Working from home is a prospect that only appeals to a certain kind of person. On the one hand it seems like the perfect way to earn money – you can get up at any time, go to bed at any time and take a break at any time and you don’t have a boss constantly breathing down your neck 24/7. At the same time however, it does mean that you won’t be out socialising and it can get quite feel quite isolating if you’re a social bunny. I’ve been trying my hand at home working for the last month or so and I’ve found it to be both challenging and rewarding, so if you’re considering doing the same then read on to learn what to expect.

Firstly, working from home is more difficult than you might initially expect. While it’s true that you can indeed get up whenever you like, this is actually part of the problem and there’s so many other distractions when you’re at home that you could very likely find yourself starting work at impractical hours. If you don’t live at home you might also find that friends and family constantly interrupt you, not understanding that just because you’re at home doesn’t mean you’re available. For these reasons you might find that working 9-5 actually makes most sense as you otherwise risk putting off your work until everyone else is home relaxing. Working away while your significant other or Mum relaxes in front of the TV because you wasted the day in bed isn’t what we’re aiming for. For this reason then, you need to apply your own structure to your work and make everyone around you aware that you won’t break this structure for a phone call or game of footy just because you can.

While this may seem to defeat the object of working from home in the first place, you’ll still have the freedom to take breaks from your work if there’s a more tempting offer or your favourite TV programme is on. It also means that you can look after a pet or child if you have one, or that you can work naked while eating a sandwich and listening to Whitesnake. Though you need to impose structure, you can still dictate what that structure is and how you go about achieving your work.

While it’s possible to be too relaxed in your approach to work however, it’s also possible that you can end up with the opposite problem. The fact that there’s no enforced lunch break or end to the day means that if you’re behind you might find yourself working into to the night. Even if you’re not behind you might start working ridiculous hours to earn more money or as a bid to ‘free up’ time for later on that you’ll probably never use. Therefore you need to be just as strict in enforcing your rest and play, setting a clear limit for how much work you’re going to do that day. Despite what you think it can and will wait and employers realise that you have a life away from your desk.

Mack LeMouse

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