When someone says that they work from home, most people imagine that they spend all day watching HGTV in their PJs and browsing Facebook all day. They think of it as one long extended vacation. And while there is a lot of freedom that comes from working from home (working in your PJs, for example), this assumption couldn’t be further from the truth.
Because you work from home, many of your clients will assume that that means that you’re available 24 hours a day. After all, your house is your office, so they should be able to call whenever you’re at home, right? Wrong. Set boundaries with your clients. Ensure they know what your working hours are. Consider getting a second phone line just for your business and turn your work phone off or on silent during non-business hours.
While you do have the freedom to have HGTV playing in the background of your work day, you’ll soon discover that background noise and TV is distracting and keeps you from being as efficient as you might otherwise be. Consider limiting distractions the same way you would in an office (consider keeping TV time just for your lunch break), and treat your home office as just that—an office. As tempting as it is, try not to get swayed by household distractions like laundry, dishes, or other chores.
While you do have the ability to browse Facebook during the day since you don’t have any limits on your internet, keep in mind that socializing is a lot harder to do when you work alone. No coworkers has its advantages—no drama, no doing other people’s work for them—but also its disadvantages—no one to socialize with, no one to vent to. So consider Facebook your social treat for the day. Make plans to meet friends for lunch or consider working from a coworking space or coffee shop a couple of days a week.
Interested in a job as a work-from-home travel agent? Contact Outside Agent Link to get started!
