For the past 2 weeks, I have been on vacation from my job. WooHoo!!!
Boy, did I have plans for these 2 weeks! The first week we traveled to Florida to visit our daughter and get some much needed rest and relaxation.
The second week of my vacation I was going to devote to my Online business.
I had BIG plans!
I was going to post on my blog at least 3 times, write a new ebook for my free giveaway, and even work on my first paid product.
I was going to work on my blog redesign and shoot some videos that would add a very personal touch to our site.
I was going to ROCK my online business!!!
After all, I had SO much time to devote to it… a full week, 7 days, no interruptions.
What could be better?
Working From Home Full Time is Heaven….. Right?
Most of our readers at BobandRosemary.com are Part Time Networkers or Bloggers and would do ANYTHING for MORE TIME to devote to their business.
Me included.
What I soon found out was this:
It's much HARDER to Work From Home Full Time than I thought.
And I also realized something else: Most of the issues regarding TIME and PRODUCTIVITY facing Part Time Networkers are equally difficult for Full Time Marketers.
Maybe more so.
Take a quick look at what happened during my week as a full time marketer.
Distractions, Excuses, Interruptions… Oh My!
Here are just a few of the things that “got in my way” during my week working from home:
- One of my best friends heard I was home all week and decided to stop by for a visit. It was nice the first day, great to catch up. Not as nice on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th day!
- We decided to have our wood floors refinished. Better not to start working when all that noise is about to start.
- Floors done, new couch being delivered. Best not to start anything, just to get interrupted when the delivery comes (2 hours late).
- My wonderfully talented wife decides to redecorate our living room. She's painting the walls… I feel guilty and lend a hand. Looks gorgeous, no blog post today!
- Wow, Bonanza reruns! It's been so long! Let me watch for a while.
- The drug store called – my prescription is ready for pickup. Why waste the $1.25 charge on the delivery, when I can pick it up myself?
- Yankee Baseball matinee at the Stadium — let's go! The work can wait til tomorrow, right?
- Start work, but decide I'm hungry and run to the refrigerator — about every 2 hours! (I am not 8 lbs heavier and need to diet).
Lessons Learned
Here are some of the lessons I learned this week Working From Home:1. Discipline is Even More Important
I'm always preaching to my Part TIme readers that discipline is essential if you want to succeed. Turns out that when you're working from home Full Time, discipline is even more important.2. Distractions are Everywhere
There are far more distractions and interruptions than I ever thought possible when working from home. Friends, family, errands, and alike will suck the time right out of your day. Best to be have a plan for dealing with them, I would guess.3. Planning is Key
This is no different than for Part Time Networkers — planning is essential if you want to maximize your productivity working from home Full Time. I got away from my usual planning rituals, crazily thinking that it would all just fall into place with so much time. WRONG!4. Keeping Fit is Difficult
I worked from home for one week, and I gained 8 pounds. Why?Because the refrigerator kept calling my name!When working from home, you must be diligent about your diet and your health.5. Watch those Perfectionist Tendencies
I recently wrote a post about Perfectionism vs. Productivity meant for Part Time Networkers. But when working from home full time, it's even easier to fall into the trap of trying to be perfect. After all, there's so much time, right?
Takeaway
Virtually all of the things I preach here for Part Time Marketers also apply to those working from home Full-Time. Perhaps even more.
Proper planning, prioritizing and avoiding interruptions are just as essential for the Full Time Marketer as those working on their business Part Time.
And discipline? Well let's just put it this way….
I now have a DEEP RESPECT for Full Time Marketers and their ability to get things done.
Your Turn
For the Part TIme Marketers in our audience, what has been your experience during those times when you can work on your business for an extended block of time? Easier or harder? Did you get much done?
For the Full Time Marketers, what are your biggest challenges working from home Full-Time?
60 replies to "Working From Home Full-Time is Heaven… Right?"
Easiest way I have done so far is to have a separate room in the house dedicated as my office. I can head to the bathroom or the fridge to gran a pre-made lunch but otherwise it isn’t an option to leave the room. If you keep a pattern it shouldn’t be an issue.
Working from the comfort of my own home is really a fantastic experience and I am into it now. I enjoy this.
30-daystointernetmarketingsuccess
This post hit everything right on the head! I went through the same things when I started working from home. But when you make a Plan turn off the phone shut down you personal email you will be amazed on how much you can really get done and the days fly by!
