Hi Readers! Since I started working from home part-time over a year ago and full-time 3 months ago, I have learned a lot about which skills and traits are required to successfully work from home. Not everyone can work from home as productively as if they were in an office. It’s completely different working without your boss looking over your shoulder, co-workers randomly dropping by your desk, and no one to hold you accountable but yourself. There are many positive aspects of working from home or working remotely. You can live anywhere you choose, you don’t have to worry about a painful commute to and from work or getting stuck in traffic, you don’t have to deal with annoying co-workers, not to mention the gas money you save. However, I think there are a few skills you need to have if you want to successfully work from home full-time.
1. Self-motivation.
I think this is a good trait to have anyways, but it’s especially important if you work from home. This means you perform well with little supervision; you don’t need to be constantly told which projects to work on and you work productively with minimal direction.
2. Independence.
I thrive on the independence of working from home by myself. I prefer this to working in an office environment with people constantly stopping by to chat and interrupting my workflow. If you’re great at working by yourself without ceaseless input from a supervisor or collaboration with your co-workers, then working from home might be the right choice for you.
3. Communication.
You need to be able to effectively communicate with your co-workers to work remotely, especially if you don’t live close enough to the office to meet with them in person. Even the most independent, self-sufficient worker still needs to know how to communicate well. It can be difficult sometimes if you’re only communicating with people via online chat and emails, so be clear and explain things thoroughly so nothing can be misconstrued. Whether you’re collaborating on a project with your co-workers or just keeping your boss up to speed on what you’re working on, communication is an essential trait for any decent employee.
4. Disciplined.
This includes setting a daily schedule and sticking to it and implementing structure into your routine. You can schedule short breaks and a lunch break each day, but it helps to have a set schedule.
5. Resourcefulness.
When you work remotely, there will be times when situations or problems arise that are best resolved on your own. It could be as simple as losing Internet connection or if a software program you require stops working. Or maybe you need to decide something more important like how to remedy a situation with an unhappy customer. Regardless of the situation, you might have to figure it our yourself, which means you should possess critical thinking and the capability to make a decision without input from others.
I hope this blog post gives you a bit of insight into the skills and traits you need to successfully work from home. If you have others you would add, please comment below and let me know. Don’t forget to subscribe to my monthly newsletter to receive exclusive content, updates about my novel, as well as writing and self-publishing tips!
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