Time to Work at Home

A Home Business Article Contributed by Wendy Ledbetter

Time to Work at Home

One of the greatest benefits of working at home is the fact that hours are typically flexible. Depending on the nature of the business, it might be possible to work evening hours to have the daytime free, or early morning to have evenings free. No matter what hours work out best, it's imperative to the success of a work at home business that you work.

The Work at Home "Friend Factor"

When a person works at home, others often have the notion that the person is free to drop the work at any time. The rational is simple - there's no on-site boss and no time clock, so you can work anytime.

It's important to explain to those people that the issue of accomplishing tasks remains the same, even without a boss checking up on you. And if you spend your daytime hours running errands and doing favors for others, you'll be working all evening when they have finished their day at the office and headed home for down time. Point out that regardless of the fact that you don't go to an office, you still don't get paid unless you meet objectives. It's okay to take on favors when you want to do that, but remember that making the work at home business a success means you have to work at it.

The Work at Home "Mommy Factor"

Depending on the age of the children, it might still be necessary to have outside childcare, or to set rules about asking for help. Just as you wouldn't take a toddler to the office with you, or stop typing a letter at an office to help make snacks, your work at home must also be a priority.

If the children were old enough to make their own peanut butter sandwich while the parent was at an office, they're also old enough to make it while the parent is in the next room working. Even though it's a temptation to put the priority on children, moms and dads who work at home must also be sure the business continues to thrive.

If the situation only arises occasionally, it's perfectly acceptable to take a break and spend some quality time with the children - in fact it's one of the main perks of a work at home business. But when the interruptions are so frequent that the work suffers, it's probably time to have a talk with the children. Explain it simply and set rules about when it's acceptable to interrupt.

The Work at Home "Me Factor"

Working at home should allow a greatly flexible hours and one of the best things is that lunches, starting time and quitting time becomes largely a matter of preference. So there's absolutely no harm in taking an hour's lunch break at 11 a.m. every day to watch your favorite television program or starting at 10 a.m. instead of 8, allowing time to tidy up from breakfast and get some laundry started.

The problem begins when those little alterations grow into bigger one - you decide it's okay to start work at 10 a.m. and break at 11 for the show. It's easy to also stop work early to start dinner for the family and to take a long bath in the middle of the day.

It might be time for you to have a talk with yourself, repeating the rules you gave friends and family.