As I say to every new person who has talked to me about problems working from home, Aristocraft trains there can be a short list and a long list of problems. The list becomes shorter when you start looking at a problem differently than you may have in the past. Before I get to how you should look at a problem give me a moment to work on your mind.
Your success will depend on removing each one of the problems you face working from home. Eventually your mind will look for a solution to each problem first. You will start to notice your productivity goes up. Your learning ability becomes easier.
Below I am going to give you a few of the most common working from home problems. These are problems I and people I consult in working from home have gone through. Then I will treat you to one of my worst but easily resolved problems working at home.
The 4 Most Common Problems Working From Home
Your friends and family interrupt you thinking that since you work from home you can stop any time they need something.
Isn't it interesting that people who go to a job think that those of us, when working at home, can be constantly interrupted with either small talk or resolving their problems. Remember this point though: you are trying to make your working at home your full time job (J.O.B) so you can spend more time having fun than working. And another reason is spending time with your family. Be careful not to completely shut out your family when trying to curb interruptions.
Solution: I bought an appointment book. When someone interrupts me I would grab the appointment book and ask them when they would like to be scheduled for an appointment. I would tell some that when I work I charge $20 an hour. Then with a broad smile I would ask them if they were paying by check. Finally most people realized that even though I was working from home, I was working. The same as if I were at a job (J.O.B.).
The telephone (land line and cell phone) seems to ring only when you sit down and get ready to work. You never realized until you starting working out of your home that the phone rang so much. Keep in mind that when you were (or are now) working for someone else you never hear your land line phone. At work they probably have you turn your cell phone off.
Solution: Start acting like you are at your J.O.B. Turn the cell phone off. With the land line you could leave the ringer on. But definitely have caller ID. You will also notice how many hang-ups you have (no message left) when you start ignoring the land line phone. Stop thinking that a phone needs to be answered every time it rings. If it is also your business phone now get a distinctive ring from the phone company. That way you can distinguish when it is a personal or business call.
You find that one of your biggest problems working from home is you have trouble focusing on what you need to do. You start feeling you were more productive at your J.O.B.
Solution: Start acting like you are at your job. The tough part is you are your own boss. You are accountable for everything you do. You could role play being both a worker and a boss at the same time. Just ask yourself if you were your boss would you fire you? Hopefully, if you are not being productive, the answer would be yes. Here's another point. Would you even pay a worker who was not productive? Remember, you are working at home to provide yourself with a bigger income than you would ever get at any J.O.B.
Everyone you know wants to give you their opinion about your working at home.
The reasons for most of these unsolicited opinions will vary. For instance some people truly believe they genuinely care about your welfare. Others are jealousy that they have not taken the same initiative you have. You could even be getting an opinion from a broker than you are friend or relative. And this is like getting advice from a furnace repairman on how the chemical make up of Haley's comet effects the Earth's rotation. (Okay I do know a furnace repairman that knows more about Haley's comet they I do.)
Solution: Here is one of my favorite solutions to unsolicited advice. Start acting like you didn't hear the comment that someone made about your working at home. You could even look at them in a hazy sort of I "didn't hear you" look. You can apologize for looking at them like that way. My favorite apology is "I am sorry I didn't hear you. I was thinking about how great it is to be working from home and soon my J.O.B. will be a thing of the past. Those 2 sentences worked 99 percent of the time. You will have that 1 percent that just don't give up giving you "their advice" or opinion.
My All Time Personal Favorite When It Comes to Having Problems Working From Home
I remember starting a new online business. Before I continue I have to tell you about my sleeping habits before I started this new business. I would go to bed between 11:00 PM and midnight. I would wake up a 7:00 AM to be ready to drive my youngest daughter to school. I would always wake up refreshed and ready to start the day.
Now back to the new business adventurer. After 2 weeks of beginning this new business I was going to sleep feeling fine. But upon waking up, I would have this nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach. And of course those haunting thoughts that nothing was going to work out the way I wanted.
This morning wake up turmoil went on for at least 2 weeks. It seemed that no matter what time I went to bed I would suddenly wake up around 6:00 AM. I would just lay there tossing and turning until 7:00 AM.
Suddenly, as if a bolt of lightning hit me, I thought of a solution. What if I woke up at 6:00 AM and instead of tossing and turning I got right up and went to work.
Well, that did the trick. Since I went right to work my day seemed longer. I concentrated on what I needed to do, not what I thought I needed to worry about. Something else occurred. I actually started considering what I was working on something I truly and happily wanted to do. All of a sudden what I was doing didn't feel like work any more. I was happier and even became 105 percent confident that the new business would be better than what I expected.
Guess what happened. The new business was a success within 6 weeks of starting it. Also, since that day, every Monday through Friday I now get up at 6:00 AM not 7:00AM.
Conclusion
Start looking at the problems you face working from home differently. Each time you face a problem just have your mind think "there must be a solution". Stated another way, "behind every problem there is a solution". If you start looking for a solution immediately you will spend less unproductive time worrying about what you think is a problem.
My motto today is: "All those problems working from home have a whole bunch of solutions just waiting for me to discover."
After 10 years of doing business on the internet David Main has recently set up a new website for helping people properly learn how to deal with problems working from home and be successful at it. He also helps anyone who is looking to avoid or stop the financial pitfalls that prevent many people from becoming successful. David offers a free 7 day email course to help you get started or stop the frustration you have been having. It takes more than just spending money. It starts with the proper mindset and proper business approach to be successful.
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