Getting there virtually with Amy Holding
Is working from home right for you?
One of the happiest days of my professional life came on a summer weekday.
It was beautiful outside, the temperature was perfect and there was no humidity. So I opened up all the windows in my (home) office and got started for the day.
Wondering why I am telling you this?Because, I don't remember the details of the day, who I spoke with or even what tasks I completed, but I do remember that I was able to open the windows.
Now I know it may sound odd to some, but for me this act made this one of the most liberating days of my life. The freedom to work in an environment where I could open the windows and feel the fresh air (instead of the cold, stale tundra of central air that we have all grown so accustomed to in our offices) was, for me, one of the best perks I could have imagined.
There are so many benefits of working in a home office that I couldn’t possibly list them all. From the gas and time savings of not commuting to the comfortable atmosphere you can create, many of them are obvious. But it is the not-so-obvious ones, like me being able to open the window, that really make working from home incredible.
I am sure many of you have daydreamed about working from home and compiled your own personal list of not-so-obvious perks.
The only problem I find with these lists of perks is that they can become blinding. They let people believe that working from home is a cake walk, almost like not working at all.
That is the reason that I usually start with the challenges (the ones that are not always blaringly obvious) when a friend or family member asks my advice on the best way to get started at home. In my opinion, taking potential challenges into consideration and answering them HONESTLY for yourself is the best way to determine if working at home is right for you.
So if you are contemplating the decision of leaving your traditional office, I would urge you to consider some of these potential challenges:
1) Technology. Whether your work for yourself or telecommute for an employer, dealing with technology will be a must. Give some thought to what it would be like without a full time IT department on hand to assist with computer or software issues. Are you capable of addressing the issues on your own? If not, do you or does your employer have a plan to handle the issues?
2) Are you a self-starter? Do you like being alone? If the answer is no and you find that being around colleagues and co-workers helps get you into "work mode" each day, then give some honest thought to whether or not you could really be productive when alone. If you believe you could, then try and visualize a routine you could create to replace those external motivators you’d be missing.
3) How well do you communicate with someone that doesn’t communicate well? This may not seem like much of a challenge, but take a moment to think about the people in your life that can’t communicate well face to face. Now imagine them trying to communicate with you virtually. It can become frustrating and inefficient if you are not prepared. Think about creative ways of communicating like delegation plans, task logs or weekly conference calls.
4) Are you comfortable saying no? To your family, friends and neighbors that have this false perception that working from home means you have endless amounts of flexibility and time. If you are not yet comfortable with the word no, practice it over and over and over again (just try it with your kids to start, they won’t mind) because you will have to say it… A LOT!
5) Are your expectations realistic? If you want to work from home because you think it will afford you the time to clean your house, cook dinner or spend all day hanging with the kids, I have some unfortunate news. Work is work. No matter where you are doing it, it takes time, planning and did I mention TIME to complete. So although I will admit I usually can sneak away to throw some clothes in the dryer or put something quick in the oven before the official end of my work day, my days are just as full and busy (if not more) as any day I ever had working in a traditional office.
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