Work & Money 

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Working from home: the reality

It sounds great. No more commuting, freedom to start and finish when you want. But some homeworkers describe it as a lonely experience, excluding them from opportunities available to office workers. Planning a home-based career and being aware of the pitfalls will help make it a positive experience.

The greatest benefit is being able to achieve a satisfying balance between all your commitments. The down side is the isolation and blurring of distinctions between your working and private life. No matter how much you enjoy your job, it's essential to be able to get away from it. I've combined working from home with going out to work for several years. A few days of the one always makes me appreciate the advantages of the other! My biggest problem with working from home is not being able to switch off. When I walk out of work at the end of the day I can forget about it. At home there's always a bit more I could do before I go to bed.

Here are a few things to remember that I've picked up along the way.

Keep in touch
A quiet home brings the luxury of few distractions. You can concentrate better than you would in an office full of interruptions and convivial tea breaks. It can also make your days dreadfully dull. Removing the social perks of going to work helps you to stay focused, but can leave you lacking motivation and ideas. There's often a need to talk to colleagues who understand what you're working on, rather than friends and loved ones who want something quite different from you. Another disadvantage of this way of working is that it's easy to be overlooked for promotion or interesting assignments if you're not physically there. Minimise these problems by:

• Developing new support networks that keep you in the loop
  
  
• Making time to socialise and meet new people, particularly if you live alone. It's easy to become a recluse!
  
  
• Arranging a day back at base every now and then. It's an effective way of keeping in touch if you're working for a specific employer
  
  
• If you're freelancing, arrange the occasional meeting with those you work for - personal contact is so much more memorable than email or phone conversations

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