Rudolph and Hermie are two of my long-time "independents" (though they still depended on each other for support)

Today’s WFH characteristic crosses into the social style category a bit: independence.

Do you work best when you know someone is looking over your shoulder or could walk into your work area at any minute to see what you’re doing? Do you need to see someone else working or need someone to remind you of what needs to be done before you’ll get started on a job?  Do you get your best work done as part of a hands-on team instead of working solo?

If you answered ‘yes,’ then – sorry – working from home might not be the best choice for you. Why? Because if you work from home you need to enjoy – even thrive on – working alone. You need the motivation to sit at your desk and get the job done even if no one from the office will ever know. You need to map out your plan and check things off your list without following another person’s example.

Does that mean that people who enjoy working with others should never work from home? Not necessarily. But if you know the “people factor” plays a big part in helping you get your job done, maybe you should stick to the office or only work from home occasionally.

Just something to think about. And trust me, your boss will probably thank you for it.

Yum, can't you smell those fresh bagels?

Even with the rise in telecommuting during the past few years, most people still seem surprised to learn that I work from home (especially when I tell them I’ve been at home since 1999). No, I don’t drive downtown to an office anymore. No, I don’t just sit around twiddling my thumbs while the kids are at school (and I sure don’t spend all my time cleaning house either, as anyone who visits can verify). Yes, I do sometimes work in my pajamas (and quite often late at night). And, yes, I do actually get paid for whatever I write or edit during those late hours.

People who work from home can be as different as night and day, but they do need to have some common traits — no matter what job they do, or when they do it. I’ll be writing some posts during the next few weeks on some of the traits I’ve found to be most important, beginning with …

Social style.

If you work at home, you need to like being alone (at least to some degree). I’ll admit I miss hanging out with coworkers on Friday mornings, eating warm bagels while we talked about TV from the night before (though the withdrawals have eased since my husband usually works from home a couple of days a week). But I don’t miss the gossip, office politics, or having work shoved off on me when someone else didn’t do their part. If you must have the steady chorus of phones ringing, background conversations, and laughter to keep you going through the day, you might want to think twice about trying the independent work-from-home lifestyle. If, on the other hand, you cherish quiet and don’t mind having entire days when the phone might not even ring, working from home might be a good fit for you.

So, Key 1  is your social style. Think hard about whether working alone bothers you, or helps you focus and get things done. It can make a huge difference in whether you might be successful working from home.

Now that I’ve survived the freelance/work from home world for a while, I like to help others avoid the mistakes I made. Are you really cut out to work from home and be productive? What’s the best way to keep track of things for taxes? What really happens with those “content provider” sites that always seem to want writers?

Those are just a few of the questions I’ll get into during the next few weeks. The posts might be a bit sporadic depending on how life and work are going, but check back for updates and maybe you’ll learn something to help you on your journey!