4 Myths About Working From Home

There are many myths about working from home.  This is doubly true for entrepreneurs working from home. On paper, it’s the weary worker’s final frontier - perfectly manicured desks with a view of trees overlooking your yard.  We can thank Pottery Barn, IKEA and Pinterest for their role in this.

The reality is a bit less picturesque.

Myth 1: You will get more personal things done.

Let me end this myth right here. You still need time to work! That means you need to carve out the same hours in a day that you would’ve spent at a brick and mortar office. The only difference is, your office happens to be located in your home. You will be tempted to exercise, clean your kids’ rooms, and get ahead on the laundry.

When you give yourself the flexibility to complete those tasks, I recommend scheduling them around your “lunch breaks.” Yes – you need a lunch break, even if it’s just 20 minutes to heat up leftovers. I found this out the hard way, so take my word for it.

Myth 2: You will have so much time to reconnect with people.

Refer back to Myth #1. I recommend reconnecting over coffee or lunch, which fits into most everyone’s schedule – even yours. The time you remove from your work time usually needs to be made up.

Myth 3: You won’t miss working in an office.

In the early days, I didn’t miss working in an office. Having the time and space to work independently was a blessing. However, we as human beings feed off each other’s energy, especially in the workplace. The best remedy for this is networking. If you’re a work from home entrepreneur, you should be doing this anyway – a lot.

Myth 4: You can work from anywhere.

Okay, so this is technically true, but you must be selective about where you work. Working in a public space means that you are dependent on that establishment’s Wifi network. If you’re on a deadline or trying to work as productively as possible, this could be a problem. That means you can dispel the myth about working from the beach, unless you purchase mobile Wifi. (In my personal experience, Starbucks and Corner Bakery have great reception, but Panera and the public library, not so much.)

Do you dream of working from home? Has this helped you decide that you want this yourself, or is working in a traditional office better suited to your business? Sound off in the comments.