Working at Home Requires Discipline

I worked at home for 3.5 years and found it a challenging - but ultimately positive - experience.

The most important thing I found about working at home was you have be disciplined; it can be very easy at first to let yourself get distracted because there is no one checking up on you to make sure you are working (checking your emails can soon become a 2 hour surfing session if you are not careful!). The time can just slip way, which surprised me.

The best way to get around this is to establish a routine for yourself and stick to it. Get up at a fixed time, start work at a fixed time, allow yourself a set time for lunch, and either finish at a set time or after a set amount of work has been done.

I also found it a good idea to go for a walk each morning before I started working, as this cleared my head and woke me up, meaning I worked better when I returned home. I would recommend this technique to anyone working at home.

If you can manage your time well, then working at home has many distinct advantages. No stressful commute. No making a packed lunch in a rush each morning. You can be at home to take in parcels or admit the person coming to service your washing machine. You just have to resist the lures of the internet, daytime TV and other distractions you don't generally get in an office!