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"Most of us, at some point, have fantasized about quitting that 9-to-5\u00A0office job to work from the comfort of a couch. I certainly did. After all, I was clocking in four hours daily commuting into work (and sometimes, sadly, it was closer\u00A0to five). Although I\u00A0loved\u00A0my job, I hated the wasted time spent on the train.\nSo when the opportunity arose to work from home \u2014 and doing what I love for a company I respected \u2014 I jumped at the chance. I might have even danced the jig.\nBut, working from home proved to be\u00A0way\u00A0more challenging than I imagined. For one thing, it was so quiet. My cubicle at my previous job had been smack-dab in the center of the hallway, where people would stop and chat all day long. I got used to the chatter, the incessant ringing of phones, people slurping their soup \u2014 all of it. So, now, being at home (a home that\u2019s surrounded by woods, mind you), the silence was deafening.\nI quickly realized that it takes certain skills to work from home. And if you\u2019re considering a telecommuting gig, too, here\u2019s what I learned are the keys to success.\nLaser Focus\nWho can resist the dinging sound of a new email? You, that\u2019s who, especially if you want to stay on task. And forget about signing into Facebook \u201Cjust for a minute.\u201D It\u2019s easy to get distracted when you telecommute \u2014 unlikely distractions that just don\u2019t exist at work abound at home. At the office, for example, you might visit the company kitchen once in the morning and once in the afternoon for a cup of joe (because that\u2019s what\u2019s appropriate), but at home, you\u2019re hitting the fridge every hour on the hour. Or more.\nThe way around this is to act like your home office is in the center of an actual office. That means, yes, taking a shower, getting dressed, and being presentable for your workday. Somehow, it switches your mindset, and being preparing to \u201Cgo\u201D to work (even if it\u2019s just a stroll down the hallway) makes the transition easier. I also schedule specific times to check email, and when I get a Facebook alert, I refrain from logging in until lunch hour.\nMad Organizational Skills\nAt work, you had to keep your desk neat so that you looked organized \u2014 and sure, it\u2019s always helpful to see the top of your desk. But at home, who cares if clutter collects around you?\nWell, don\u2019t fall into that trap (especially if video conference calls are part of your routine). While you might miss the building services team, who used to wipe down your crusty keyboard and empty your waste paper baskets every night, it\u2019s ultimately up to you to keep your space spic and span so you can do your best work.\nWhat\u2019s more, it\u2019s time to get those list-making muscles in working order. Without face-to-face communication, it\u2019s easy to let things slip through the cracks, so you\u2019ll need to find ways to be as organized as possible. You might find that you like to write things down in a notebook, or perhaps you prefer calendar notifications. Find what works best for you to keep you organized and on task.\nThe Ability to Work Alone\nWhen I started to work from home, I missed talking to people. A lot. But I soon found a friend. Every day, I would hear the UPS guy gunning his motor as he drove down my long driveway to deliver my packages. As soon as I would spot him, I\u2019d fly out of the house and chat him up.\nAnd now he leaves the packages by the curb.\nSure, the one big bonus of working from home is that it gets you away from the petty office politics and never-ending gossip. But once you\u2019re in your home office \u2014 alone, every day \u2014 you might start to miss that collegial camaraderie.\nSince the UPS incident, I\u2019ve reached out more to colleagues via IM and will post cute pics of my new puppy for my colleagues to see on Yammer. And when we\u2019re on deadline, we even (gasp!) talk on the phone. It\u2019s helped tremendously to make the disconnect not feel so severe. It\u2019s a good balance between having peace and quiet when you need it and much-needed interaction with others, too.\nExcellent Communication Skills\nWhen you work in an office, you can ask your boss about the details of your upcoming presentation when you see her in the company kitchen. But if you\u00A0telecommute, she\u2019s just a green light on your GChat. From letting her know if you\u2019re going to miss a deadline or getting clarification on an email, you\u2019ll have to be proactive about communicating all aspects of your job and any questions you might have with her.\nAlso keep in mind that communication with a telecommuting team requires an extra layer of crystal-clear clarity. Since almost everything is done via email (and there are no facial or body clues to read), you\u2019ll need to make sure that you mean what you, um, type. I\u2019ve found that shorter, more succinct sentences go a lot farther than long-winded soliloquies.\nSelf-Motivation\nWithout the fear that your boss could walk in on you playing Candy Crush, your motivation can get foggy when you work from home. So while you might be tempted to throw a load of laundry in the washing machine or start working later than you\u2019re scheduled to, you\u2019ll need to keep yourself motivated.\nHow? Start by giving yourself daily, weekly, or even hourly goals. Once you start accomplishing them, you\u2019ll feel productive and happy in your\u00A0career \u2014 and you\u2019ll be one step closer to achieving your own work-life balance.\nWorking from home can be the Holy Grail \u2014 but you have to know what you\u2019re getting into. But if you do, and you make a plan to gain these skills, you can make working from home work for you, too.\nImage courtesy Flickr, Doug Woods"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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