A work at home job is one that is usually held a minimum of once per week and is consider to be eventually a primary job. Some people currently work every single day and now make a full time living while working at home.

The following is some updates/reports. It just gives you an idea of what real life work at home activity looks like. It gives you a guide to work with.

Some Reports

Some of the statistics in this section are quite told-from the 1990 census. However, it can give you an idea of how the percentages of people who did work in this capacity increased over the past two decades.

According to 1990 Census reports about 60% of individuals who work at home are not explicitly paid for it. Furthermore of the 40% of people who are compensated for their work at home many of them worked fewer than 8 hours per week.

Only about 14.5% of the people who did work at home worked 35 hours a week or more. Therefore, during these decades this kind of employment was basically considered a part time income.

That is, unless someone actually did make it big. That is, in the event someone actually made it big on one of those scam business opportunities.

However, it should be noted that as far as home businesses are concerned they are not all scams. You can make a very lucrative and steady part time or full time income. You could in the 1990s and you can now.

However, it is a matter of knowing what opportunities you should nail when. It helps if there has been a fair amount of test marketing or research done on opportunities. This would give you a clearer indication of how well you would do if you were to pursue a certain opportunity.

Other Updates

People who work at home are often self-employed and run their own home-based business. It is estimated that more than half of home-based business owners are under-insured.

The independent insurance agents of America (IIAA) say nearly 40% of those they surveyed are uninsured. If a person is insured a typical homeowners policy usually only covers damages up to $2,500, and a homeowner policy will not cover all damages.

For instance, if a delivery person comes to the door it may not cover all accidents. One case in point is the example of the delivery person that slips and falls when delivering a package.

If you find yourself feeling a little overwhelmed at times, you should seek out others who may be in the same situation as you. If you work at home you can find and meet people via online forums.

Advantages

Many of the members who are a part of the work at home forum may be a lot more experienced than you. Therefore, they can offer great advice that can help you succeed.

A work at home forum can help you learn about the various money making programs out there. This will help you understand a bit more about what you are getting into.

This is one way that you can decide if it is worth the investment. It is a great place to communicate with and connect with like-minded people. It is a great way to begin steps towards success.

Furthermore, when you join a work at home forum, you will be able to communicate with others who may be feeling the same way that you do. It is always nice to hear that you are not the only one in a specific situation.

You can then bounce ideas off each other to find something that will make you happier about your current position. You will also find that a work at home forum will offer great information.

A work at home forum is also a great place to find advice and leads pointing to lucrative and rewording work. You will also find that many of these forums have a section on scams so you know what kinds of supposed “opportunities” to avoid.

One thing regarding the reporting of scams on work at home forums is that information is often posted on opportunities that are not legitimate. Therefore, you can see as clear as day what advertised ventures and programs you should avoid.

Many work at home forums will also have sections where you yourself can also post job leads for other people. For instance, if you need someone to write website content or someone to manage your business and social networks, at one of these online forums is one place you can do so.

Concerns

If course, when you use a work at home forum, there may be a bit of competitiveness that arises between online members. This is a result of the fact that there are only so many job openings and paid projects to do. However, by and large an online forum can be far more helpful than it can be hurtful.

Quite a few things may compete with your attention when you work at home. Therefore, it can be hard to stay focused, as you feel pulled in so many different directions.

It could be (God and you love ‘em) your noisy children that is distracting you. Maybe your spouse is annoying you. Maybe the TV in the other room is too loud and it draws you to your favorite programs, or maybe you get one call after another from friends.

Whatever the case may be, you need to learn to find a way to remain concentrated on the business at hand. Whether you are taking a customer call, working on a project, or filing paperwork, you may need to learn how to concentrate-as hard as that can be.

Here are some practical work at home focus tips:

• Create an environment at your desk that is conducive to productivity. For instance, you should place what you need at your desk and make a place for everything.
• Take things out of your work area that could potentially distract you. For instance, maybe you have certain craft hobbies or video games you like. You may even need to have a separate computer for work in a separate location of the home.
• Exit out of all your instant messenger programs when finishing a project that has a rapidly approaching due date. Just remember to check your instant messages once or twice a day in case a client wants to talk to you.
• If you need noise to work, one option would be to choose an Internet radio station or to have a CD or MP3 player running in the background. It is better than having the TV on.
• Put your cell phone on silent so you can get your personal calls. However, do not answer them during the work day if at all possible.
• Stay away from your personal e-mails. Make sure you do not check them until after you have done the work you did for the day.
• Schedule free time with your children during the day for maybe an hour or two at a time is helpful. This will help them not feel neglected (and help you not feel so guilty). Yet, you still have the rest of the time to do your work.
• Set yourself some “work hours.” Now, you do not necessarily have to make it 9 to 5. Whatever works for you is fine. However, try to remain consistent. Always do your work during specific times.

Some more Thoughts

In the early stage of a business where you’re working at home, you have to develop the habit and discipline to stay consistent and not slack off. Often you have to work harder than people who have a structured job in the beginning.

