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Should I work from home? – Yes, No, or Maybe! (A quiz inside!)

Is work from home right for me? – A guide to knowing if you should work from home

Should I work from home?

Is work from home right for me?

Should I freelance full-time?

These are some of the most common questions you may be asking yourself right now.

And, you know what – You are absolutely right!

I do not believe that everyone is cut out for working from home (just as many people are not cut out to be working in an in-office environment). Both of them takes different personality traits and skills and in this post, we will see if working from home is right for you!

Are you ready to find out the answer to – should I work from home?

Download this guide of what is freelancing and how you can launch a profitable work at home business in a few days.

You should also join the Be Your Own Boss Community and talk to me directly. I would love to hear from you. Join here

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Note – This post may contain affiliate links to products I trust. This means if you make a purchase using the links I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support! 

#1 What does it mean to work from home?

Work from home or work at home arrangement involves working remotely. That means you do not need to be physically present in an in-office setup and in your cubicle.

Work from home can be of two types –

  • Working from home with an employer (meaning, you are an employee but you are working remotely – you may be in any part of the world).
  • Working remotely and as an independent contractor (meaning, you are freelancing full-time and you work with multiple clients at the same time). Check out this post on what is freelance to gain a better understanding
  • Telecommuting or Teleworking

Relevant post: 37 remote job websites to land your next work at home job

In this post, we will focus on the second kind and see if work from home (as a full-time freelance and independent contractor) is right for you.

remote jobs as freelance writer

#2 What are the challenges of working from home and the pros and cons of working in an office?

I will let this infographic do the talking! Also, do pin it.

Please include attribution to https://mrsdaakustudio.com with this graphic.

should i work from home

#3 Is working from home for everyone? Is it easy? Am I right for work from home?

Maybe. Maybe not. Let’s see!

Work from home requires a certain set of skills that many people do not have. Want to find out if you have it in you?

Take this quiz

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DO NOT FORGET TO SHARE THE RESULTS WITH FRIENDS ONLINE

Download the work from home guide below and get started. It tells you everything about what is freelancing, what are your options to a 5 step strategy to launch a profitable home-based business to make money online

I also want you to check out the following articles on how to start working from home and if you should work from home

#4 5 Weird and untold benefits of working from home

We all know the obvious benefits of working from home. Want me to repeat?

Let’s take a look at it quickly.

  • More time with family
  • Less stressful
  • Quieter atmosphere
  • Eliminate long commute
  • Avoid traffic
  • Save gas
  • Work/home balance

What is missing? Let me tell you 3 benefits of working from home that you probably did not think of!

Save money on clothes, shoes, food, makeup and much more (even perfumes!)

Well, you are working from home. Meaning, you do not have to be always “dressed up” as you would in the usual setting.

Your clothes and shoes will look as good as new for a long time

Your makeup, perfumes will last longer

You do not need to order or eat outside. Cook and save money on groceries! Oh, save money on coffee as well.

A relevant read on saving money: 31 extreme frugal living blogs that you need to check right now

Pursue your hobby or go to yoga

When I was working in an office setup, I tried taking hobby classes and practice yoga.

But, *BAM*

I was so tired to do an extra thing in life. Weekends for sleep and running usual errands.

Now, I have the time to practice yoga every day and take hobby classes. I feel fulfilled, happy and amazingly less stressful in life.

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Avoid long lines in movies, no reservation situations in the best restaurants and crowded grocery stores

I can push my work to weekends and do each one of these things during the weekdays.

Let me share a secret – I feel like a boss when I walk into the movie theatre on Monday night or go to my favorite restaurant for lunch in the middle of the week.

Avoid office politics

Do you know the old saying “you cannot choose your family?” and the same went with co-workers.

But, you avoid that when you work yourself. No idle chatting, no gossip and bitching around. *WIN*

And that’s a huge bonus for everyone involved, isn’t it?

Okay.. these are a few benefits of working from home. Isn’t it great?

A full-time income

Work from home options allows you to have full time if you want it to be! For example, this blogger makes $100k a month, this dad makes over $12k working part-time hours with 4 kids and this mom makes $11k+ a month.

It totally depends on how much you want to work and how well you want to earn!

should i work from home

What are the qualities you need to work from home?

Self-motivation

This is one of the most important personality traits that successful online entrepreneurs have. While working from home has many benefits, external motivation is not one of them

You need to keep yourself motivated at all times. I know many creative online entrepreneurs constantly hustling, coming up with new ideas, thrive with minimal direction, taking responsibility and holding themselves accountable for the actions. It is mind-blowing!

Besides this, you also need to manage time and keep yourself productive. Of course, a few days of not being on schedule is ok!

