Is Telecommuting for You?

Benefits of Telecommuting

Telecommuting certainly has appeal and many benefits:

• No commute. You don't spend massive amounts of time driving to and from work every day when you work at home. Your morning commute becomes rolling out of bed.
• The best office. Your office is now literally anything you want it to be. You can build your office the way you want it or you can go out to a coffee shop, a library or anywhere else depending on your work requirements.
• Your own schedule. Some telecommuting jobs don't care when you get your work done as long as you get it done. If a 9-to-5 gig is just not for you, the added flexibility of these types of positions may be for you.
• More time with family and friends. Since you don't have to commute, you can use that time for anything, like living your life.
• Saves money. No more spending money on gas or public transportation. That's right: no parking fees, no train or bus fare, no dry cleaning or updating your work wardrobe.

Drawbacks of Telecommuting

That dream come true doesn’t come without a price. Some drawbacks to telecommuting to consider are:

• Isolation. No more chitchat about the weather with coworkers — sounds wonderful until you're working from home and it's not even an option anymore. You might go a little stir-crazy.
• Others' perceptions. At some point, friends and family might take your work hours less seriously, because you're working from home. You may have to remind them that you are on the clock just like those in an office setting.
• Distractions. It can be easy to get distracted when you work from home — the freedom can be overwhelming. It takes a lot of discipline to work from home.
• Blurred boundaries. All of a sudden, work is home and home is work. It can be easy for the lines to become blurred. You'll have to make an extra effort to keep work and home life separate.
• Lack of supervision. When you're at a regular job, you can't just stray from tasks as easily, but at home you can. Again, it takes discipline.

Tips to Successfully Work From Home

• Create a dedicated office space. To keep the line drawn between work and home, turn one of your rooms into an office and only work from there.
• Set regular office hours. Just because you may have the freedom to work whenever doesn't mean you should. Working the same hours every day can be a good reminder to family, friends and yourself that working from home is still serious business.
• Keep a routine. You often end up shaping your life around a normal office, like when you eat lunch and for how long. Stick to a routine and you'll likely be more productive.
• Check in with the office. Make sure you check in with office coworkers often by email, Skype or phone to let them know you're available and working. This also keeps your boss in the loop on what you're accomplishing.
• Avoid home distractions. As hard as it may be to ignore home chores during work hours, refrain. The dishes and laundry can wait until you've completed your work day.
• Take a break. Take a quick break now and again to relax and refocus, which will actually make you more productive when you start working again.
• Leave the house at least once a day. This might seem like an obvious one, but really, when you work from home, it's shockingly easy to just sit inside like a hermit all day. End your work day by getting out of the house to meet up with friends or your spouse, or just go out by yourself to grab coffee.

No doubt: telecommuting has great benefits, but it's not for everyone. Remember that it's not always the easy experience you might imagine, and a lot of it depends on you: your personality, your work style, how easily you're distracted, and whether you enjoy working alone or with others more. It might be smart to ask your employer if you could try out a hybrid solution — some time working from home and some time working in the office — to see how well you do before committing to telecommuting full time.