How To Work From Home – 3 Big Lessons

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I spent months pondering that question: “how to work from home”

For nearly 15 years I’ve worked alone from an office at home and I love it. But…

…Before you jump straight into working from home I’d like to tell you my story. It might help you avoid some big mistakes.

Back to 1990

For years I’d sat in traffic jams or smelly crowded trains wasting hours a day travelling to and from work.

I hated the work, I hated the boss, in fact when I think back I don’t know how I put up with it for so long. I was simply wasting my life away!

I knew I had to find a way out and do something else.

At that time I just wanted a change and hadn’t got as far as thinking about working from home. No, all I wanted was a change of career.

It wasn’t an easy ride, I freely admit that.

In fact it didn’t actually happen in one step.

I was working for a national bank. It was a “good job”. You know the sort – go to school get an education, get a good job and retire happily ever after. What “they” forgot to mention was to live a bit along the way!

Sleepless night after sleepless night, cold sweats, what should I do. I worried about staying, I worried about going, I worried whether I was doing the right thing.

The support I received was outstanding:

• “you’re stupid giving up all that security”
• “you’ll never get a job as good as that”
• “you’ve spent years getting to where you are – don’t throw it all away”

Looking back those “advisers” were just too scared to do anything about changing their own lives and didn’t want to see me break free. You’ve probably got some people in your life like that.

Eventually I made the decision – the fear disappeared overnight to be immediately replaced with relief and optimism.

I took a new role – an adviser, self employed, only a tiny basic income, effectively commission only, no benefits like Private Health Care or Pension but the “promise” of a great income for a great performance.

Maybe I was naive but it didn’t matter because I believed it was possible.

I went from empty desk and no prospects to successful financial planner in 3 years BUT the problems continued.

I’d given up one boss for another. I’d given up the daily commute for late night working. I was still driving miles and although the income was higher I was wasting hours every week travelling from client to client. Where was the perfect lifestyle I was looking for?

Time for another change. This time I didn’t worry. I’d learnt to make big decisions and I knew things would work out OK.

LESSON ONE – AVOIDANCE

But here’s the issue and one you need to think about very carefully…

I was avoiding the pain of the existing job – boss, travel etc etc rather than focusing on what I really wanted.

Please, re-read that sentence and whatever you decide to do in life do it because of what you really want not to avoid something. If you take nothing else from this site please take that message with you.

So, I set up an office at home. I was free of bosses for ever. I’d reduced my travelling time to a minimum. Everything was looking great and then I realised I given up one set of challenges for another.

LESSON TWO – CHALLENGES

My wife returned from work one day. She’d put the washing out to dry before she left that morning. During the day there’d been heavy rain. The washing was still on the line. I was to blame! I should show more concern. I was at home and now I should pay attention to such things.

STOP RIGHT THERE!

I was at work and anything domestic was not my concern. If I was out at work the washing would have been out in the rain. There was no difference. But there had been some assumptions made and assumptions I didn’t like!

No ground rules had been set. This was quickly put right but a lesson had been learnt.

Make sure when you are “at work” everyone at home knows that you are working and you will not get involved in anything but your work. If you choose to do so make sure it’s on your terms and please don’t let it become a habit. The boundaries will slip and you’ll have an issue on your hands!

But also be aware of new challenges.

In the office there is always someone around for a “chat”. Someone to ask a quick question, someone to talk about the match.

Working alone at home can be lonely.

I love it. I can focus and get things done. I’m extremely disciplined – I start work and I’m in the zone. I don’t need constant chat – I like it this way.

But for many being alone is a big challenge. They can’t get motivated – they wander around the house thinking about work but with nobody cracking the whip never get started. If that’s you think very carefully whether working from home is really for you.

LESSON THREE – WHY

After a while it became clear. I was still doing the same work and I’d just changed my place of work. That was all I intended at the time but now I know better. I was looking at the wrong problem.

I had removed many of the problems – noisy colleagues, constant interuptions, negativity but I really wanted to change my lifestyle and thought that changing my job, my boss, my place of work would resolve my challenges.

Maybe it was necessary for me to go through those steps to identify what I really wanted. Maybe you too need to go through a number of steps.

But maybe, if you really dig deep to find out what you really want you can avoid the pain of too many changes and the frustration of finding out that you still hadn’t found what you were looking for. (Great line for a song there!)

So in answer to the question “how to work from home” I pose three questions:

1. Are you trying to avoid something?
2. Have you thought carefully about the challenges of working at home?
3. What is it you really want?

When you’ve answered those questions you’ll be ready to decide whether it should be a different question you are asking.

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