However, in time you may have more and more freedom. Eventually, you may be able to afford to hire other people to do some of your work for you. At the same time, you would still make money.

However, for now when you work at home you need to temporarily “put your nose to the grindstone” so to speak. This is so you can prepare for a brighter future and a better quality of life.

Just because you can set your own schedule while you work at home does not mean you should be lazy. You should be careful about the choices you make or you will not be able to bring in a steady income.

This message is for people of all ages. The reason why is because people mature at different ages, and people of all ages have problems with discipline, organization, time management and so on.

What not to Do

One of the most extreme irresponsible behaviors that could keep you from succeeding includes stay up late partying. In the process you may even be drinking all the profits away. Worse yet maybe you are doing too many illegal, harmful, and even prescriptions or over the counter drugs too often.

Yes stress can get to anyone. It may be only natural with maybe a glass or two of wine or perhaps a few beers. Even a cocktail is not likely to hurt you. However, if you do it too often and when you do you binge it can hurt your business.

Another “what not to do” is this: Spending too much money on products, services, hired help, supplies, and miscellaneous materials. This would in fact be relevant to most new business owners.

They might get a little bit in over their head. The enthusiasm is there but the hastiness can result it costly mistakes.

One more major no-no would be to not being disciplined and not meeting all the expectations of your clients. This is the worst thing you can do. Unsatisfactory service results in disgruntled customers, and this leads to a failed business.

If you provide too low of a quality of service you in all probability will NOT make a profit!  However, if you are reading this and wondering why you are not making much money right now it is never too late to turn things around.

An additional wrong business behavior is one that is very critical.Being rude, ill-mannered, unruly, or abusive to clients, fellow business partners, or employees is not acceptable. Not only could conducting your self in such an anti-social way be bad for your business, poor interprsonal skills can also cost you your chance to experience financial freedom.

At the worst extreme you could become prosecuted for wrongfully treating your customers. You could also be sued. However, at the very least it will hurt your business just as providing poor service would and you would go under.

To be disciplined is to be many things, and the practice of staying disciplined is very important. The act of being disciplined can be summed up using three concepts-time management, organization, and goal setting.

The value of each one of these attributes of discipline is explained in the next three sections. In order to see your productivity soar make sure you understand the importance of each of these as you learn what these concepts mean.

Time Management

If you want to accomplish more throughout the day, it is helpful to set a schedule for your self. However, only setting it is half the battle. You need to stick to it as much as possible.

At the same time becoming better at managing your time does not require that you become totally inflexible. You do need to make provision in the unfortunate case an urgent matter needs to be taken care of, or God forbid an emergency.

If you manage your time effectively it will help you complete all your projects more efficiently than in the past. It will also help you set limits, and know when to say “no” when your schedule is full.

Remember this very important aspect of discipline. It ties very well in with organization which is explained in the next section.

Organization

One of the most key aspects of working at home is to be organized. Simply put, it means you should have a place for everything. Shelves for your tools, drawers for your pencils, and filing cabinets for your papers may be necessary.

A large table for workspace and a place to set your computer and corresponding computer software may also be necessary. Another very useful tool to have on hand is a calendar.

In your calendar you can put your “to do” lists for projects you plan to complete. You can also put in your appointments and record dates your projects are due. A calendar is also very useful for planning phases of projects so you can delegate tasks to others.

Goal Setting

Goal setting is like a launch bad. It gives you not only a place to start from but a place from which to head towards your destination. Goal setting works hand in hand with creating a calendar.

You can start by recording modest goals on your calendar which of course are usually written on your calendar or “to do” list. However, to create a more detailed project and business goal string you might want to get a separate calendar just for this purpose.

Of course, creating a business plan is also very helpful. This is something that should be done before you even start your operation. However, it never hurts to update your business plan later on which your goals and objectives change.

In your business plan you would map out short and long-term goals. This is a plan that usually takes place over a two to five year period and covers all aspects of running a business (i.e. financial, personal, operational).

This is a continuation of “More Work at Home Tips: How to Separate Work from Play.” The purpose of this two-part blog series is to show you simple ways to maintain a professional work environment.

You would be surprised at how easy this is to do if you just know how. It requires minimal effort on your part. For instance, consider the following tips:

• Listen to quiet music versus loud and upbeat music if that is what you need to help keep you motivated. This will help keep stress and anxiety at bay and help you concentrate. However not too soft of music or you may fall asleep!
• Keep some water and/or small snacks by your desk. The water will replenish you and the snacks will keep you from having to get up to eat between means. (Do not overdue the snacks though. Consider veggies, fruits, or other low-fat snack or finger foods such as popcorn.
• Keep out of your personal e-mail box until the work day is done. Either that or only check your personal e-mail while on break. This is one of the hardest habits to quit, but you are likely to have a shorter work day if you do.
• One of the most practical tips for people who work at home is to know when to stop, believe it or not. Yes, occasionally you may have to but in double time during a deadline crunch. However, realize that your work quality will be poor if you try to do this on a regular basis.
• If you set a schedule as recommended prior to reading this, arrange your work time around what is best for you. For instance, some people’s peak performance time is in the morning, while for others it is afternoon or evening. Everyone is different and there is no shame in that as long as you get your work done.

