7 Things No One Tells You About Working From Home Online

Working from home online is something that is becoming more popular by the day, and for good reason. Being able to work from home gives you more options than traditional employment – ​​including viable income-generating options for those who wouldn’t otherwise be able to work.

Some work at home arrangements are similar to traditional office jobs, except they are done at home. There are weekly conference calls, close supervision from a boss, performance reviews and everything else that goes with a typical job. The other end of the spectrum is the completely self-directed entrepreneur who sets his own schedule, picks his own clients, and runs the show with zero oversight from anyone else.

And, of course, that includes a whole spectrum of jobs and online jobs.

No matter what you do, whether it’s customer service or direct sales for a multinational corporation or teaching online guitar school, there are countless legitimate work-at-home opportunities.

There are also countless things to know about working from home. Here are just a few things no one tells you about legitimate work-at-home jobs:

1. Working from home isn’t everything

While I love working from home and am one of the most vocal advocates for it on the Internet, I’ll be completely straight with you and tell you that there are days when it will be difficult. Sometimes it is the way Harder than any regular job.

The primary reason for this is the scale and distraction you will be up against. When you’re at work, you have work distractions — chatty co-workers, weird smells from the kitchen, endless meaningless meetings. But when you are at home, you have equalized more In addition to the distractions of emails, phone calls, and messages (not to mention obvious access to social media) competing for your attention, you also have food, laundry, and your dog vying for your attention day in and day out.

Working from home requires a great deal of self-discipline. The first few weeks and months are the hardest, for sure, as you get used to this new method. Eventually you’ll develop a schedule and a routine that works for you – or you won’t and you’ll continue to struggle the whole time.

And then there’s the fact that work still works, no matter where you’re doing it. A change of scenery might make it more enjoyable, but it won’t necessarily make it so simple It still will work

2. The good sides are totally awesome

Working at home is especially great if you really like being at home — and that’s important to know, because if you no As with staying at home, you’ll either need to come up with alternative arrangements (like renting a coworker’s place) or rethink your entire plan to begin with.

All that said, flexibility is one of the biggest benefits of working from home, no matter what you do. Some jobs require you to be on the “clock” for a certain number of hours, but nothing will stop you from kicking off your shoes, making a nice cup of tea and enjoying your street view.

If your job comes with real schedule flexibility, you may be among the main benefits of working from home: being able to do what you want, when you want. This obviously comes with limitations – do you really have to do the work By all means — but that means if you work from 6-10 a.m. and again from 2-5 p.m. so you can be a chaperone for your kid’s class field trip, nothing’s stopping you.

3. It’s scary when you first decide to jump

Working from home, though not unknown these days, is still a new horizon for most people. And new and different things can be nerve-wracking, if not downright scary. Plus there’s almost always a ramp-up period for any work-at-home job, which can be difficult to weather mentally if you’re not prepared for it.

Finding a job at home can be difficult if you’ve never worked before, and it comes with many of the challenges of any job search. On the other hand, working for yourself can be equally intimidating, and there is a steep learning curve in the beginning. Either way, getting started is no cake walk and all the “overnight success stories” out there aren’t helping anyone.

4. It can get lonely

When you’re at home all day, there’s no buzz to chat with coworkers or customers It’s just you, your computer, and maybe a pet or a kid Trying to stay connected to the “real world” is important And To make friends with people in similar situations. A nice 10-minute video chat can go a long way towards relieving loneliness and isolation.

5. There are definitely scams

Unfortunately, there are a lot of fake opportunities created to take advantage of people who want to work from home but aren’t sure how to get started. Generally speaking (except for direct sales), if you have to pay to access an opportunity, it’s probably a scam. Finally, use the sniff test: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true.

There are plenty of opportunities out there, so don’t be put off by fear of being scammed. Just do your research and go with your gut.

6. People around you won’t get it

Although millions of people now work from home, there are still millions who think that “working from home” means sitting around in your pajamas all day. Family members, friends, neighbors, and even people you meet in the checkout line will make all kinds of weird assumptions about your schedule when they find out you work from home—everything from saying, “I like to sit all day, too.” .” Asking you to run errands for them “since you’re not doing anything” makes you wonder why when you’re conflicted at work and can’t go to an afternoon movie.

What you can do is set work hours (or at least a work routine) for yourself and stick to it. An occasional lunch with a friend is always great, but you need to show those around you that while your work may be at home, it’s still a job that requires real work.

7. it is Totally and completely worth it

Once you start working from home and you find the perfect fit for you, you’ll never want to stop. I like to joke that I’m totally unemployed right now because I don’t want to go back to any kind of corporate setting, with bosses and performance reviews and all that. No thanks!

That’s not to say that hard times aren’t hard, because there are times when you hit a wall and feel completely accomplished. When I have those moments, I think about why I started in the first place, and I imagine what my options are. It helped me realize that working from home, despite its challenges and difficulties, was absolutely the right thing for me.