5 Signs Remote Work Is Perfect for You

Working from home might sound like the ultimate dream, but do you have what it takes?

More and more of us are finding opportunities for remote work.

Whether it’s your employer offering you a remote position or you’ve made the big decision to start a side hustle from home.

Whatever the reason, not everyone is cut out for it.

I can tell you from personal experience; it’s not all sunshine and unicorns once you decide to work full time from home.

Don’t get me wrong; I was utterly stoked ten years ago when I made the decision never to report to a boss again.

It was my ultimate dream.

But I wasn’t prepared for all the things I’d miss about my corner office with that Fortune 500 company. When I got laid off, all I could think about was everything I hated about the place, the politics, the shitty bosses, and my annoying coworkers.

But there were things about working with others that I enjoyed and missed. That said, working from home can be fantastic if you’ve got a strong desire to do it.

Fast forward to today, and I can say I made the right choice. Jumping off that 9 to 5 hamster wheel was the best thing I ever did.

Unfortunately, the harsh reality is desire alone isn’t enough.

You can develop new skill sets, but in my experience, you’ll need to recognize most of these five traits in yourself to be sure you’ve got what it takes to make a go of it.

Working full time from home is one thing; being happy, productive and content with it is quite another.

First, I’ll Paint You a Messy Picture of Day One in Your Home Office

Yeeha! It’s day one of your dream job at home.

We’ll assume your office is set up, and it’s the first day your alarm clock didn’t jolt you out of a beautiful, peaceful sleep on a workday.

It makes logical sense — after all, the whole point of this new adventure is to enjoy all the perks.

You’re excited about your first day, and your motivation is at an all-time high.

You’re more enthusiastic as you brush your teeth and remember you don’t have to wear work clothes or skip the pancakes to beat the crazy traffic.

No more uncomfortable clothing, missing breakfast or road rage for you!

Ahhh…this is the life!

With a big sigh of relief, you pad out to the kitchen in your jammies and get your pot of coffee started. As the lovely fresh aroma fills the air, you wonder what your coworkers are doing and think about all the stupid meetings they have to attend — suckers!

Ha — Ha, no more of those boring, ridiculous meetings to suffer through.

You marvel at the silence in the house and all your alone time.

Might as well put some of your favourite tunes on, since you have the house to yourself.

The Day Flies By

A leisurely breakfast allows you time to enjoy every section of the newspaper; you usually don’t have time to read.

Then a little Facebook scrolling, to be sure you’re up on current events.

Lunch turns out to be amazing too! It’s the first time you didn’t have to slam a sandwich down your throat while your boss rants on about what to discuss at the next stupid meeting.

You shuffle papers around on your desk, hunt down another charging cable for your cell phone and make a list of everything you need to do first.

Once that’s done, you get the Amazon return ready for the mail tomorrow — that will save work for your spouse.

You look forward to the bonus points you’ll get later :)

As you finish taping up the box, you hear a “ding” and see a Facebook Notification slide across your screen. It’s a buddy from work, and he’s asking sarcastically how your first day at home is going.

It’s an excellent opportunity to brag a little about still being in your Pj’s. You’re laughing and having a great chat.

You sit back in your super comfy chair and look around your office in total awe of how incredibly wonderful it to be living your dream.

The Next Thing You Know It’s 4 pm

You make excuses as to why you didn’t get any work done.

Family members are filtering through the door and wondering if dinner might be early tonight because you’ve been home all day.

You jump up, eager to greet them and gush about your exciting new routine. You’re all smiles until they point out the dirty dishes in the sink, the half-full coffee pot, and then the inevitable comments about still being in your pyjamas at four o ‘clock!

Then the ultimate questions;

“What’s for dinner?”

Dinner? How is this your responsibility now?

Technically you’ve been at work all day.

They’ll then wonder why the laundry isn’t done, and their favourite snacks aren’t stocked in the pantry.

That, my friend, is precisely how fast a day can pass at home and make you wonder if you’re cut out for it after all.

It’s a slippery slope.

