The 5 Biggest Pitfalls of Working from Home and How to Avoid Them Successfully

Working from home is an amazing experience. In our last blog post we discussed the numerous upsides and pleasure of working from home such as setting your own hours, being your own boss, not having to commute and determining what you earn when you earn it. These are all fantastic benefits. However as with all career choices there are also downsides.  The good news is that they are all very easy to overcome and this simple guide tells you exactly how to do that.

1.       It can be difficult to separate your work life from your home life

The comforts of working from home are numerous. However one issue can be staying focused on work and not getting get distracted by your family, the television or suddenly deciding to do all the chores you haven’t done for ages and which suddenly seem so appealing when you’re faced with the prospect of working all day.  Here are some top tips on how to avoid this pitfall.

·         If you have a spare room, set yourself up with a little office with a proper desk, your computer, a printer, a telephone and all the stationery you need.  Make sure that there is no TV in the room to tempt you into watching our favourite programmes

·         If you live with family members, tell them that whenever the door to your office is shut you are not to be disturbed

·         If you don’t have a spare room then trial and error will help you decide what works best for you. Just make sure you set aside a dedicated area in your home however small, that is your workspace and always try to work in the area. This will help your brain get into work mode whenever you sit there. Don’t however be tempted to work in bed as this can lead to you feeling like you want to sleep while you’re working and not being able to sleep at bedtime for worrying about work. Try a few different areas and then pick your favourite.

2.       You need to plan your working week to ensure you get all your work done

Another major benefit of working from home is that you can set your own hours and have time during the week, when everyone else is on the office, to do the things you enjoy such as going shopping while it’s quiet, working out, walking in the park or doing a hobby such as martial arts or a cookery course. The flip side of this is that you must be disciplined enough to make sure you prioritise your workload so you can enjoy yourself with a clear conscience.

·         It is a good idea to plan your work week in advance so you know exactly how many hours each day you are going to spend working and when and how many relaxing. This may seem a bit daunting at first but wil get easier with practice. Remember if you are an early riser you can plan to work early mornings or if you are a night owl you can sleep late and work in the evenings. It’s up to you and either or a mix of both is fine as long as you get the work done.

·       Keep a diary on the wall above your desk with all your work meetings and appointments as well as all your relaxation and leisure activities. This way you only have to glance up to see how you are managing your work life balance and also make sure you get everywhere on time! If you prefer you can use an electronic diary on your computer, but remember to check it every day!

3.       It can get lonely working from home

I love the peace and tranquility of working alone from home, but for some people it can be a bit lonely in the early stages while you are adjusting to life away from the office. If you’re not careful this can demotivate you and make you less productive. Here are some tips to keep you motivated and stop you feeling lonely.

·         Make sure you have planned at least 2 evenings out (or in) with friends, one during the week and one at the weekend. This way you know you have some company to look forward to!

·         At lunchtime call a family member or friend for a chat, catch up on personal emails or go for a walk somewhere fairly busy so that you are interacting with people for a little while every day.

·         Take advantage of your new flexible lifestyle and the fact that you can take a 2 hour lunchbreak if you wish, and enroll in a lunchtime or evening class once or twice a week. Take those Spanish lessons or that Thai cookery course or go kickboxing or horseriding or learn to play a musical instrument like you’ve been promising yourself you would for years! This is one of the major of working from home after all!

4.       It can be hard to motivate yourself to work at first.

When you work in an office the banter of your workmates and the beady eye of your boss tend to keep you motivated and ensure you get cracking in the morning and work at a steady pace all day. Some people initially find it harder to get motivated without a team of people around them. Here’s how to keep yourself pumped up and motivated at home.

·         When you wake up, don’t be tempted to lounge around in your pyjamas all day every day. Ye this is great to do once in a while if you have no meetings, but especially at the beginning when you are finding your feet, get up and shower and put on some comfortable but presentable clothes. This will invigorate you and keep you alert for work. Once you get used to working for yourself by all means have the odd day in your PJs!

·         While you are getting ready and preparing for the day put on the radio or your favourite upbeat Cd to get you in a good mood and rev you up to work.

