Tundraco's Daily Living Guide to Money Telecommuting, Will It Work For You?

Telecommuting, Will It Work For You?
By Rochelle Caviness

Have you ever thought that it might be nice to be able to go to work in your bathrobe, or to be able to take a break whenever you wanted. Now, thanks to wide spread availability of personal computers, you may be able to do just that by telecommuting to work. Telecommuting is not, however for everyone…

Negotiating with Your Boss

The first step in becoming a telecommuter is working out a deal with your boss. If you're lucky, your company already has a telecommuting policy in place with a cadre of well-seasoned telecommuters on staff. If not, you may have to convince your boss that telecommuting can be beneficial for the company.

• Explain to your boss that by telecommuting you will become a more efficient worker. Provide you boss with evidence that telecommuters are more productive.
• Be prepared to prove to your boss that the company will save money by having you telecommute.
• If your boss is still not gung-ho, ask that you be allowed to try telecommuting on a trail basis. This will give you both an opportunity to see if telecommuting will work for you and your company.

Managing Your Time

You may find it best to set up a firm work schedule, during which time you will only work. Granted, there will be times that your family, friends, or neighbors will demand your attention during your working day, but you should try to keep such distractions to a minimum. If you have children at home, it may actually help to have a babysitter come into your home to watch the baby while you are working.

• If a fixed schedule will not work for you, try setting daily goals. Make a list of tasks that you want to complete on a given day. When the tasks are done, so is your workday.
• Because you are working from home, your friends and neighbors may not understand that you are 'really working'. Consequently, they may see nothing wrong with stopping over to visit or in calling you to chitchat. Let them know that you are working and that you cannot be disturbed until your workday is done. It is essential that you must treat your home office in the same manner as you would your 'office' office.
• It can be helpful to have two telephone lines, one strictly for business and one for family use.

Is this right for you?

To be a successful telecommuter you must be motivated and you must be willing to give your job the attention that it deserves. You must be realistic, both in your expectations and in your ability to work alone.

Be forewarned that you may not be able to telecommute 100% of the time. You may need to go into the office, occasionally, to pick up documents, use specialized equipment, or to attend meetings.

Telecommuting means that your home is a place of work 24/7. If you're not working for the 'boss', you'll be working around the house. Will you be able to draw a line between the two spheres of work? As well, when it is time to relax, will you be able to ignore the pile of work that is sitting in your home office? When working from home it is very easy to turn into a workaholic. It is also very easy to become discouraged and resentful of the whole situation.

• Working from home can also be very lonely, it can also be difficult to get the same feedback on projects that you would have received had you been working on them at the 'office'.
• You also need to be a self-starter who can you work well without direction.
• Do you have access to the technological tools you will need? Are you at ease using such items as a computer, necessary software, modem, telephone, fax machine, and a copier?

Telecommuting is not for everyone. You may find that you actually spend more time working for your boss, at home, than you did in the office. You may also find that you simply cannot concentrate properly outside of the office environment, due to lack of feedback or unexpected distractions.

On the other hand, you may find that telecommuting is the ideal solution for your situation - you'll never know until you try.