Eventually, I figured out how to make it all work.

But in the process, I realized anyone serious about remote work needs a healthy dose of these five traits.

1. Self Motivation and Determination

It gets harder as time passes to make yourself get out of bed.

Especially if you’ve had a rough night, rolling over and hitting the snooze button is comfortable, justified, and there’s nobody to report you.

As the newness of your situation becomes familiar, and the sheer excitement fades, it’s easy to stop setting the alarm clock altogether.

After all, it’s impossible to be late for work, and there will be zero consequences from your non-existent boss.

You’ll have to rely on your self-motivation and set yourself a reasonable schedule. It would be best if you were determined to make it work and be productive.

Then you have to hold yourself accountable because no one else will.

All much easier said than done.

2. Self — Disciplined

Managing your time becomes essential when no one else (like your crumby boss) is there to do it for you.

You’ll need to set timelines and keep your deadlines.

Gone are the days when you stare at the clock every 15 minutes, hoping your workday will finally come to an end.

Being uber disciplined, and laying out a schedule for the day, the week, and even the month become imperative.

And remember, you’ll need time in your day to go for a walk, have lunch or workout in the gym. You’ll still have errands to do, too(the ones you did on your lunch hour or on your way home from work).

Resisting temptations throughout your day, and avoiding these timing pitfalls takes loads of self-discipline.

3. Crazy Focus

Again, because you’re home all day, there are a million ways to get distracted.

Not just online, but something as simple as enjoying your morning coffee on the porch can lead to an hour-long conversation with your favourite neighbour.

Dirty dishes, loads of laundry and crumbs on the floor all seem to loom over you when you’re looking at them all day. Sometimes you can’t focus on the task you’ve laid out for yourself — so it’s easier to vacuum.

An illusion that you have more time on your hands is easily created, so be careful not to become the errand and household chore guru.

You’ve got to be crazy focused if you plan to meet those deadlines, you were motivated and disciplined enough to set up in the first place.

4. Mad Organizational Skills

I’d say this holds all five of the critical traits together.

Getting yourself organized and laying out a plan will be the glue that holds your goals in place.

If you’re all over the place and your thoughts are scattered, it’s a lot easier for your day to fall apart.

Keeping your office, your schedule and your day to day plans organized will ensure you’re productive, and therefore successful.

5. You’ve Never Needed a Boss

If you can honestly say you’ve never needed a boss to be productive and can follow through on a project to its completion without direction, then I’d say you’re a great fit to work from home.

I was the person always a step ahead of my boss, predicting what needed to be done next. I never waited to be told to do something if I could see what was necessary.

If you don’t need someone to feed you the next steps, then you have an entrepreneurial spirit and will thrive in your self-made environment.

It means you can see the big picture and make decisions based on your own goals. You’re self-driven, see things through to completion, and you thrive on a job well done.

And yes, it means you have what it takes to be successful and enjoy working from home.

If you have the opportunity, I would highly recommend you give it a try.

The reduction in stress alone makes it all worthwhile.

You’ll save money on gas, parking, eating out and business clothing.

You’ll also find your creative side will begin to flourish. I always found employers held people back from becoming the best version of themselves.

If you didn’t fit in their box, they had no use for you.

If you shared great ideas or spoke your mind, you could find yourself let go or transferred to a different department to make room for someone more willing to conform.

God forbid you made your boss look bad, and they perceived you as a threat, ensuring you never get promoted.

Working from home will allow your creative juices to flow again and open doors to new opportunities you never thought possible.

May you find inspiration in my words to give it a whirl.

Oh, and it’s cool to stay in your jammies all day; you’ll be more productive if you’re comfortable!

I had fun putting this together for you, and you’ll like this one too…

I’m Liz, the self-empowered, red wine & coffee lovin’, personal growth fanatic behind this article. I’ve stopped shrinking into places I’ve outgrown, and I’m a fan of straight talk and practical solutions. That’s why I’m here to Empower, Educate and Entertain. Grab your free Guide — 7 Days to a Better You!