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4 Ways to Know if Working From Home Is Right For You

  October 9

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I’ve been working from home for over five years now, and although it’s not always rainbows, butterflies, and unicorns, it’s still one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

But, it’s not for everyone so here are 4 ways to know if it’s right for you:

You Want Flexibility

The best part about working from home is that I have the flexibility to work whenever I want. This doesn’t mean I don’t have deadlines (because I have deadlines coming out of my ears) but it does mean that I can dictate exactly which hours I work and which hours I don’t.

If you crave flexibility or your boss scoffs every time you take off work because your kid is sick, working from home might be great for you.

You Don’t Want to Wear Pants

If you don’t want to wear pants or work clothes or anything at all for that matter, you should work from home. Corporations don’t like it when their employees show up without pants on, but when you work from home, very little is required of your appearance.

I tend to get dressed because I have to drop off my kids at school and then the UPS man stops by every now and then so I try not to scare them. However, if you want to save money on work clothes (or makeup – I haven’t bought new makeup in forever) this is a big pro to working from home!

You’re Sick and Tired of Your Commute

In my last job I had a super short commute, but in the one before that, I sat in traffic for 45 minutes both ways. It was brutal. I felt like by the time I got home after a long day of work, I was too tired to do anything. Working from home really eliminates the commute altogether. Not only that, but you are in your home, so you can chop some vegetables for dinner when you take a break or switch the loads of laundry.

Don’t get me wrong; chores can be a distraction too. However, by mixing in business and personal, sometimes you can create a bit more balance in your life.

You Work Better Alone

I feel like I have co-workers because I interact with other bloggers and entrepreneurs every single day. There are many bloggers who I consider my best friends, and we text, e-mail, and Facebook message regularly. However, they aren’t here in my house with me, and there’s something nice about knowing that I don’t have to go into any meetings, answer to anyone, or go anywhere if I don’t want to.

Sometimes people just work better alone, but the corporate workforce is so set on having these open air collaborative work environments that are great for extroverts but not for people who derive their energy by working alone.

If you feel like you would be well suited to working from home but you don’t know where to start, e-mail me! I love talking about entrepreneurship. Or, if you’re a writer interested in writing for a living, you might like my course.

Do you work from home or have you always wanted to? Why do you think it would be a good fit?

 

4 Ways To Know If Working From Home Is Right For You

42 responses to “4 Ways to Know if Working From Home Is Right For You

  1. Fantastic post, Cat! I completely agree with all of these, and I hope to be back working from home sooner than later! Like you (were), I’m currently spending about an hour each way on the days I work in the office. I’m incredibly thankful I get to work from home sometimes, but man, that two hours a day could be spent a million times better than in traffic!

    Hope you have a great day!! 🙂

  2. I’ve enjoyed the flexibility of working from home (part-time in my case), especially after having my first child. I’m definitely the type that gets more done alone. I would add that it helps to be a self-starter who is goal-oriented in order to resist the distractions of home and be productive.

  3. I always get dressed for work, but I admit that after my lunchtime workout, I don’t change back. Cheers to the no pants benefit!

  4. My friends and family are always asking me if I miss working in an office and having co-workers. They think I’m going to be a hermit since I work at home alone all day (I might be hermit this winter because I hate the cold). I keep trying to tell them that even though I only interact over email, FB, Twitter, etc. I still feel like I’m talking to people all day.

  5. Sounds like sheer bliss to me! I’m with you on the no pants thing–I’d much rather be in PJs! I definitely find that I’m more productive when I work from home than when I’m in the office. There’s just something so helpful about being in my own environment, free from interruption. My biggest challenge is that I snack more when I’m working from home because the kitchen is just so handy!

  6. I’ve been surprised by how much I’ve enjoyed working from home, because I also enjoyed working around other people. Staying in comfy clothes for much of the day is amazing! One thing I like about the flexibility is being able to start work quite early. I love what I do so much that sometimes I wake up and am just so excited to get to work that I’m glad to be able to get to it without having to shower/eat breakfast/leave the house first!

  7. I have been wanted to work from home because I can use my productively and I think time spent in commute is really unproductive. Imagine I spend one hour to be at the office. That is two hours in a day. If there’s really an opportunity to work from home, I’d gladly accept it.

  8. I think the best deal is be the boss of yourself, having freedom to choose where work (library, cafe, home), I’ve returned to work into real estate agency and I am loving it but I loved also time I worked from home and still do as side hustle!!!

  9. I work from home about 2-3 times a month, and it always has been a good experience. I would love to work from home full-time but my current career is not conducive to it. Maybe one day!

