oh crap, I've just ranted. Time to go! :p

Hmmmm. undies... not shaving... breakfast at mid day? Life is good.

I love it. Especially when I have travel into town for any reason and I see all these stressed out, unhappy people spending the majority of their hard-earned keeping up am image so that they can climb the corporate ladder. Not that there's anything wrong with that... it's just after 20 odd years, it's not for me.

For a few years I did have serviced office. But frankly I didn't like it for all the pluses. I now have a dedicated home office by converting half my garage and fitting it out.

Apart from the above, I have found that the convenience of being near a PC means that it's too easy to just keep working.

So it doesn't surprise me that people end up working longer hours because of that and the financial constraints.

Earlier this year I went back to my building background and called in a few favours. So I now work about 20 hours doing building maintenance. Money's good and I lose weight.

Hey listen, you cant give up, internet marketing is really hard since there's so many people that do it, competition is big, i started internet marketing last year, i never quit my regular job, i make about $1000 a month from online, but i know it will grow one day big.

I didn't vote as there wasn't an 'all of the above' option. Everything that you mentioned has got me from time after time.

I have now started to go to the library after I finish my offline job and it has helped me work more efficiently. There are other people there working, it is a different environment and I only have a limited amount of time to do the work. It has worked so much better for me.

I found that working out of your house is the only option in the beginning. However, once you have made some consistent income with your business, you should try to look for office space (if you're not single and living by yourself). Try to find an executive suite close to your home. Many of them can be had for under $500 a month with no commitments.

I think the balance in everything gives us balanced life... and dis-balance in everything either its home based job or office job... dis-balance our life

Work from home is the free hand work... we does not take any permission from any one. Like working in office. NO boss, NO worry.

When we feel, the work at home takes too much time, its means that we are crazy about our working. and wants to get more and more in any hour.

Just free your brain out of this thought to get more and more. then check you feel the problem lies in ourself ... not be able to control the situation and understand the importance of other working in our life.

Just get your brain out of this thought to generate more money. It will give you relax working both .... either you are working at office or working at home.
This is the only path to relax your mind.

I personally try it, and now feel too relax. Now, i have too much time to do other work rather than my business.

All the Best!

Libraries with wi-fi are awesome to get some work done. But you'd lose about 1 hour just for transport(at least me).

Working from home requires self discipline and
motivation....

For everyone in the house.

You need to install the discipline of focussing
on your business and not allowing yourself to
be distracted.

Everyone else on the house needs to fully
understand that when you are at work you
must not be distracted.

I'm not saying it's easy... but you need to
have a clear set of ground-rules and stick to
them.

John

I agree with you, you can have problems and distractions when working from home, but that whole story also have different back-end... once you get behind those problems, by setting up your home office o working hours regime that everyone will take care about, and similar to that, it's much pleasant to work from home than going to the office each and every day, have a boss, etc...
Another thing, which I did... I've set up my own office... not in my house so I can avoid all those distractions, but it's still different from classic offices, it's quite and pleasant place where I can do my work done...

I think working at home is difficult unless you have a separate room where to work. There are so many distractions that it's very difficult to keep concentrated unless you commit yourself to a specific place and time. I do think it's possible though and many people seem to work successfully from home.

I personally use a strategy that I go to my kitchen, lock the door and come out when I've finished. It works like a charm for me and just try it. Also if you have kids or a wife better lock them up somewhere... just kidding.

I used to find myself lacking focus and ending up working longer hours than I wanted to.
I now split up my day and write a to do list first thing with all the tasks I need to do.

I love working from home and found that now I can focus and put in the time I get done what I need to do.

I also find myself wanting to check emails and forum posts etc more often than I should. Smart phones are dangerous. I found it helpful to charge my phone over night in a seperate room from my bedroom as I get tempted to check my emails in the middle of the night otherwise lol

As much as its nice to work from home, i find its disracting with havin my family here and people popping round often,sometimes its difficult to get work done, i am too thinking about a small office,or a house i can divide into 2 parts

Personally speaking I adore working at home, I get to see my daughter grow up, and believe me working for a living sure means you miss a lot of that.

Also, working at home gives me the freedom to take and pick my daughter up from school, which has with God's graces enabled me to build a stronger, more meaningful relationship with her.

Finally, I have discovered that working from home I do not have someone watching me all the time, and keeping time on the time I take to go to the restroom, or telling me I have to work later because of some deadline.

All in all, I have to say it's a great life for me working from home.

Yeah, there are certainly issues with working from home, but they are certainly much fewer than the issues of working at a J.O.B. I'm not sure that the cost of an office would be worth it for me. If I need time to myself, I just go to the local coffee shop and sit there. I actually like working around my kids, because I get to school them in entrepreneurship.

ok...

So how about the temptation to get online?

My wife hates it because I am always on the laptop. Sadly, I am lost when I don't have connection.

This probably my biggest weakness.

I find that the distractions are part of the problem.

Also my fairly unsupportive other half who doesn't really believe in all this "online stuff" even though she sees the money come in.

Luckily I now have a business partner for a JV and it's a massive help with motivation, creativity and most important support. It's nice to have completed a task and get a acknowledgement from someone, be part of a team again.

Working from home is HARD. It takes a lot of self-motivation and discipline to work for yourself. But the rewards are phenomenal!

