More of us than ever now work from home, and these numbers are expected to keep on rising. Companies have discovered the benefits of letting their employees work from home, with others choosing to hire remote workers since it enables them to hire on talent- and not be limited by location.
Not to mention that more and more people are setting up their own independent businesses, many who choose to remain home based or at least start up that way to save costs. If you’re sick of the daily commute and are keen to join the masses that now work from the comfort of their homes, here are a few things to bear in mind first.
A Place To Work
To be able to work from home, stay productive and get everything done, you need a suitable place to work. In most cases, turning a spare bedroom, conservatory or a dining room you rarely use into an office will suffice. But in some cases, you simply won’t have the space. If you’re serious about working from home you could renovate- transforming a loft or basement into a work area or even extending outwards.
A good option would be to have a garden room installed, that way you can build an office that’s at home without being in your home- you dont normally need planning permission and they can be cheaper than an extension. In more extreme cases, you might even consider moving. Somewhere quiet with enough room to work is always going to be useful, even if a home office isn’t your primary reason for moving, if it’s on the cards already then find real estate that’s suitable for your home business.
Self Motivation
When you work from home, you absolutely need to be self motivated. When you run your own business, of course you’ll be the one calling the shots so will be responsible for getting the work done. But even if you work remotely for a company, you’ll need to be able to work on your own initiative.
Usually work will be allocated for the day, and you’ll have a deadline to get it done. This is great as it gives you flexibility, but does mean you need to be able to get the jobs complete. Lots of people can find that without a boss breathing down their neck, they can struggle finding the motivation to work and get distracted- easily done when you’re at home. Before planning on working from home, you need to know that you’re the right kind of personality to do it.
The Ability To Switch Off
When your work is also your home, it can sometimes be difficult to switch off. Many people find that their work day becomes their entire day, and somehow manage to stretch eight hours work over the whole time they’re awake. Setting your work hours can be useful, while flexibility is good, it can also be useful to get yourself in a frame of mind where you know things will be getting done.
After work, you then need to completely switch off from it. No emails in bed or catching up with things during family time. If you take a proper break, you’ll be far more productive and the boundaries between work and life will be less blurred.