There are a number of other ways you can stay on task while you work. This very important if you plan to succeed and plan to better your financial future.

When you work at home it can be harder to maintain a professional presence. You need to make it a priority to separate work time from play time.

This can be done in a variety of ways. It requires a certain mindset for one, and it also requires the following practical tips:

• Keep your office space separate from your relaxation space. This will help define when you are at work and when you are at home, so to speak even though you are technically always at home.
• Allow yourself a few short breaks throughout the day. This will help you become more productive than trying to work while fatigued for longer blocks of time. Also realize that home workers are allowed a break, but not too long of a break!
• Make sure you not only designate work time from play time but also keep a regular and consistent schedule. This may not be possible 100% of the time whether you work at home or outside the home but the goal is to stick to the same routine. It increases ability to produce and accomplish tasks.
• Close yourself off from distractions. It would be best if you had an office area that has a door. If you do not have that luxury, then try to arrange your work hours when most people in your household (if any) are gone.
• Keep your work area and desk as clean as possible. You would be surprised how much this helps you focus. A cluttered work area is said to represent a cluttered mind, so free your self from it!
• Keep your personal phone off. If necessary, even keep your business line on silent for awhile if you are in a project of which the deadline is rapidly approaching. You can always return your phone calls later if need be and if someone gets upset…well…you can’t please everyone can you?
• The more disciplined and focused you are the more productive you will be. Do not forget that work is not everything, as it should not come before your family, friends, and other important people.
• However, you should also make sure you keep it high on your priority list. Your clients depend on you and you are just as much of a professional as an office worker.
• Make a list of important tasks and projects to be done. The satisfaction of crossing them off is usually out of this world for most people.

People who work at home rely on a variety of resources to help them. The Telecommuting Success reference book is one resource that has been most helpful to home workers. It helps people no matter what their field, so maybe it will help you.

Overview

Michael Dziak, author of Telecommuting Success provides tips to help people maintain balance between work and place. Part of the information given in this book pertains to obtaining the equipment needed to be a work at home or telecommuting success.

Additional advice is given pertaining to tax deductions as well as updated technologies. You can even get ideas of how to set up your home office in a way that maximizes production. Included is information about what you do NOT need in your home office.

Additional topics covered include stress and time management, co-worker training tips, virtual relationship maintenance advice, telecommuting job search advice, retirement strategies. A variety of checklists, worksheets, and other useful forms are also provided.

Pros

This book is like a mini-course. It has practical tools as well as inspiring messages in it all in one. It is ideal for just about any family business or other sole proprietorship or partnership. It also is very helpful for people who are employed by a company to work on a payroll while performing duties at home.

The information in this book is also very timely. It keeps up with current trends and makes room for today’s technologies. It also touches on home office security.

This book is very easy to read using common language. Yet, the information in it is “intelligent” enough for corporate executives.

Cons

There are not that many disadvantages associated with using this book. For people on a low budget the average price of a new book may seem expensive. However, even for approximately $39.95 home business and work at home employees could hardly go wrong.

The key to success while you work at home is balance. Although it might require more of your time than working outside the home until you are more financially established remember you have a life outside of work.

This may be hard to remember in the beginning stages of attempting to work at home. This may be especially true if you have just quite your full time job and are a bit unsure of your financial future.

Well the hope is that you at least saved up a little bit of money before you let go of your full time employment. That would help reduce anxiety as you balance work with family, fun, and friends.

Practical Tips

Balanced means exactly that-balance. This means that equal “weight” or attention is given to each aspect of being at home. For instance, working at home does not necessarily mean you get to do whatever you want all the time.

You have the chance to create a schedule that suits you, but that schedule should have in it enough hours blocked off so that you get your work done. One of the challenges of working at home is having enough discipline to do what you need to do but provided enough relief and break time.

Another challenge for those who work at home relates to those who have children. It may be very difficult to accomplish anything-as important as your children are-if they are constantly interrupting you.

You can do a variety of things to help keep them busy while you work. For instance, maybe you can even have them help you with tasks you need completed, especially if they are old enough to stuff envelopes or type.

You can even create for them their own special office area. However, of course most people who work at home have children who are old enough to go to school. In this case, moms typically try to get a majority of their work at home tasks done during this time.

By the way, babies sleep quite a bit so if the children are less than two years old this still provides mothers and/or stay at home dads with ample opportunities to get work done. Still, be careful to keep an eye on your kids as busy as they are!

In the event you are not able to watch your children plus do your work maybe you can swap babysitting time with other parents. If you find three or four people to network with in this way it will also free up time to work at home. This network will also help cut down on childcare expenses as well.

One last Piece of Advice

Always remember the reason why you probably wanted to work at home in the first place-that is if you have children. Although you need to set aside enough time to complete your tasks so you can get paid make sure you stay involved in your child’s lives and give them the attention they need.