I’ve heard people say that the main reason that they want to work at home is because they can work only when they want to work. It IS true that you can set your own work hours when you work at home, but it does NOT mean that you don’t have to set work hours.

A ‘hit or miss’ work schedule…or rather, the lack of any work schedule at all, simply will not work. Time is of the Essence! YOUR time!

I love working at home and for me working at home is a very, very good thing. I can see the kids, I can sleep later, I can get things done that I just could not get done if I had a regular 8 to 5 job.

However, working at home can also be a very, very bad thing if you do not plan your time well and if you do not set up a work schedule that you and your family can live with. When you work at home, time really is of the essence.

Here is the way I see it:

You must... make very good use of the time that you spend working. If you are not efficient in accomplishing the tasks that must be done, you will either spend too much time working or you will fail miserably at your work at home job or business.

You must... set up a work schedule for yourself when you work at home and then you must enforce that work schedule for yourself and insist that you family and friends also adhere to your work schedule.

Think about it...

A job out in the brick and mortar world does two things;

(1) It provides a structure for your day and...

(2) it tells your family and friends that your time is spoken for during your working hours. You will notice that both of these things that a regular job provides both relate to your TIME.

First, let’s discuss the structure that a regular job provides and how you can apply that structure to your work at home job or business. When you have a job that you go to outside your home, you are required to be at that job at a specified time on specified days of the week.

When you have a work at home job or business, you need that same kind of structure. You need to set regular working hours. The freedom that a work at home job provides is that you can choose the hours…but you do need to choose! The reason for this is because so many people never choose, so in the end they just never get anything done.

Now let’s talk about your family and friends and how they are going to view your work at home job. It is a strange but very true fact that your dear mother would not DREAM of calling you at your ‘real’ job and asking you to drive Aunt Rosie to the beauty shop and wait for her….after all….you are WORKING and can’t be expected to leave your job to run errands.

 Right?

However, that very same considerate mother will call you and ask you to take Aunt Rosie to the beauty shop and wait for her when you are working at home. Why? Because you are at home and available, that’s why.

Your dear, sweet mother will not see your work at home job as a ‘real’ job. Your spouse will also see you as being free to run errands. Your friends will see you as being available for long telephone conversations, lunch or for a coffee klatch.

See the problem?

If you do not schedule your time and abide by your schedule yourself, others will not. Unless you see your work at home job as a REAL job with REAL working hours, your time will be eaten up. You will not accomplish the tasks that you need to accomplish.

You will fail and find yourself out looking for a REAL job unless you see your work at home job as the real thing with regular working hours that make you unavailable for other activities.

The best way to accomplish using your time to your own best advantage with your work at home job or business is to make a schedule and tell your family and friends what that schedule is.

You don’t have to be rude but you do have to be firm. Make it clear to all. “I will be working between 9 AM and 3 PM Monday through Friday. On those days and during those hours, I am NOT available to run errands or take personal phone calls or entertain company.” Then stick to it!

Now that's not to say that you have to be so strict on yourself that you can't enjoy the benefits of being your own boss and working at home. But you need to have some sort of structure. Otherwise your dream job could end up being just that...a dream.