Are You Work-at-Home Material?

Posted by admin in Employment on 07 9th, 2009 | no responses

Working from home is not for everyone.  This statement is not meant to discourage.  It simply is the reality.  There are certain personality traits that one must possess in order to make it possible for her to deal with the downside of working-at-home.

It is not imperative that you possess every single personality trait when you start working-at-home, but you would need to hone them to be successful. So be honest in assessing yourself.

1.  How organized are you?

You need a system to make life and work easier.  If it has been a struggle to stay organized at the office and at home, combining the two into one place will only make it more difficult for you to get things done.  You probably thought that getting rid of one physical location will simplify your life.  Chances are that it won’t, if you’re not organized. Home and work schedules, projects, and priorities can become stressfully jumbled together without an organization system.

2.  Are you flexible?

Since you are not working on a tight schedule, working from home can mean working during weekends or late at night or other unfavorable time. Flexibility here means that you would be agreeing to some unattractive conditions.

3.  Do you find it hard to say NO?

Saying “no” means you are setting limits.  Limitations are very important in this set-up since everything is pretty much free-flowing.  But do remember that you should lay down rules to be followed, even by yourself.  Otherwise, you will be spreading yourself too thin.  Be clear about your rules and lay it down in advance.

4.  Do you have a sense of discipline and self-motivation?

Are you able to get things done with minimal supervision?  Are you motivated enough to keep reeling in new clients?  Are you able to keep generating income? The answers to these are vital in order to be successful in the long run.

5.  Can you handle distractions and multi-task?

It is one thing to be able to multi-task and quite another to know when to multi-task. You can fold laundry while you’re on a conference call. But you cannot do this while feeding a toddler. The key here is to maintain your focus despite having distractions which are more personal than those in the office.  Don’t worry, keeping your cool and focus is an ongoing process.