It is a good feeling to work at home especially you know you can still perform chores and at the same time, your work as well…
Working at home is great, Cher… but you had better have a lot of self discipline, as I found out.
Great Post Bob! I can so relate to your story.
I run my online business part time, and work full time from home.. It is easy to get distracted, but I still don’t know how I managed to get things done 🙂 with dogs, phones etc.
You must be a master organizer, Easther! Congrats on your success!
I run my online business on a part time basis. I agree fully with all the comments you made in you post. Since I have a full time job I have to set aside a certain amount of time to complete the tasks needed to run my online business. It has became very routine for me and the work is enjoyful. However When I have vacations and all excited about all the extra time that I have to work on my business it seems that the tasks I normally do after work don’t even get completed. Just to many distractions, and longer honey-do-list. So yes I agree you have to be very dedicated to work from home full time.
It’s so true, right Charles? It seems when we have more time we get less done! At least, its more true for those of us who are used to a rigid schedule that includes a full time job.
Makes me really respect the discipline of full time Marketers!
Thanks for sharing your insights, Charles!
Great post, bob. It is very easy is to get distracted when you’re working from home. I don’t know how i manage so many things with – online & offline projects.
Thanks for sharing. great work, as usual.
Hey Deck,
I’ll be you’re very organized in your own way; that’s the only way you can be juggling so many things and managing them effectively.
If it works for you, then go with it!
Thanks for your comment, Deck!
Bob, great post. I can totally relate to your story. I have a pretty flexible schedule, no boss, just properties to look after and lots of to dos. I can have an entire day set aside to work on my blog, create several new blog posts I’d been meaning to write, drive a bunch of traffic to my site, etc, etc and before I know it, it’s dinner time and I’ve got only 2 or 3 things crossed off my list?! The quality of those things was great, sure, but I thought I had so much time that I could take my time and maybe do a few other small quick errands. This has happened to me more than once! It is amazing how much more productive we are when we have a set schedule and stick to a routine. Time off, free time, extra time, vacation – it’s hard work!
I agree, Hans… sometimes having too much free time is not a great ally to our productivity. As a medical professional, my online business work time is limited, so I am sure to get the most out of it ! But when we have a lot of free time and its not structured in the form of a list or schedule, I’ve seen first hand what can happen.
Seems you have, as well.
Thanks for taking the time to contribute here, Hans. We appreciate it!
Very good and truthful article. In my opinion work at home is not possible, the reasons you have written in detail) After months of work at home, I rented a separate office and work there now….
Well, that certainly is one way to deal with the distractions, Desi. Whatever works, go for it!
Hi Bob,
I really could relate to this post as I work from home . It is learning how to manage distractions and to to get as much work done as possible. It is teaching family and friends that when you are working you are not available just as if you are going to a job. It is great having that extra time that I used lose every day with traffic etc. All the best Rosemary
Hi Rosemary,
I’ve found it amazing how many full time marketers resonated with this post. I could almost hear them saying, “See, it’s not that easy!”
And I agree. It definitely takes a degree of self discipline that is well beyond what I thought was needed. Congrats on making it work for you.
Appreciate your insights, Rosemary!
Bob,
Your experiences for the first week working from home sound just about right. You have an overload feeling when you first start working from home. After you learn how to control yourself and discipline yourself a whole new side of yourself emerges. People always ask me how I am so self-disciplined. My question is how can I not be?
Andy
Well said, Andy… I truly believe now that you MUST be more extremely self disciplined to work from home.
And I can say after my week of working from home, I admire you for your efforts. As you said, it’s a lot harder than it looks!
Thanks for your insights here, Andy!
i too just started working from home,started my internet marketing adventure and noticed indeed it is alot harder then i imagined, its so hard to stay focussed . but im getting there
It’s a process, for sure. Just keep working at it, find what works for you and you’ll be fine.
Congrats on starting your business venture! Best of luck!!
Hi, Bob,
great post, really made me smile a lot, as I could recognize the weaknesses that all people who work full time obviously possess, without any exception.
Sure, discipline is the key to having productive work from home, but sometimes it does not depend just from us. I mean, if there is a friend suddenly appearing for a visit, should we show him the door and say we are busy? Should we tell our spouse that he/she should better paint the walls at night, when we are not working? Its things of distraction that we need to deal with first.
