THESE DAYS, many people work in a nontraditional way. Just when most office workers are braving the Edsa traffic on weekday mornings, these people are at home brewing coffee, dressing up and getting ready for work a few feet away from their bedroom. They’re the work-at-home people, and their numbers are growing.
With today’s technology, more and more jobs can be done anywhere, not just in the office. You can sell just about anything from home, and perform services for clients from bookkeeping and marketing consultancy to graphic design and tutorials as long as you have the basics—a phone line, Internet connection, and a computer.
There’s another item I will add to this list of basics: self-discipline. With no boss looking over your shoulder, you as a home entrepreneur should be disciplined enough to do what you’re supposed to do—even if a replay of your favorite TV show House is on and the cool “bed” weather these days makes you want to go back to bed to sleep some more.
Other distractions abound for the work-at-home entrepreneur, aside from the TV and the bed. Children, phone calls from friends, even home chores do get into one’s schedule. Of course you need to attend to these too (kids, most especially).
So how can you deal with all these and still do a good job? The answer: self-discipline.
Here are some tips on how to apply self-discipline on the job:
1. Set your working hours. In an interview with cnn.com , Jim Blasingame, host of a radio show called “The Small Business Advocate,” advises entrepreneurs to set definite working hours “so that when you work, you work, and when you’re not working you have quality personal time.” Of course you can do flexi-time, but commit to focus on work for at least 8 hours to get your work done.
2. Have a separate area for work. That cozy bed can really be inviting if you do your work on your laptop there. Find a corner or room in your home which you can designate as your home office. Then put all your “office” equipment there. Having a separate area for work will help you switch instantly into work mode at the start of the day. It will also create a “boundary,” so that when you leave this area at the end of the day, you’ll consciously leave work behind to attend to your personal life.
3. Dress up. While working in comfy pajamas is doable, dressing up for work even if it’s just at home will help set your mind to work mode. Besides, when packages and mail arrive at the door, or unexpected clients drop by, you’re instantly ready.
4. Have some help. If you have small children, consider asking a family member or getting a yaya to help care for them while you work. You’ll still be around in the house, but will have more time to finish your work.
Practicing self-discipline will help you do a good job and please your clients. And when clients are happy, the business will prosper.
November 19th, 2008 at 9:04 am
i have not been working for almost 2 years but my desire to earn and do something productive for myself never ceased. that is why i keep on searching for a home-based job that will be most doable for me right now. i hope you can also help me on this. thanks.
September 24th, 2008 at 7:44 am
For JOAB, re your blog of September 19th:
We are glad to be of help after inspiring you to get started from home especially with your generosity for caring for your mom. Please feel free to get in touch with us via: micscomm@yahoo.com or call up 564-9031/2759 or 09196256449 for all your inquiries.
Sorry for the delayed response, we have been busy answering inquiries from PDI readers of the same day (Sept. 19) when our story was featured in the Business Section.
Regards to your mom and may God bless her with renewed strength.
TONY & MAI
September 19th, 2008 at 1:28 am
“That same reason is the battle cry of our business since 1991, “start your business from the comfort of your home”. We offer a business scheme with minimal start-up capital for mostly households in key cities nationwide. We have a good number of these people doing just that till now and earning decent income while employing members of their own families on flexi time.
We hope to encourage more people to engage in similar livelihood enterprise.”
Hi Tony,
I’ve been searching online for ways to work from home ever since I closed our business in Dec. 2004 to care for my mom full time. We’re presently living on the income from store spaces we rent out, which is barely enough to meet our needs, especially since my mom’s medications are so expensive. The business you describe above could be the answer to my prayers. Please give me more information about it. Thanks.
By the way, I hope Joe will share how to contact the Korean company he talks about in his post. Thanks again!
September 10th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
best ways to make money…
I found your site on faves.com, I like it…I\’ll give a faves review…I\’ll be checking back….
August 27th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
hello,
how will i know if online jobs like encoding for companies are really legit and not merely a scam? they charged $57 upfront to get an access to their clients data base and from there you will get the projects/job of encoding and pay you weekly.. is there any truth in these scheme?