Great Reasons You Should be Working from
Home!
June 15, 2020 Janet 2 Comments
So, here you are ~ looking for great reasons to be working from home.
Full time, part time, whatever the situation is, and you are not sure if it is
great or bad to work from home. This is what I have found out about
working from home by asking questions, doing research and of course my own
experience. Back when I was in the hospitality business as a District
Manager, I had a home office where I worked from home regularly. Here are the
great reasons to be working from home!
And that is where I was working from home about 2-3 hours a day,
5 days a week (after working in my locations for 10+hours). Plus, I worked my 6th day
and sometimes my 7th day of every week in my home office
catching up paperwork, having meetings with uplines and downlines via video
conferencing. Well now I work from home, for the last 8+ years. I
do have experience and know a lot of the ins and outs of what it takes and the
pitfalls too. Now, here are the reasons that you should take advantage
and work from home when your employer offers it.
So take a few, read a bit and weigh out your options ~~
Your Office Can Be Anywhere~ and I Mean Anywhere! Think about it, I
am not talking about going to the kitchen table from your den. You can go
sit poolside at a table under an umbrella and enjoy the great summer weather
(or winter in the south). So now, the kids want to go to the playground
and you still have work to do? Grab the laptop, go to the playground, and
grab a picnic table and set up remotely. This of course depends on the
type of work that you do. If you write, do research or computer work,
this is an option! What a great reason to be working from home!
Not enough hours in the day or days in the
week
Your Schedule Can Be Your Own ~ With everything going on right now,
many employers have allowed some of their staff to have an even greater reason
to work from home where feasible. Now, some of those employers have
even stated that they are going to allow a portion of their staff to remain
working from home once things go back to the “new” normal. If your work
is the type of work where you do not have to attend meetings and deal with
clients, you may be able to adjust your schedule to suit your own.
Well, when you’re remote and need to really concentrate, you can
just change your status in the office group chat or website, to “do not
disturb” and buckle down. The same for any social media you are on.
Switch it off or to “do not disturb”.
So now, if you are an early bird like me, rejoice, I wake up at
about 4am and can begin working before I do my 530am workout. Next, I
work for about 45 minutes, then get ready to do my workout, that lasts until
about 6am. Finally, I then finish up with a fast walk of about 40
minutes, come home and shower. After that I start my workday again.
I pour some coffee, grab a bite, and sit down at the computer to do research,
do a post or work on another part of our business.
Talk about working my schedule around my Life! This is how
it is supposed to work. And you can also rejoice if you are a born night owl!
Imagine being able to sleep late and start your “day job” at 8pm and
still be on time. I now have a great reason to work from home.
If you are a website developer, a remote worker, a data entry
worker, a medical transcriptionist, a social media manager, or one of many
other work from home jobs that do not have set hours, you can work from home
and around your life.
You Can Actually Have Enjoyable and Effective Meetings ~ So Tell me, do you know anybody
besides maybe your Boss (or the person in charge of the meeting) that really
enjoys the meetings? Probably only a few can answer that yes.
Having been the Boss, in charge of the meetings, I know that it is not always
enjoyable holding those meetings.
But let’s talk about it from your point of view. How much
free coffee, free donuts, bagels, or fruit does it take for you to enjoy being
next to some guy or gal sitting there fidgeting? Shuffling papers, clicking
pens, searching for notes, slurping coffee or whatever they are doing.
How much of that free stuff does it take for you to enjoy the meeting and get
past that annoyance? The room is always too hot or too cold, too crowded,
too noisy. And of course it takes 10 or more minutes to get everyone to
settle in to start the meeting!
So now, let’s compare the video conference meeting. Once
you get past the apprehension of talking via a video, think about this.
You can be ready on time, have your snack of choice, drink of choice, and with
a quick click, the Boss can mute everyone once the basic rollcall is
done. Then as people have the need or desire to talk, the Boss unmutes
them.
In the side chat feature, you can communicate more,
connect better; also a great way to share any documents quickly without wasting
paper. No outside cell phones ringing, no interruptions. The
meeting can be more efficient and done faster. And you can now avoid
office politics and the games that sometimes come at work. You cannot
choose your co-workers, just like family. You are kind of stuck with
them. However, now that you are working remotely, your time with the
office gossips and politics is limited. You can also limit it even more
by that “do not disturb” sign in the room. What a great bonus!
The next best thing? Pick up the phone to congratulate someone
after a job well done, or the completion of a project rather than sending an
impersonal email or IM.