  10. I love “you don’t want to wear pants” LOL. Yes this is perfect. Also, if you don’t like rules and like being your own boss. For example, I cannot eat lunch at my desk. Why. I just want to!

  11. Ha, yes, I love the flexibility of being able to wear whatever and work when I want! Working from home has been amazing as far as allowing me to travel more. I’m trying to take advantage of it as much as possible.

  12. Ive been working from home for a few months now and i couldn’t be happier. Its actually my side job and im thinking about doing it full time, thanks for the info!

  13. I love working from home but I have to make a concerted effort to introduce more walking into my day because you lose a lot by not going to an office. Beyond that, the flexibility is awesome. 🙂

    1. That’s a good point, Jim. You definitely have to make it a point to take a break now and then to get up and walk around. Sometimes I lose track of time and before I know it, it’s been 4 or 5 hours since I got up and moved around.

  14. Sometimes I think I’d really like working from home but there’s a lot I know Id miss from my job. I do know that if I was ever to work from home I would probably have to actually leave home. I get way too distracted easily and would probably need to go to a library or something.

    1. Yes, you do have to be careful about getting distracted when working from home. I try to go to my office space and shut the door so I don’t have as many distractions to face.

  15. I checked off all of these! You’re so right on the makeup. I used to go through most of my things like crazy, and now I buy cosmetics maybe twice a year. I don’t have to worry about buying new clothes to look nice next to my coworkers, either. My commute has always been less than 30 minutes, and I still hated it because of all the stupidity I would witness on the road. I am SO glad to be done with that.

    1. I still like to get dressed most days and wear make up now and then, but I don’t have to do it everyday. It’s nice on the days I don’t feel like getting fixed up at all.

  16. I’ve only recently started blogging and have been hearing more and more from other bloggers about this idea of working from home. I love the idea of perhaps doing freelance writing eventually, but I do have to say that I really enjoy leaving the house each day, walking to work, and seeing other people — most days I get a lot of energy from that whole experience. Then again, it would be nice to have the flexibility to work from home sometimes. Perhaps there’s a balance there somewhere that would work for me. In the meantime, I’ll continue my current routine of working at my job during the day and working on my fun blogging project at home in the mornings and evenings!

    1. You must be an extrovert since you get energy from leaving the house and interacting with others. I’m a total introvert, so I really enjoy working by myself at home.

  17. “You don’t want to wear pants…”
    Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding!

    In all seriousness, working at home is the best for all the reasons you mentioned!

  18. Sounds like I need to quit work and start a home business. Cause I checked of 3/4… Working alone is here and there.

    Good thing its on the queue of this I want to do next year.

  19. It’s great working from home, but I do miss some of the office camaraderie and energy. What I don’t miss is the office politics and playing referee to childish antics from grown adults. 🙂

    As a stay-at-home Dad and blogger, I definitely enjoy the flexibility. The first half of the day involves chasing 2 little ones around the house, juggling diapers and crayons, and occasionally shooting off a random tweet. The second half is more calm (when I finally get to write), but only takes place after 10pm. Luckily I don’t need much sleep. 🙂

  20. I’ve been very lucky to find a job where I can work from home. I’m disabled, so I *have* to work in the house. My boss is really understanding of health issues. His main thing is that I get emails answered in a timely fashion. So I can take off for a doctor’s appointment, run an errand or even lie down for a bit.

    If I had to freelance for a living, it’d be a disaster. I’m terrible at organizing my time unless I’m on a strict schedule. So this is sort of the best of both worlds: a schedule, but a flexible one.

  21. I’m Catherine and go by Cat too! How funny 🙂 But I love this post, it totally confirmed why I want to work from home! Flexibility and if I want to stay in pj’s all day it is totally ok!

  22. Working from home is ideal for some especially me because doing this would give us lots of time to work on our task and we don’t have to buy office clothes and to commute, saving us not only money but also time.

  23. Hi Cat! I’ve worked from home for a local company for the past 5 years and I absolutely love the flexibility. I crave even more flexibility since I have to report for work during certain times. My employer allows me to work between 6:30 am and 2:30 pm, but it would be awesome to be able to work a fragmented schedule throughout the day. I won’t complain though because I know working from home these days is definitely a perk!

  24. I have been working from home for years and I really like it because it feels like I am the boss because I can set my schedule and do not have to commute work. So I think Catherine it is definitely right for me.

  25. I love not dealing with office politics! I also enjoy wearing jammies and no makeup 🙂 Most of all, I enjoy working from anywhere and traveling more!

  26. One of the times I wind up really thinking about putting effort into becoming a freelance blogger is when I take jobs with long commutes. I can never get over how wasteful that time is!

    Also, if I’m being honest, the no pants thing sounds pretty awesome too.

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