And, I agree-it is hard. But the advantage is that you get less tired than when working outside, in the office-there is no traffic jam, no rush, no boring colleagues and no “charming” bosses to deal with. So, I guess what I am trying to say is that I would give a vote to working from home at any time!
Hi Kristina,
I would agree 100%! My goal is to work from home full time, without a doubt. In fact, I can’t wait for that day to announce it here.
I was simply amazed at the distractions and pitfalls one can encounter when working from home. It really surprised me and gave me a great appreciation for those that do work from home full time.
Thanks for your comment, Kristina!
Hey Dr Clarke,
i had a good laugh while reading about your distractions. It’s so true! Working from home full-time requires plenty of discipline. You have all the time in the world and it’s very easy to get distracted.
I still don’t know how I do it with two toddlers and everything else. My strict routine works like a charm 🙂
All the best,
Mavis
I have no idea how you do it, either Mavis! You must be amazingly disciplined.
Congrats on all your successes! You deserve it.
Hi Dr. Bob (or would that be Tubby?)
Just joking.
Hey, no kidding. I am so glad that you brought this up so publicly. So many of my friends and peers think “oh… she’s enjoying the princess syndrome” – this means, both kids in school and the fact that I have ALLLLLL this time to work on whateverrrrrrrr I want! Yea right!
As you say distractions are everywhere and hours just disappear.
I am a bad one for doing things like tidying up or laundry…
What I have had to do is make myself do most of these things at night or first things in the AM before the kids get up. Then once I have dropped them at school, I have to pretend I am not at home, rather I am at my place of work.
I only take breaks at ‘break time’ same as working away from home.
If the phone rings and I know it’s a friend, the answering machine catches it.
I have to many rules … but to be honest it’s the only way to stay on top!
Thanks Bob.
Jayne
Hey Jayne,
Happy to tell you that I’ve shed most of the weight I gained that week! 🙂
Sounds like you’ve developed a time management model that works for you! I think that’s what all work at home entrepreneurs need to do, because every situation is different. Find what works for you, set the guidelines and stick to it.
Congrats on your successes, Jayne!!
I couldn’t help but smile while reading how your GREAT week went. Really funny, but true.
All the free time the internet gives us could easily be cleared off by other things, distractions are everywhere.
Thanks for sharing Bob
Looking back, it was kind of funny Emmanuel.. but a bit frustrating at the time. It sure did teach me a few things about better time management, and gave me a new respect for work at home entrepreneurs!
Thanks for the comment, Emmanuel!
Hi Bob,
You are a funny guy! Your account of your vacation reminds of the backwoods guys around here who sell firewood. Their trucks are never anything but overloaded. Many of them go down the road with the front end pointing skyward because of the load in the back. They can barely make it up the hills, and sometimes you will see them, broke down beside the road. Is that what life is?
Do we load ourselves to the point that we bread down beside the road? I’m hoping for something else, some other way. I hope you can find that balance for yourself.
Lou
Hey Lou… I keep telling Rosemary that I AM a funny guy, but no one understands my brand of humor 🙂
I love your analogy of the firewood trucks, so overloaded and broken down. It truly is all about balance, something we all strive to find in our own lives.
Great insights, Lou… thanks for sharing them here!
Yes, working from home you need to have a lot of discipline and be able to differentiate between private and business.
Am really used to arrive on the other side of the world, check into a hotel, get up the next morning and start working. But a lot of people haven’t got the self discipline it takes and on top of it cannot motivate themselves. They should think about those aspects before starting to work from home in order to be their own boss. It may actually ruin their lives.
Some people I hired for teams to send around the world, we had to fire because they simply didn’t have what it takes to work on their own.
After my week of experience, I am in awe of people such as yourself who have the self-discipline to work on the road. It truly is nothing short of amazing.
Hats off to you, Catarina!
Thanks as always for your keen insights to this blog!
I laughed so hard when I read this Bob. I can just imagine the refrigerator calling! Ha Ha! I find I get easily distracted when my husband is home – which is a lot lately because we are renovating the house (he is a builder). Stop for morning tea and a chat, “can you help me hold this for a minute darl?” “sure”, stop for lunch and a chat…. you get the picture.
Well now you are back to the day job you won’t have the luxury of distraction. Good luck!
