EVER CONSIDERED WORKING from home? From dragging yourself out of bed at an ungodly hour to getting stuck in traffic, sometimes going to work is just a… chore.
Working from home can be much different from heading to the day job, wherever that may be, but it’s certainly an achievable dream – if you know how. We’ve rounded up six things you definitely need to know before working for yourself.
And that means getting out of bed. Yes, sorry. While one of the joys of working for yourself is that you don’t have to be at your desk at a certain time every day, it’s very easy to while away the morning and not get anything done. Start as you mean to go on and get out of bed at a good time, make your bed (so you won’t be tempted to go back to it), and start your day as if this was a real job – because, of course, it is.
One of the biggest perks of working from home is you don’t have to dress yourself to get on with things. However, while taking calls in your pyjamas seems like the best thing ever, it’s better for you to get dressed as again it puts a separation between just getting out of bed and getting some work done. Of course, you don’t have to wear officewear or even smart casual – go nuts. You’re the boss, wear what you like. You do you.
While you could work at your kitchen table, or on the couch, it’s much better for you to have your own dedicated area to do your work at. As you’re now working from home, your work life could overtake your home life, so you need to keep some separation between the two. Having a room that you can shut the door on when you’re finished work, or at least a desk that you only do your work at, is essential to keeping a division between work and home.
Working from home is great because it affords you total control over your own schedule and the flexibility to arrange your day as it suits you. You don’t have to ask anyone if you can go pick up your kids from school and no one is going to stop you watching the latest episode of Big Bang Theory with your morning coffee – just try not to bingewatch Netflix, all day, ok?
Human beings are social animals and while it seems that not having coworkers would be the best thing ever (depending on your coworkers of course), you might find you miss a bit of human interaction if you’re alone all day. Some ways to get around this is to schedule face to face business meetings, work from a coffee shop if you don’t get distracted, or meet friends for lunch – just don’t make it a liquid lunch…
It’s only when you start working from home that you’ll realise how much equipment you actually had access to in work. From notebooks and pens to computers, printers and broadband, you’re going to have to pony up for all of these yourself now. You can claim it back on taxes though, so don’t forget to keep those receipts.
Fancy working from home? You could win an Office in a Box package from Magnet worth €2,500. It includes broadband, phone with unlimited minutes, domain name, hosting and Magnet’s new cyber security platform, Magnet Protect. Call Magnet here: 1800 789 789. Good luck.
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