You Can Keep in Touch More Easily—and Maybe Have Some Fun Doing
It! Some people are
afraid that they’ll be lonely or left out when they work from home. By no
means does this need to be true. Think about the options. I know
how much people Love & Dread office parties. Birthday parties, work
anniversaries, promotions, etc. Oh they can be such a nice break from the
day; now I am behind for the day. Oh Cake and a long hoagie that is cut
up, along with a variety of sides; now I blew my healthy eating. And the
cards, oh and do I need to buy a gift for every party?
Now, reminders can be sent out about upcoming special
days. You can do a special effect on a video chat, with balloons, a fun
background, or a tropical location. Or maybe send them a funny, or
special GIF or MEME for that day. You can send it all in a monthly video
conference party or a private chat, or even an email. Be personable, take
the time to let them know that you still have that connection. There are
so many options now for remote workers, more apps than I could even begin to
mention.
Your Health ~ Mental and Physical, will both improve. Physically ~ you do not need
to be tied to that chair! Just think, no sidelong glances from the
coworkers or boss when you need to stand and stretch or want to take a
five-minute walk around to get your legs and blood circulating again. Are
you thinking that you must have a big old desk set up in the bedroom or
corner? If so, you are thinking wrong.
Iwork from my laptop, right now it is on my desk in the den. So
far today it has been at the breakfast bar while I stood up for a while
(stand-up desk), then it was outside at my patio set while I enjoyed fresh air
and a cup of coffee (fresh air is good for you). I even had it on the coffee
table while I sat with my legs folded under me, yoga style and stretched my
legs for a bit. I have kept my back from getting sore and kept my legs moving
as well today!.
Mentally ~ working from home gives you an environment that
should be more peaceful. Let’s talk about how you make it peaceful. You can
lean back in your chair, take a deep breath, and count to ten, then breath out
slowly. There are so many things that you can do to enable yourself to have a
peaceful experience working from home. Soft music that you enjoy playing in the
background will make your environment less stressful!.
Maybe add in a candle (even one of those flame-less one’s are
great). I also love the miniature waterfalls for the home or
office. The sound of water flowing across rocks or pebbles is one of the
most soothing sounds. You now can make your office the way you want it,
not the sterile, picture free environment that your company expects in their
building. Working from home means you will learn to rely on your own
motivation, discipline, focus, and concentration, all skills that if you do not
have, you will learn to build.
You might make more money ~ According to one study, on average work from home workers
average 28% more than their counterparts. Imagine that, stay at home, and earn
more for doing it. You may wonder why you can make more money from home. The
answer is, ask for it. You can ask for it with these reasons in hand, you are
saving the company money. They are saving money on the utilities it would cost
them for your office space to be up and running. They are saving money on the
computer system that they are supplying (unless they send you home with one).
More money is saved on the snacks they may supply, the water cooler, the
coffee, the occasional lunches they bring in, the office supplies and more.
You Can Learn More and Become More Independent ~ So, once you get past the
running around like a kid in a candy shop (set free from the constraints of an
office), you will begin to develop new skills. First, you will learn that
you do not have to run over to the tech guru for every little thing. So now
you will not need to have the person in the cubicle next to you “just give it a
look”.
You will learn to trust your own instincts more, you will learn
to do more research on your own and be proactive, not reactive. You will
search for answers on your own and learn to refine your skills. One skill
you will refine as needed is your writing skills! You can use this
app http://www.hemingwayapp.com/ to help with
your letter writing skills. There are apps on web developing sites that
you need to make sure are active to help if you are a web developer, Blogger,
or something similar.
For instance “Yoast Seo”, will show you your readability,
punctuation, and run-on sentences. Of course you can always use Google
search or go to your company’s website or Wiki to find some answers. Try
downloading this blog for some more answers also : www.skillcrush.com/blog
there is some great information there. You will become a communications
expert; you must get up to speed on what communication tools are
available. If you are not comfortable with the tools, it is time to ask
for help if needed and get comfortable with texting, Skyping, emailing, web
meetings, you need to become very savvy in all of those.”
Remember on your journey to being more independent and working
your own schedule to be sensitive to others needs. Your co-workers are
still your co-workers, different schedules, and all. When it is time for
meetings, phone call and various conferences, be considerate. Take the
time to schedule those types of things during your old “normal” work
hours. These are great Life skills to Master as well.
You have no commute ~ Time, oh did I mention Time. What
a wonderful idea to have time of your own! Here in Phoenix an hour
commute to work is no big deal. In New York, I have friends who drive to
the rail station, pay to park their car in the lot (monthly fee) and then ride
the train to NYC to work. Then they either cab, ride share, bus (or walk
in the summer) to work. Their commute is anywhere from 90 minutes to 2
hours, each way, every day. Imagine the hours you save every day, every
week by working from home.