It’s funny that you say that, Rachael… now that I am back to work I am lamenting my long gone vacation time. I did love staying home and working on my business full time, despite the distractions and the refrigerator calling my name at every pass. It was so much fun!
Something to look forward to on my day of liberation!
Thanks for sharing, Rachael!
Bob, I wish I couldn’t relate, but of course I can – all too well! This article is a great reality check for anyone who dreams of working from home full-time.
I have a bricks-and-mortar business but I’m mostly hands-off at this point, so I’m free to work from home on my website, coaching clients, and writing my book. And some days are less productive than others, absolutely.
When I remember to write my list of the 6 most important things to do each day, and stick to it, I’m 100% more effective.
Hey Natalie,
Making a list is so important, especially when you put the most important things at the top. I’ve found that if I can work on those first, even if its the only thing I get done that day I feel way more productive than if I do the easy things first, just to get them off my list… and never get to the important stuff.
Good for you for finding the proper balance. As always, it is a work in progress, right?
LOL, Bob, at all the distractions and interruptions you experienced. Oh my, indeed! As a full-time work-from-home mom who also homeschools my son, my biggest challenge, especially during the school year, is finding time to do it all and still spend time with my son.
Every point you made about the challenges we face is right! Except that sometimes, it’s work that becomes the distraction.
That’s interesting, Jeanine… “it’s work that becomes the distraction.” I hadn’t thought of it that way, but I can see where it would happen.
Certainly, we all struggle to maintain the proper balance between work, family and enjoying life. Congrats on making it all work for you!
Hi…Working at home is really a heaven feeling!!!Especially when you know that you are earning more than you earn when you are working in an office…
Hi Clark,
That is a great position to be in, for sure. Unfortunately, many people can’t make that shift immediately and need to transition gradually.
Congrats on your successes, and welcome to our blog!
Oh I can so relate to your article! On the surface most people would envy that I work full time from home and I live in a pretty rural area of Maui. No complaints on my part mind you, but here’s the thing … my neighbor has chickens – heck in Hawaii chickens are everywhere! Just try to do a conference call, record or do a live webinar with chickens clucking and roosters crowing (loudly!) in the background. And it never fails – I just get on a role writing and my landlord is at my door (lovely, lovely woman who ALWAYS forgets to tell me things like when she has scheduled work to be done on the house!) telling me some guy is going to be trimming the trees (with a power saw) for the next couple of hours … and on it goes. The good far outweighs the bad – but it surely can be challenging at times.
Hi Marty — I love it — chickens! Next time I watch one of your videos I’ll be sure to listen closely to see if I can hear them.
I know what you mean by getting unexpected interruptions – it happened to me all week! I guess there comes a point where you have to control what you can and then just roll with the punches, right?
Thanks so much for sharing your hysterical story with us!
Hi Bob,
Oh gosh can I relate! I’m full time all the time and it’s a huge challenge to stay focused not to mention fit and thin! I gained 8 kgs since working from home! Damn that fridge talking to me! LOL!
I live on a small holding… 2 horses, 16 chickens, 3 dogs, 2 cats, 4 kittens, pair of doves… plus all the strays that pass through that I rescue… a cat and her 4 young kittens arrive on Thursday… as you can imagine, plenty of distractions!! Friends just pop by unannounced – I have an open house. Something is always going on! Then there’s the garden and land to maintain, the house to work on!! Endless…
I do have a system in place nowadays to help me become more disciplined. I have certain things I have to to on the land/with the animals every day and the same for my business, different aspects of my business need attention – once I had them written down in my calender on my iphone it was easy… I get a 10 minute warning before I’m supposed to be on the next task and I am forced to focus on the job in hand. A bit to controlled for most I guess but it works a treat for me!
Oh, and I always have a block of ‘flexible’ time and regular breaks!
Bit difficult if people pop round or something big is happening but as I work so diligently the rest of the time, it doesn’t effect things too much.
All the best,
Emma 🙂
Hi Emma,
I think its so important that you’ve put systems in place to help you structure your time. I try to build systems into everything I do, as well.
And it’s so true about the eating aspect of working from home… something I never considered. But every time I walked by that darn refrigerator it called my name! 🙂
Thanks for sharing your experiences, Emma!
