Comments on: 5 Work-From-Home Habits Strangling Your Biz

By: Cresilda @ Virtual Assistant, Inc.

Cresilda @ Virtual Assistant, Inc. — Wed, 25 May 2011 07:57:13 +0000

Which is healthier: working from home or working in an office? There are lots of pros and cons for each. I’m not against home-based business (in fact, i want it). But speaking of health, while making your way to the office you can walk, use a staircase, wake up early and become personally social. On the other hand, you can work while on bed on your pajamas at home which definitely makes your life sedentary. Whether you work from home or in an office, it’s up to you if you want to maintain your active lifestyle. There is always time for that if you are really into it.

By: Amber Evans

Amber Evans — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 17:25:14 +0000

Wow – been there. I would also say that in addition to doing all these things, it’s important to clean your house and workspace every night before you go to bed. I would sit at my desk in the morning and then say, “oh look! better dust that window sill/ceiling fan/ceramic animal,” then “maybe I should be mowing the lawn.” I eventually learned that in order to focus on just work, and for the sake of my ever-increasing ADD, I needed to clean the night before. Wake up in the morning (feeling like P. Diddy) to a clean house and workspace!

By: Laurie Holman

Laurie Holman — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 22:05:06 +0000

Great post! I’ve never worked from home, except a day or two here and there when I had to wait for the cable guy or something. Daily social interaction’s really important to me, so if I worked from home consistently I’d probably end up like Catherine Deneuve in the film “Repulsion” (she was home alone for 10 days, and started to see arms coming out of the walls and grabbing her).

I would think the most important habit you’d need to break when starting work in an office is putting on the pants. I don’t think you’d get too far without those.

By: Dan

Dan — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 15:10:04 +0000

Different strokes. I love working from home. I love being able to spend time with my family as a break from work every couple of hours. I love being able to go out and about when I feel the need to. If I had to pay for an extra office I’d just end up stressing more about my workload. Of course all the things you mention are habits you have to avoid when working from home but it’s definitely doable. Out of the house activities, waking up on time, exercising, social networking, friends, and non work events are crucial to a healthy life no matter where you work from.

By: Lalit Burma

Lalit Burma — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 08:46:10 +0000

I simply follow my strict routine and with that I set up small office in my home where my staff came at scheduled time … so I am enjoying all the benefits of working from home … without having many drawbacks …

But yeah second point “Eating When You’re Bored” is killing me as well :)

By: Jami Broom

Jami Broom — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:23:50 +0000

I just thought of another problem of working at home — because people (friends and family) know you’re at home, they think this means you’re also accessible. to them. for personal things. Unless you make it clear to people you ARE working, they are going to expect you to be available to them. And even sometimes if they KNOW you’re working…they’ll still call you in the middle of the day or expect you to be able to have a 2 hour lunch with them.

And, all this, as you know…just requires you to have to work late. :-(

By: Terry

Terry — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 13:29:53 +0000

Great post!

Working from a home office is very hard if you do not start out from day one with work hours, including break times and a real lunch hour. This is very important.

I am fortunate enough to live in a small town, so short walks are a simple and refreshing thing on my set breaks. I always break for lunch, most of the time staying at home unless it has been a trying day – then I get the heck out and dine at a restaurant.

Again, appreciate the post. Nice to get input from others.

Terry

By: hyderalis

hyderalis — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 11:08:11 +0000

Thanks Lisa for this wonderful post. Working from home also distract you from your work if someone arrives like your friends or relatives while in office we don’t think of all that. Also, at home we may hook up with our friends on fb, twitter or skype but in office we only chat with our office peers & not others which also a habit one should avoid while working from home.

Looking forward for some more good post like this :)

By: Mal Milligan

Mal Milligan — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 07:05:53 +0000

When my daughter decided to be a figure skater and my son wanted to be a hockey player I was fortunate to be able to work from home to support their schedules. That’s 7 days a week. Now I never want to have a regular schedule again. Except Lisa your image of the couch potato is reminding me I really have to get up and get out and go to our beautiful local gym. I’ve been hiding out for almost 2 weeks… All potatoes out of the house !! lol

By: Jun Baranggan

Jun Baranggan — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 02:11:21 +0000

Did the same things for more than 2 years Lisa, freelancing, then went back to a full-time office job, bud still did a regular consultancy job for another year. The monetary value was fun, but I seldom get to see my daughter, who practically told me it’s OK for her if we don’t have much money as long as she sees me all the time. So I re-aligned my working habits and am now spending more time with the family. And finally got to walk 30 minutes every day once again.