4 Reasons why NOT to move to a home office.

Remember, I’m no home office expert, but here’s some food for thought concerning the wrong reasons to move home to work. I’ll append to this list from time to time.

1. You think Couch + Home = TV.

If you think that going home means you get to sit down, relax and watch TV, it may be difficult to fight off that temptation. My current home office (which is just the “computer room”) has a TV set right next to the desk (recall that I do not work in my home office. Just a place to surf the internet and well … watch TV!

2. You Want to be near your kids.

Sure being home with the kids more often is a good thing, but not if you’re trying to earn a living at the same time! Now, I don’t have any kids yet, but I’ve read from many other bloggers that if you are within an earshot of your kids, every little noise and whimper will tempt your parental urges and force you from your seat to see what’s going on. It’s just another poorly justified distraction. You’ll have to set office hours with the kids and make them understand that you’re working and need to reduce distractions. That goes for your significant other too!

3. You like the idea of rolling out of bed and working in your boxers or pajamas.

If you’re going to work at home, you’re going to need a good routine to get you in work mode. That includes brushing your teeth, doing your hair and putting on your business clothes. Otherwise, your day will be a perpetual blur between working and sleeping, with no defined boundaries. You may not have to put on a tie or pantsuit, but don’t jump on the computer to check your inbox unless you are prepared for your business day to begin!

I invite any true home offic(ers) to email me your thoughts. Remember, I’m a home office wannabe, but I’m drinkin my milk and doin my research!

4. You have a long commute to the courthouse (or whereever you normally need to be).

Although wireless innovation makes it easier to set up shop at many diners, airports and coffee shops and pick up a WiFi connection, you could find yourself really beaten down by constantly being “mobile.” Unless you’ve mastered the art of being paperless and you really can peruse through a 45 page PDF document, you might want to rethink being so far from your office on a daily basis. It could be come tedious and eventually, Starbucks get wind of your “one latte last 4 hours” scheme.