I’m a full time marketer and I will say, I have to watch out for everything on your list too. I have to make my list every day, otherwise I get distracted by things. Sometimes I have to turn off the phone and ignore the email if I am doing things that need full attention like writing or making videos.
Discipline is really important.
Hi Melodie,
After my brief time as a “full time” marketer, I truly believe that discipline is as much or more important than when building a business part time. You lose the structure a J-O-B provides, even if it’s unwanted. So you must create your own structure to your day, and that takes a lot of discipline.
I applaud you, Melodie on your self discipline and success!
Great post, Bob and Rosemary! I think that it is amazing how that when you think that you have more time, you end up getting more distractions. I got laid off from my job a month ago, and I’ve noticed that it was a lot harder for me to get started working on my blog as well as going for my regular run. I think that the ultimate issue is that there are times where other things can help orient us, and when they are gone, it wrecks our schedule. The same thing seems to happen to me whenever I get a break from class as well for the first couple of weeks.
I like that, Steve — how other things in our lives can help orient us and keep us on schedule. When those things are taken away, I believe we feel disoriented and it takes a bit of time to get our bearings. That’s why I believe scheduling is so important for full time marketers. What may seem like more time can become just wasted time if not used effectively.
Thanks for sharing your insights here, Steve.
This post is so cool….I had a similar experience when I had a stretch of time where I became “full-time”. Fortunately, I’ve learned to become disciplined and avoid distractions….This will shed some light for many of your readers. Great post!
It really opened my eyes, Steve. Like anyone else, i always thought how easy the full time marketers have it in terms of find time to grow your business.
As it turns out, not as easy as I thought! 🙂
Thanks for your comment, Steve. Appreciate it.
It is so easy to get distracted when working from home. I try to set up my day in advance. I find that much more helpful than trying to set it up in the morning.
I always tackle the most important things first. That way I feel like I’m moving ahead. And I try not to be too tough on myself. Part of the reason I work from home is to have the flexibility to do other things.
If I go through a particularly rough patch (meaning I’m not getting things done) I try to re-commit myself to my work.
Debbie Lattuga
Hi Debbie, welcome.
It sounds like you are quite disciplined in your approach! I like what you said about not being too tough on yourself. I suppose it’s a fine balance — being too hard on yourself vs. giving yourself too much freedom to procrastinate and even goof off. It is something we all must consistently work at, I suppose.
Thanks for sharing your insights here, Debbie.
Bob –
This sounds EXACTLY like me when I try to get anything done from home! Even if I am going to have a “work from home” day, I find that home itself is the last place I should be… I’ll go somewhere quiet like a coffee shop or library without too many people – that’s where I really get the quality thinking/working done!
Hope this helps.
Natasha
That’s a great point, Natasha. I found after a while that the only way to really sit down and get solid work done was to head down to our local coffee shop, or the local library if it was open.
Thanks for sharing your experiences, Natasha!
Hi Bob,
wonderful post and so true. Why do you think I visit your blog on a regular although I have the heaven-like situation to build my business full-time ?
For the very reasons you mention: It takes even more discipline because you have soooooo much time and you really have to know what you want in order to focus.
And you offer solutions for better productivity for anybody.
Keep up your great work.
Take care
Oliver
Ah, my good friend Oliver… great to see you again.
Thanks for your kind words. I know that you work so hard on your personal development and productivity that you have likely mastered the skill of discipline when working from home.
As you come to my blog to learn more about productivity, I head over to your blog when I feel a need to grow and find out more about myself.
I suppose it works well for both of us!
Thanks as always for your insights here, Oliver.
I agree to your points.
I’m on a vacation and distractions are everywhere. However, as you said, planning and sticking to a schedule will do wonders.
In fact, I’m waking up early the same way like before my summer vacation, so it definitely helps. Our apartment is quiet and I can focus on my own projects.
Of course, waking up earlier – even during summer vacation – might be too difficult for some, but it’s the motivation of building my online business that makes it easy.
Timo
That’s a great point, Timo.
When you’re on vacation or otherwise off your usual schedule for whatever reason, it’s a great idea to try to normalize things by sticking to familiarity. For you, it’s waking up an hour early to get things done. Well done for having that discipline!
Thanks for your insights, Timo!
Working From Home Full-Time is Heaven… Right?…
Every Part-Time Marketer thinks working from home Full Time would be heaven. But time suckers and distractions are everywhere. You ready?…