Relevant read on time management and productivity – 5 EASY productivity hacks for work at home mom

Good communication skills

If you do not have great communication skills or have chills before a call, it is okay. I had that too and overcame it with practice (and, some of it went away with experience).

You will need to build communication skills. After all, most of your communication will happen over email or phone.

Resourcefulness

When you work from home, you do not have a manager or colleagues to run to in case of questions, doubts or crises. You need to be able to handle it on your own –

So, ask yourself

  • Can I independently solve a crisis?
  • Am I a critical thinker?
  • Can I find multiple solutions to a problem?

And, this is why, I always tell you – NETWORK.

When you make friends in the same domain and network, you can ask for advice and suggestions in case you feel lost! You can join these Facebook groups to network along with joining my work from home community (and, asking me when you are stuck!)

Tech-savvy

Imagine for a second that you have absolutely no IT or tech department. Can you handle that?

  • Are you willing to learn to deal with tech even though you are not extremely tech savvy? Meaning, you can deal with computer issues, network problems, etc
  • Are you comfortable learning new tools (including the basic ones like Drive, Hangout, Skype, etc)

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A few other questions to ask to determine if you should work from home

  • Do you dislike getting distracted by co-workers?
  • Do you love to communicate using emails?
  • Do you use tech to communicate and keep teams updated,
  • Do you have the required confidence in yourself, or
  • Do you work best collaboratively, or with the buzz of office life happening around you? These are key considerations when deciding whether to work from home.

What kind of work can I from home?

There are many!

To list a few

We also have suggestions for stay at home mom jobs, make money online in college, 50 best online jobs for everyone and best part-time jobs for teachers (for summers!)

If you have hobbies, you are lucky! You can monetize it and start making money with something you already love to do. Check out this post on Want to make money with hobbies this summer? 11 ways to make $2k+ a month

For those of you who want to start working remotely but do have the required money to invest in tools and courses, check out these posts (freebies + ways to make money online)

Get paid to write: 21 blogging sites that pay $150+

How to get FREE money right now (at this moment!)?

9 FREE online course for stay at home moms & wives to make money in 2019

How to become a Virtual Assistant for FREE – Courses and Resources you MUST HAVE

8 budget resources for your side hustle idea to work in 2019

FOMO at Home. FOMO at Work.

FYI – FOMO – Fear of missing out.

The grass is ALWAYS greener on the other side.

When you work in the office and commute for an hour, there is nothing amazing than staying indoors, be able to work in . pajamas and watching TV shows while you work.

And, when you are at home working, you miss talking to colleagues and having a schedule in life.

In either way, you need to understand your personality traits and choose the working environment that best suits you.

is work from home is right for me

Actionable tips

Check out “Start a blog with ease” series and get started with your blog

Join my Facebook community and post your questions, wins and get the support

Resources that will help you start freelancing and work from home – 

50+ work from home options that are high paying

How to be a freelance proofreader and earn $40000 a year

How to be a virtual assistant? Earn $100 an hour!

How to earn a full-time income as a transcriptionist

How to become a Pinterest Manager and earn $2000+ a month

Is work from home right for you? Should I work from home?

Did you find out? Tell me what are the results of the work from home quiz you took. So excited for you!

KaraNeece

Saturday 13th of April 2019

I cannot wait to get away from office politics! I know it may not be an easy transition, but I'm definitely up for the challenge. I figure the pros will far outweigh the cons... Especially when I master not being a distraction to myself. 😁

Mrs Daaku

Monday 15th of April 2019

I know, Kara. Office politics is so annoying, it sucks. I always thought I was not made to work from home but the pros outweighed the cons. With time, you will learn to balance distractions. Plus, if you are doing what you love to do, you will have lesser distractions automatically. :)

Sam

Friday 12th of April 2019

I'm just starting my blog with the hopes to make it my job in the future, so this is a very helpful guide on what I need to succeed while working from home.

Barbara

Thursday 11th of April 2019

Very useful guide and I love that you point out that not everyone is cut-off for being a freelance. I like the list of qualities you need to be a freelance, very important for those thinking about jumping, they better be aware that they are willing to commit to the effort it takes. Great post!

Amanda

Thursday 11th of April 2019

I have worked from home since 2007 as a blogger, freelance writer & translator. I just did the quick and it said I was made to be my own boss - it’s nice to have confirmation of that! There are so many advantages to working at home but the prominent one for me is that it fits my personality and my highly sensitive person traits. Before working for myself I worked for multinational companies, in open plan offices doing work that was slowly soul destroying. Sometimes it pays to make the leap!

Nadia Malik

Thursday 11th of April 2019

This post puts everything out there what kind of work is good for you. I have been working from home for about a year and feel like it is working.