It's a certain that those working from home, the majority of them put inmore hours than they would a real life 9 to 5 job

Working from home is great ! You have all the time you want plus there's no extra distractions like what you get from office e.g noisy colleagues, never ending calls, millions of incoming emails requests etc. And of course, you still have to maintain a strict self discipline to get your work done and not procrastinating. Hope this helps ! =)

Cheers !
ThinkMaverick

The key to working at home is learning to cook.
I worked at home for several years and started to go crazy. Always on the computer, never took a break, 14 hours per day nonstop.
Then I actually went crazy, rented an office, turned it into a retail store, bought a jewelry store, opened two art galleries, bought a live music venue with art gallery and retail store....then....after a 6 year binge of madness... dumped the lot and started working from home again

Now I make sure I cook dinner every night. I stop work at 5:30 and spend 2 hours in the kitchen making an elaborate dinner. By the time I've eaten and done the dishes I'm too knackered to go back on the computer. Plus, I don't need to work on internet marketing anymore so that helps

I also find that focus is something that is challenging. Have you tried forbidding everyone at your house from interrupting you while you are working?

I am not doing it full time. However as a suggestion, I could say that instead of taking an office maybe you could try to make it harder for distraction to get on your way. This is an advice for myself also.

Working longer hours is definitely my struggle...it's hard for me to maintain a work-life balance. My business partner, Joe, made a great post about his daily schedule and how he tries to balance everything out...the "AdSense Lifestyle" hehe

Living The AdSense Lifestyle | AdSense Flippers

It's not nearly as glamorous as it's made out to be...but I WILL say we get to do some pretty cool traveling and get to see some cool stuff. (Singapore/Bali here I come...9 days, baby!)

I have been working from at home or a mobile office as of late the majority of my life. It takes some qualities that you may not have or that are not in your comfort zone. Consider how some people can get a 9-5 job and live in one location their ENTIRE lives. That's not me, I travel often, move when I can and focus on giving and getting the most out of this experience.

However, I know the challenges you face with a home office as well as the benefits.

01 SELF-DISCIPLINE

This can be the big one as you really need to set some time for yourself. Pick a MINIMUM of Two hours every day where you are at your best for work. For some, this is in the morning when they are fresh and the brain had time to rest (or ponder a question you gave it before you went to sleep). For others it's at night. I usually split mine up into TWO parts. I only need about 6 hours of sleep so I am often up till about 2am. The late hours give me a lot of focus. In the morning I try to get in a bit more around 9am.

It will also help to pick the TWO most important tasks of the day to focus on so you don't get too far behind if you procrastinate.

02 WORK LIFE SEPARATION

When you work that is what you should be doing. You should NOT be trying to combine working and home unless somehow they mix with your business strategy. It's bad enough that people bring work home anyway. If you have your office at home in the living room or in the kitchen or where you can not focus, you are asking for trouble and you may not get time to really THINK. If you see the computer sitting over there just waiting for you Calling out for you.

When I am in Bangkok I have to set up a ritual for myself to stay on schedule. Even though my serviced apartment is a perfect office. I still take myself out each day with my mobile office (laptop or ipad) and do my work OUT of the house. Now if you need tools with you, this may not be possible but my office is mobile. So if yours isn't mobile, then you need a place where you can go and NOT be distracted or where you will still be able to live your life.

Some people prefer a laptop because they feel that being able to CLOSE it helps them to stay focused on LIFE TIME as opposed to WORK TIME.

03 YOUR WAY

I find that making work FUN is also important. When I do a lot of typing or need to look at the screen I use a TV with an HDMI input. I sit on a comfortable couch with a wireless keyboard on my lap and I have the mouse on the couch at my side. This may not be a DESK but I am far more comfortable and don't get issues with back pain. I also have my feet up on a table which makes working even more fun

I recently partnered up with a company here in Holland and they are creating an office for me. I said it needs a whiteboard, a couch and a flat screen TV minimum 42 inch and I am good to go. So, make your work the way you want to.

I could write an e-book on the subject, so I will stop now. It's not so much about what is better as it is about what is better for you. I find that having some kind of BASE is very helpful when you need to be creative and have the time to build and grow. I call it going into the cave or having a lab. It's just my area of focus. But I have set up rituals that allow me to really focus.

I purposely will walk when I know I could drive in order to THINK of ideas and get excited about another work session.

If you find a project is sitting in the back of your head and taking up mental space - find your favorite way to either get the job done or throw it in the trash and move on to something that motivates you. I find that when I dread a project, that if I take time to ask questions like (how can I make this fun or reward myself in one way or another) that I can at the very least get started on it. Most solutions simply require STARTING.

Oh and before you spend your valuable time - determine your hourly value. If you feel you are worth $20 an hour then outsource every task that you can outsource at $10 an hour and put that free hour into something ONLY YOU CAN DO.

Wow, awesome response and feedback... thanks to EVERYONE!

Here's one which should have been included in the poll... and not often discussed: Self belief.

I raise this point because firstly, it is something I had to overcome and secondly, because we are pretty much programmed from when we are children that the right course in life is to get an education, a safe career and get married.

In some cultures, this is more prevalent than others.

This can lead to feelings of guilt and anxiety when making the transition. Probably not as much in western culture, but strong family ties can be just as impacting... especially if your move goes against family traditions.

Has anyone else felt this and how did you deal with it?

Sal