Are you cut out to be a telecommuter?
It ain't easy to be a telecommuter. Some people dream of severing the tether to their desk and long for the opportunity to work at home. They see adventure, freedom and personal control versus the commute, oppression and lack of control that goes with a show-up job. My favorite tech magazine, TechRepublic.com had this entertaining but informative expose on whether you are really cut out to tele-work.
The test for tele-worthiness covers several areas ...
HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE
You need a dedicated desk, file cans, desktop computer, printer, productivity software and back-up plans should computers or printers go haywire (a technical term). I consider a dedicated work space as part of the hardware test because working at your dining room table may be fine to pay bills but it isn't cut out for putting in a full day at the office.
BANDWIDTH AND ATTENTION
If you have attention deficiency, are easily distracted or need a taskmaster to closely supervise you and kick you in the butt to get started, fugedaboudit (another technical term). Your personal bandwidth should include the ability to self start, concentrate and follow through. Speaking of bandwidth, the kind that gives you high speed access to the Internet is usually another must for effective tele-work
PEOPLE WHO NEED PEOPLE
Unless you are writing software code, mapping the human genome or some other equally technical task, you will likely need to interact with customers, supervisors, employees or others to do your job. You will need to figure out how best to do this ... it may mean occasional face-to-face contact, and other times it may be OK to use telecommunications such as audio teleconferencing, video conferencing, email or web-meetings. The human element also includes the skills of your boss or client. If he or she can't organize their thoughts or provide clear direction without in-person contact, you will have to consider workarounds. Finally, if you are a people-person who is unhappy working solo or otherwise crave human contact, tele-work is probably not the right career choice. Similarly, to be an effective tele-worker, you will have to learn how to tame the social beasts in your circle so that neighbors, family members and co-workers don't encroach on your time and productivity.
THE START AND STOP WHISTLE
The real key to effectively working at home for me is the ability to set and stick to start and stop times. Sure, we all have time pressured deadlines from time to time, but once you get up early to knock off a task or two, and then don't notice until it is past dinner time to stop work, you've lost the allure of self-paced and self directed productivity.
Of course all this discussion fails to consider whether you are working for out-of-the-area versus local employers and clients. This is a big difference ... when you work for yourself, you still need to market your business, socially network and build confidence with customers. If these can be done locally by attending Chamber of Commerce mixers or dropping by your employer's office for an occasional chat, good for you. As for me, I have to regularly attend trade conferences, teach courses and travel for on-site project work as integral parts of my stay-at-home work ethic. Frankly, it makes me appreciate the times I can work at home all the more.
Chris Crawford
www.justiceserved.com
Photo credit = Telecommute-Jobs.com