A U G 2014
iNSiDE
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2014 Education Resource Guide
Your local guide to Preschools, Private Schools, Public Schools and Educational resources!
Working from Home (Successfully) by Kim Green-Spangler
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he ability to work from home is often considered to be the ultimate in job flexibility for those businesses that support work/ family balance, and the reality for those who are self-employed, freelancers, or contract employees. In some cases "working from home" can entail as few hours as, an occasional half-day to more than full-time. However, mastering working from home can be a true balancing act. With temptations like the television, game station, the soft bed just down the hall (or across the room), interruptions from friends, neighbors, children, and the ever-present list of household to-dos beckoning, it's sometimes very easy to fall prey to having to work late hours to just catch up. Add in the next day of responsibilities, and working from home has just become quite tedious, and often counterproductive. Can you effectively manage your time throughout the day? Can you meet your deadlines despite the daily crises that will crop up in your home - like the water heater going, or the dryer breaking, the basement flooding, or the school calling about your sick child? Do you have a dedicated space to work in especially when you're working at h o m e f o r more than a fe w hou rs per week, or when you have an extensive project to work on? Moving it from the dining room table each evening gets old
pretty quick! If the opportunity presents itself to work from home, there are a few things that should be considered before you make the leap. Ask yourself the following questions: Do you enjoy working alone? While the email, Skype, IM, FaceTime, etc. have made it much e asier to communic ate w it h coworkers while working from home, the reality is that most of your working hours will be spent on your own. If you crave the office camaraderie and face-to-face
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meetings, working from home may be a big adjustment. Is your home conducive to you successfully working from home? D o y o u h av e a d e d i c at e d workspace? Is it temporary, like a kitchen or dining room table? Will you be in the midst of daily chaos, if you have children or a spouse at home? Will you be able to have uninterrupted phone calls or meetings throughout the day? How are you at time management? Working from home is the ultimate test in time management. With your work being just a few steps away, it can be difficult to draw that proverbial "line in the sand". Just one more phone call to the vendors, or one more hour of work, or when you can't sleep because
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that presentation is looming - it's easy to pull an all-nighter to tweak the final draft. What about when the laundry is backed up and just a few loads "won't hurt", or a friend drops by for a "quick" cup of coffee needing a chat, or your children need a little extra "mama love" that day? Either way, the work/life balance gets knocked out of whack. In order to work from home successfully, there are a few key areas that should be addressed from the onset. 1. Make sure working from home is not going to disrupt your family and home life. If you have a spouse who is already working from home, or retired, you moving your job into the home will change the dynamics. If your children are preschool aged, or perhaps, homeschooled, then you working from home may distract them from their work, or disrupt their existing routines. Think of vacation time. When you're off for holidays/vacation schedules go out the window. Working from home is just like that - only it's permanent. If possible, try to phase yourself into continued on page 2…