What are the most common difficulties of working from home and how to overcome them.
You may find it surprising to read this but it’s true. Many people find it very difficult to get work done even when they are working from the comfort of their homes. I know this from first-hand experience as I quite often give out assignments to people whom I know and who wish to work from home. Some of them have a tough going of finishing anything on time.
These are some of the common reasons why they cannot do the work.
No dedicated time allotted for working.
Yes, I know working from home is supposed to be at your convenience. And it is. But no one is going to get any work done without some amount of planning and routine put into place. Everyone needs to have a clear idea about what their work hours are going to be in a day and plan for it.
This does not mean that you cannot account for some flexibility in your schedule. But on most days you should know when you are going to work and for how long. In this way you will be able to plan other things around your work hours.
You will feel great about being organised. You will be mentally prepared to do the work and you will get more done. You will also be able to work consistently and therefore earn consistently as well.
Too many distractions.
Some households and some lives are just like that. There is always something going on and while I think that is a great thing, it can come in the way of your working from home schedule. I believe that the house should be as lively as can be :-). But unfortunately a lot of distractions do not mix well with the work at home routine.
Yes, I know that many of the distractions all are also work that need to be done around the house. But one needs to manage things around them to get an undisturbed time to work on your assignments as well. Find that time and refuse to be distracted.
Do not use the Internet to browse, check Facebook True. Record your TV shows, schedule the house workload, tell friends you are unavailable if they want to drop in.
Most young parents feel that’s the best time to work is when the children are either away at school during the day or after they are in bed. Everyone has something different going on in their lives.
Two of my friends who have difficulty finishing any work from home assignment just have a very hectic social life. They go out literally every day for lunches, teas and dinners. So that window of working becomes more and more elusive.
What this also translates to is perhaps a lack of dedication to working. So yes, that’s another thing. You can find a lot of home-based work but it will need dedication and time. Working from home can be very convenient but it’s not a free ride. Many people just take it too lightly specially those who really don’t need the money. They would like to be working and earning but they don’t really need it.
Need for an income or the love of doing something, are the strongest motives. If someone is not inspired with either of these factors they will not take any work very seriously. Which brings us to the next point.
Noncommittal attitude
This is also pretty much explained by the point above. When someone isn’t inspired to do the work they will probably not place it on their priority of ‘to-do’ things. Therefore, it will always get pushed back and seem like something that is difficult to complete.
Limited skill set.
This is very important. Anyone who wants to work from home should have a basic skill set. This is a prerequisite. Let me give you an example.
I have a friend who is fond of writing and is quite enthusiastic about getting writing assignments. However one of the biggest hurdles in her path is that she is very slow with typing on a keyboard. That really sets her back as she takes ages to finish something and that also discourages her in the long run to take on much work.
Now, the thing is, slow typing is not the real problem. The problem is not trying to overcome this hurdle. There are many solutions and I have a presented them all to her. For example she can write by hand and use a speech to text app on her mobile phone or a transcription software on a computer or even an online transcription service to convert a hand written matter into typed out text. One can even give handwritten notes to someone to transcribe. There are also free online typing lessons available that teach how to touch type and increase typing speed.
I do this very often myself as. I have used the services of people on Fiverr to do this kind of transcription. I prefer writing by hand myself even though my typing speed is faster. But writing by hand is sometimes more comfortable.
So my point is that everybody will definitely need some skills to work from home and even more importantly, there will be probably a need to learn some new ones as well. So be proactive and learn. Always be ready to discover new ways to work more efficiently. The skills you need will depend on the kind of work you do but it’s safe to say that you need to be familiar with using the computer and the Internet.
Some home-based assignments are as simple as researching a certain topic. So being able to browse the Internet quickly, assimilate and compile valuable information and put it all together as a report is a skill. Just being able to type is also a skill.
Can you think of any other reasons why working from home can be difficult? Share them with us below in the comments section.
How to do it.
Let’s not forget to mention a very important reason why some people find it difficult to work from home. They just don’t know how and where to start. To help you out with that we have an article on this blog called 50 websites that make you money. Check it out.
Lack of inspiration.
This is an important point as well and not one that many people reckon with in the beginning. You see, to do any kind of work well, to enjoy it, without it becoming a matter of mundane drudgery, you have to feel inspired. Sometimes The home environment is not best suited for that. For example, some people cannot function without the buzz off an office and the interaction with other people. That’s the kind of energy they feed off.
Working at home you have to create an inspiring atmosphere for yourself. There are many ways to do just that. For example, you can build a cosy corner as your workplace with the necessary accessories. Make it a point to sit down with your favourite mug of tea or coffee. That will make you look forward to getting down to work.
If you enjoy a bit of buzz, consider heading down to a coffee shop for a dino that has a relaxed policy about its customers spending some time there. Other other places you could enjoy working in into parks, libraries, rooftops, Gardens et cetera. Do share your ideas about this in the comments section below.
Un-anticipated difficult
This really discourages many people. When people come looking for home-based work specially the kind that is available online they are somehow expecting things to be easy. I don’t really blame people for thinking that there is quick and easy money to be made online. There are still plenty of ads going around that propagate that myth which are also mostly scams.
Things are easy when you are working online in a lot of ways. You get to find work from the comfort of your home. But the actual work is almost never easy. Yes there are many simple jobs that you can do like data entry, but simple and easy are two different things. Data entry is a simple job that doesn’t require any formal qualification. But work of typing in large amounts of data is not easy. You will need to put in a lot of hours doing that.
Some opportunities like online surveys do not require much work but then they do not pay that much money either. Anything substantial and that pays a decent income will require hard work, time and the skill set.
The advantage of the Internet Is that it is so accessible. But that is also the disadvantage because everyone else is here to looking for the same things as you.
Unmatched skill set
So what are you planning to do and what kind of work are you looking for? Many people face a problem with this one. People may have held high positions in major corporations and still wouldn’t know how to fend for themselves working from home and working online.
So let me say this now. If someone wants to create an income online, they need to learn the skills that make you money on this platform. Most commonly these will include writing, learning to create a blog And website, using social media to promote and run ad campaigns et cetera. This is pretty much the basic of any successful online venture story.
It’s important to come with real expectations if you want to succeed at working from home. There is real and hard work to be done. Nothing is achieved without it. Do write in if you have any queries. Use the comments section below. We wish you all the best.