You will save your company money and can potentially get paid
more ~ You are saving
the company money. They are saving money on the utilities it would cost
them for your office space to be up and running. They are saving money on
the computer system that they are supplying (unless they send you home with
one). No office supplies like printer paper, printers, stapler,
staples, desk, lights, bulletin board, etc. They may be saving money on HR, IT
and more. More money is saved on the snacks they may supply, the water
cooler, the coffee, the occasional lunches they bring in, the office supplies
and more. And they ideally offer an allowance for these things, you need
to ask!
More time for Friends & Family ~ How much do you value your time with
your family, your friends? I find that I am willing to work from home and
rearrange my schedule to make the time for the moments that count to us.
I can take the long weekend when we are able, I am able to enjoy teaching them
how to cook and we enjoy family dinners now also. No cell phones, tv’s or
constant interruptions while we enjoy our time together. We do family
movie night and family game nights now also. We are able and willing to
open our door to friends and family for quality time now. Because we no
longer feel that we have no time together and life has relaxed a bit.
You Really will save money ~You will save money on gas,
that is an obvious one.
Car maintenance is next, less oil
changes, less wear and tear on tires, so less money there too!
Don’t forget, pick up the phone and let your insurance agent
know that you no longer commute to work and ask for a discount. Most
companies give a discount for less miles and people who work from home.
Better yet, if you are a multi-car family, after a few months of
working from home, re-evaluate things. This is the time to look and see
how much you use that second vehicle. Is it feasible to sell one and save
on everything related to owning that second car?
What else, you ask? Food! You may be a
frugal person who takes their lunch most days of the week. But honestly,
do you go out to eat lunch on paydays? Buy snacks at a vending
machine? Grab a coffee on your way in to work daily? Think of all
the money you will save on buying what you really want for lunch, and snacks
and eating it at home; feet propped up watching tv or listening to music while
you are on break. That’s the life.
Designer coffee you say, they are so easy to make at home! It is all
about being prepared and having a great coffee pot. And no, you do not
need to rush out and buy the most expensive one money can buy. Most of
them are not that difficult to make. The reason people do not make them
at home is social interaction and basic laziness.
Your wardrobe ~ Man or woman, most people spend extra money on work
clothes, work shoes, etc. No more forcing yourself into a suit or
uncomfortable work outfit and shoes that you only wear to work. Because
they are not your style anywhere else. All this wearing casual clothes to
work at home equals less money spent.
Now, I am not talking about working in your pajamas, that leads
to less productivity for most people. I am talking about a decent outfit
that is comfortable enough to relax in; an outfit that also looks good for a
zoom meeting! You will also still have the clothes you were wearing to
work; you will get a longer life out of those and can wear them for zoom
meetings if need be or that occasional trip to the office. Ok, and let’s
be honest here; if you really want to work in your pajamas, you can.
Dry cleaning ~ Some people take their work wardrobe to the
dry-cleaner’s. Less use of those clothes means less money spent on
it. The clothes you wear to work now, should be the type that go into
your washing machine.
Gym costs ~ Many people that work from home give up their gym
memberships in lieu of buying a home setup, like a treadmill &
weights. Or they go for a family membership near their home that is less
expensive than the one most people go with (close to work). A lot of
people fit their workout into their breaks in the day. They go for a
walk, do some sort of stretching, yoga or walk the dog during lunch.
Moving around more helps keep you healthier.
Dog sitters ~ or doggy daycare. I know quite a few people who have
pets and either hire a dog sitter who comes to their home to walk and feed
their dog daily, or they take their dog to doggy daycare. Well, if you
are working from home, that is no longer needed. You can walk the dog
during your breaks. This is good for both you and your pet. It is a
proven fact that pets reduce stress. Plus, well, exercise is good for
everyone!
Tax Deductions on Office space for work from home ~ Check with your
accountant for the exact deductions you can make. Once you have done
this, you will be amazed at what is deductible, more than most people would
have ever thought!
Next, I would like to just say that in working from home, or remotely,
you need to communicate better than you did when you worked in an office; this
is how you create your future. Begin by responding right away to emails,
even if it is just a quick note with “I got it and will get back to you later
today”. Work your schedule around those conference calls, those video
conferences. Make sure you have your time set up so that there are no
distractions and no noises in the background.
Things like dogs barking, phones ringing, or loud tv’s.
Make sure that you touch base with the office on a regular basis at a regular
time. Show them that you are holding yourself accountable by sending that
morning email or phoning the Boss. Maybe now, your employer will
see that you can be a better worker; show yourself that you can be a better person.
You are suddenly working from home and knowing that you can do a great job is
the first step to success. The key, is to set your mind to the pathway of
success, enjoy it while you are there.
I hope that you enjoy having a new freedom to a
Healthier Mind and Body while Making more Money from home ~ Namaste ~ Momma
Janet
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