·        Sign up to Team BeachBody Club for just $2.99 a week and workout with fabulous VIP trainers in the comfort of your own home at least 3 times a week.  It’s low cost and will keep your energy at a peak so you can work effectively all afternoon. Exercise releases endorphins that make you feel great about yourself and of course there is the added benefit of looking fantastic!

5.       Not being taken seriously by friends and family

Our friends and family love us but occasionally they think they know what is best for us and can be negative about our new ventures such as working from home in a bid to try to make us “see sense” and do things the “normal” way. People fear change and your friends and family may be fearful for you when you start your own business. Remember they are only trying to help and quietly stand your ground while reinforcing your reasons for making the change.

·         Listen to their point of view and keep in mind that while any negative feedback or joking around about your new business venture may be annoying, it could also raise some interesting issues that you hadn’t considered and can now address.

·         Take it as the perfect opportunity to reaffirm to yourself and them why you are undertaking this new business venture in the first place. Tell them all the benefits to you of working from home and also let them know that you are aware of the pitfalls and what you have done to avoid them. Use these blog posts as a base for your affirmations that you have made the right decision for you.

·         Don’t complain to all and sundry about any of the difficulties of working from home. If you need to talk to someone, pick one trusted friend or a family member who is not financially dependent on you and confide in them. Or better yet get a mentor or a life coach. Often successful business people will mentor ne entrepreneurs for free as they like to give something back to the community. Go to a couple of business networking events and get talking to an entrepreneur who is more experienced than you and ask them to mentor you once a month. Lots of us have a personal trainer or coach to motivate us and keep us focused when we workout, well the same applies to your working life! A work coach or mentor will be able to give you great advice about your new business without injecting their personal feelings. Your family will have their emotions engaged but your coach will be totally objective.

Above all always have in mind the reasons why you decided to work from home and be your own boss in the first place and make sure you actually take advantage of all the benefits so that you make this the single most brilliant experience of your life and change your life for the better forever.

If you would like to work fromh ome but don't know where to start, BeachBody can help you. Just sign up as a coach today and they will give you all the tools you need to start your own internet business and all for less than $40! Click here: http://bit.ly/lBqyBT

The Top 10 Benefits to Being Your Own Boss and Working from Home

by BeachBody coach Loretta Phillips

So many of us are fed up with the daily grind at work, tired of being bossed around and bored of listening to the gripes of our colleagues. This is when we dare to dream about being our own boss, setting up a web based business from home and finally calling all the shots ourselves. The idea can be very enticing but at the same time fill us with fear and dread of the unknown and serious self-doubt.  In this blog post we take a look at the top 10 benefits of working from home and show you how being the boss of your own web-based business will seriously improve your entire lifestyle from your finances to your free time. I was suffering as a result of all then issues we all experience every day at work, so I became a BeachBody Coach. I'm my own boss, I choose my own work hours and I am relaxed and stress free. An now, if you follow this series of blogs about how to work effectively from home, you can be too! Read on!

1.    You are in control of your own work hours

·      Are you an early riser? Or a night owl? Either way when you work for yourself from home you call the shots and you can choose your own working hours and change them daily. This gives you endless freedom to do whatever you like with your days and nights and work around the things that are most important to you.

·      You can work part time or full time as you wish!

·      Another huge benefit is having much more time to spend with your loved ones and if you have children, being able to organise your childcare to suit you and actually attending important events such as your children's sports day.

2.    You can outsource all the menial jobs you HATE!

·      This is my absolute favourite benefit of working from home. Everyone has aspects of their job that leaves them cold, just take a minute to think of the one work task you always leave until last.

·      What is the thing that you have turned into a giant monster, that you see as an impossible task, even though you really know it’s not that hard? What tedious task fills you with dread and fear. Do you break out in a cold sweat just imagining doing your expenses? Do you dread sifting through your mail separating the essential emails from the junk?

·      Worry no more. You can keep your demons at bay by hiring an online personal assistant via a website such as Elance, to do all your mundane tasks for you. If you're first thought is that it will be costing you precious money, just ask yourself how much several hours of free time a week, less stress and total peace of mind is worth to you and realise it is a small cost for a huge benefit.

