Like all other things, there are pros and cons to working from the comfort of your own home. First, and perhaps most obviously, the commute is as minimal as it can get. A short walk down the hall is convenient and definitely good for the gas budget. You can be at ease and enjoy a more flexible schedule. Plus, office drama is at a zero.
However, it is certainly easy to become distracted or feel isolated when working from your home. Kids, pets, cleaning and a lack of face-to-face professional connection – are the things that can hinder your performance or lower your morale. If you’re one of the only ones in your company working from home, you might start to worry about getting enough one-one-one time with your boss. Will he think of you when a promotion comes up if he never sees you? Will he start to think you’re not worth keeping around if he never sees you around in the first place?
Here’s some ideas on how to have a blissful experience working from home while still impressing your boss:
Communicate well
Many tips to impress your boss require going to the office, having a professional presence and arriving early. From home, your ability to impress is based on your attitude and work ethic via phone and email. Like a person in a long distance relationship, you depend on these channels and want to use them amply.
Voice your questions and concerns openly, and get information to stay on top of what’s going on within your company. Knowledge is power, especially when you have no physical attributes like professional wear or arriving early to assert your presence. Respond to emails right away instead of putting them off to the end of the day. Offer to Skype into important meetings. Have instant messaging set up and make yourself available at all times. This is important if your boss is concerned that people who work from home spend time on the clock doing non-work activities.
Meet deadlines
Diligence and responsibility will go a long way, so you want to make sure to meet your deadlines. When your work performance is basically all that your boss sees of you – no smile, no teamwork skills – submitting things early or even on time will be remembered. Keep a calendar if you struggle with deadlines. Use automated email programs like Toutapp to stay organized and on task.
Take on more tasks
Again, your performance will speak for you, so take on tasks when asked to do so. Of course, you don’t want to bite off more than you can chew. But taking on more of a workload and completing it all to standard says a lot about you. If you can handle it, ask to take on more assignments.
Show your boss that you want to increase your knowledge and are hungry to learn more about your industry. If you’re in real-estate, offer to take some extra training courses. This will make you remembered as a dependable attribute to the company and someone who is going above and beyond. Your boss will see that you’re trying to improve yourself.
Stay focused
This is often tricky when working from home. Distractions can plague your work environment, so do things to overcome at-home disturbances. Separate your home and work spaces, and be clear with your family about work boundaries. They should not be disturbing you unless it’s urgent.
Be sure to develop a work schedule so that you know exactly when and for how long you can take breaks during the day. That way you don’t walk out to do laundry and return to your work duties many hours too late.
Maintaining a strict focus at home will allow you to do all of the things listed above: communicate well, meet deadlines, and complete more assignments. A distracted workplace, on the contrary, will leave you struggling to finish what’s already barely crowding your plate.
Now you can work from home and still impress your boss. Make up for your lack of physical presence by showing your boss what a diligent worker you are. You can enjoy working in your pajamas and be a star employee at the same time.
Scott Huntington is a writer and career expert who loves small business and social media. Follow him on Twitter @SMHuntington.