3.    No Commuting to work early in the morning or late at night

·     This is such a great benefit as it lowers your stress and saves you time, money and effort. A no brainer!

4.    You Decide How Much $$$ you Earn

·      Personal Finance is the number one contributor to stress so controlling your own income is a fantastic benefit to working for yourself from home.

·      If you offer services in return for cash then you can control your income by setting the hours you work yourself and set ting the cost of the service on a client by client basis. You can also ensure that you are offering a better service than any of your competitors so you can charge a little more to a few select high end clients or charge less and attract a wider client base.

·      If you are selling products you get to decide which ones you want to sell and ultimately concentrate on marketing the big ticket (high value) items that give you a better return and profit margin, meaning you work less hours for more money.

5.    Less Stress

·      It is a simple fact that when we feel out of control we feel more stressed.

·      When you are your own boss you are in control of every aspect of your working life and you can prioritise your workload and your work-life balance to suit you, which in turn makes you less stressed and more productive at both work and play.

6.    You are in Control of Your Own Work Environment

·      Do you get a bad back while sitting at your PC at work? Do you hate wearing a suit? Does Betty from accounts drive you nuts talking about her health problems? Are you sick of eating the same lunch from the same expensive sandwich bar every day?

·      Well, when you’re the boss and you work from home, all these workplace annoyances disappear into the ether because you get to decide what you wear (pyjamas anyone?), how your desk is set up for your own comfort, who you see throughout the day, what you eat and of course when you eat it!

·      Plus of course you can listen to your favourite music in the background all day or sit in total silence depending on your mood and also choose your lunchtime around your favourite TV program if you so desire.

7.    Your overall Health Improves!

·      Do you hate the way some jobworths come into work with the flu just to score brownie points with the boss? It may mean kudos for them but it inevitably also means a heavy dose of their flu for you!

·      Well when you work alone from home alone you never get sneezed over on the commute or by your work mates. 

·      Also by reducing your stress you boost your immune system and are less prione to illness.

·     You have more "me time" to look after yourself and you can work out from home instead of wasting money at the gym. Check out the BeachBody Club Diet and Workout Programs for all levels of fitness from beginner to mega-ripped for just $2.99 a week. Click here: http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/TurboBear

8.    No Negative Influences

·      Do you ever get into work in a relatively good mood only for it to be slowly eroded by the mindless moaning of everyone else in the office? Or are you the one doing the complaining and bringing the overall atmosphere and productivity down? Be honest with yourself. EIther way you need to change the situation to make yourself happier.

·      Well when you work for yourself there is no one to moan and no one to listen which adds up to a much more positive work environment and a happier more positive, more productive you.

9.    You Can Start an Online Business with a Very Low Investment

·      There is a misconception that every business needs thousands of pounds in investment before it can start.

·      You can start an online business for less than $40 including setting up your website, hosting and marketing via social media platforms.

·      Low investment and high return means your business can be highly profitable in weeks.

10.  Earn Money $$$ While You Sleep!

·      One of the main benefits of running your own online business is putting in place various automatic

      processes and procedures that allow you to earn $$$ while you relax.

·      How often have you tried to explain to your boss that you could carry out a task much more quickly and efficiently using a different process, only to be told that the current method is the way it’s always been done and not to deviate from it? Soul destroying and downright inconvenient when you know you could do it better.

·      When you run your own online business you can set up automatic processes that are run by your computer while you spend the day with family and friends or simply catching up on your favourite TV show or getting some much needed ZZZZZs.

·      A prime example is using an auto-responder to set up marketing emails to be delivered regularly to your clients and prospects. Simple. Effective. Fast. Effortless.

As you can see the benefits far outweigh any fears you may have about running your own business from home. The sum total of all these benefits is a more relaxed, more confident, more in control, less stressed you. Don’t you owe it to yourself to try it?

Anyone can become a successful BeachBody coach whatever your career background or your own health and fitness level. You will be helping others to get fit and healthy and transform their lives with the added benefit of getting fit yourself if you want to! It is very rewarding and gives you all the benefits set out above. For more information please click here and start your new stress free life today: http://www.teambeachbody.com/coach?referringRepId=87884

To your happiness and success!

Loretta