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Work From Home Motivation - Ideas & Tips

Linda Buquet

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Here is a follow-up to my blog from June 5th - <a target="_new" href="http://affiliate-blogs.5staraffiliateprograms.com/2005/06/06/internet-marketing-success-motivation/">Motivation Gone Wild - Internet Marketing Success Starts Within!</a> I blogged about some motivational resources for affiliates and managers that work alone from home and often feel isolated. <strong> I posed the question "How do you stay Motivated when you work alone?" to some forums after I wrote the blog. </strong>I thought some of you would be interested in the great feedback and ideas that were posted. Many said they were motivated by the money but these thought filled posts contain some other jewels as well.

Here is a big long 2 page thread of ideas, including some GREAT motivational quotes from the <a target="_new" href="http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?t=270000"> SitePoint Affiliate Forum</a>. Duskwalker said: "Motivation is the key in our business. These forums usually keep me motivated; from reading success stories to learning great techniques. Personally I have two pages filled with quotes that I like, and I read them from time to time." A couple of the good quote he posted were: "Create like a god, command like a king, work like a slave." -Constatin Brancusi and "Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you." -Carl Sandburg

<blockquote>One of my favorites was from stephfoster at DigitalPoint: "When I found out my son was going to need surgery, I was very grateful to be working at home. As he is going to be continuing to have appointments for the next three month at least, twice weekly at first, then once a week, I find myself even more grateful. Can you imagine trying to cope with that many appointments with a job? It would take a very patient and flexible manager. Thanks to affiliate marketing, I don't need one!" Here are the rest of the replies and comments from other affiliate marketers over at <a target="_new" href="http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=17940"> DigitalPoint</a></blockquote>

Bookmark this forum if you don't have time to read all the forum threads now and save it for a time when you need some motivation or a little boost. Also read <a target="_new" href="ttp://affiliate-blogs.5staraffiliateprograms.com/2005/06/06/internet-marketing-success-motivation/">Motivation Gone Wild - Internet Marketing Success Starts Within!</a> for some FREE motivation and success conditioning audios, guaranteed to provide fresh new insights and positive thoughts.

So what about you? How do you stay motivated? What do you do to get out of a rut?
 
let's face it some folks should never work from home!!

we all from a very young age trained to believe that we "need" to go to a workplace to work... our grandfather did it our father does it... we "should" do it... it just the way things should be....

Because of this there are some who do not have the disciple neccessary to work from home... especially for them selves... because there is no task master lerking in the next room to 'jump" on them if they get distracted or start to goof off....

Having said that... many others true enjoy the freedom that comes from "working from home"

I personally have always worked from home in some fashion... and have never done well when I was chained to a seat in an office at my employers place of business. (even when I was the employer)

I just like the idea of working when I feel like doing so... whether it's at 6 AM as it is today or at 8PM at night like I did last week, while my grandchildren were visiting...

I always get at least 6 hours of work done... and I'm twice as productive because I can work when I'm not distracted by other things... (all the other things are either taken care of or can be take care of when I'm done working...)

I have found I should never cook when i am working because I always burn whatever I am cooking or worse... like melt the pot... I did that the last time I mixed cooking and work...

I dont need the interaction of others... infact I like the quite...

MY wife however is the exact opposite...

inorder for her to work at home... she needs the radio and tv on... the more noise the better... she sits on the sofa with her laptop "watching TV" with the radio playing in theback ground... if the phone is ringing off the hook... so much the better...

needless to say we work on opposite ends of the house... I in my sound proofed office, and Sandra in the living room... the fact I dont do a lot of serious work in the evenings also makes for peace in our home...

Sandra likes to work at night... so she rarly gets started before 9 PM... usually I'll tell her what is important to me for her to do... (mostly she manages our PPC campaigns... ) I go to bed... and when i get up in the morning there is a note or email waiting for me telling what was or wasnt done...

I use to try to work with her... it just didint work for either of us... if she needs help with some thing... I watch TV with her... and answer questions along the way...

the great thing is if you can learn to be self-motivated working at home can be a liberating experience....

:eek:

Joe
 
Awesome post Joe! This is the type of discussion I had hope this topic would promote.

We really are SO lucky to be able to work from home, but you're right it's not for everyone and some people just can't do it. It's so interesting for me to hear how others work from home. Like how differently you and your wife work. Can't imagine working like your wife does.

I work more like you. I'm nose to the grindstone and don't like any distractions or interruptions. However, I do take breaks for my cats. I have one that is OBSESSED with playing fetch - just like a dog. He'll drop all his toys at my feet at the desk and then cry til I start playing fetch. I've started trying to take breaks with him more often, cuz it's good to give my carpal a rest and do some different movements. I've discovered throwing cat toys is a good stretching exercise. :p
 
Motivation and working from home

Ditto-
I too love working from home, i know plenty of friends and relatives, that would hate being home all day and not going to a workplace, but not me. I do have a partner, so i'm not alone all the time. I do take breaks, and stretch, and like Linda, i have cats, and when they want my attention will prop themselves up right where & when i least expect it. They remind me to get up and take a breather, i think when i worked out of the home i took more breaks then i do working from home. Im surprisingly disciplined.

I use to-do lists to keep on track of what i want to do online and what i want to accomplish for the day or "shift". I also take calls from home, so i do two jobs from home. If i had to choose between working outside the home or working inside the home, i choose inside.

The drive to accomplish my goals and reach my income levels, is what keeps me motivated.
 
Hello everyone, nice to see you all involved in such a healthy discussion. Work from home is something, which I would always go for. I'm a student, currently pursuing my masters degree in psychology. As a student, I always had so many benefits to work from home. Initially I used to go out for my work, but after few days, I realized that it kills so much of my time and energy and I felt that my studies were being hampered a lot. In addition, after coming back from work, I rarely felt like doing anything. Now, I'm doing a work from my home and it's so relaxing to work from home. There is no fixed time, by which I'll have to start or finish my work. Moreover, there is nothing, as if I'll have to reach my office on time and so on. Rather, I can do my work whenever I feel it to be convenient enough. And yes, at the end of day, when I get my payment, it freshens up my mood and energy and I get motivated to do my job in a better way, once again.
 
I have been working from home for 10 years and I can't imagine it any other way at this point. My office is right in the middle of the first floor of the house - I can monitor what the kids are doing while still having my own space.

I have a solid base of clients and I partner with a group of professionals that all work from home. We get together twice a year and that is always fun.

The biggest motivator at first was the money. If I didn't work, I didn't get paid. Now it is the constant flow of tasks through my inbox. If I don't work, my clients won't be too happy.

I stay motivated by only taking on projects I want to do. By trying to stay on the edge of technology at least at a conversational level. I communicate with other professionals daily. I go out to lunch or coffee with the girls at least once a week. And, remembering how lucky I am not to have to make the killer commute up 95.

Hope that helps.
 
Strangely enough, some might get motivated to work at home, as a way to get money to rent an office later :)
 
This post brings up a lot of great points. I don't think it's that people have a hard time working at home but rather they have a hard time with business discipline.

You see when we go to work we are told what to do, when to show up, when to eat lunch, how long to take our break and when to go home.

As a home business owner we are both the business person and the employee so we have to think both ways.

If you are not getting things done at home on a daily basis that will move you towards your dreams then sit down with yourself at the end of the day (like a boss would with an employee) and see why your not getting things done and being productive.

But of course, once you are absolutely clear what you want to do and achieve in life then that will get you up in the morning and working all day even depending on how motivated you get yourself.

It's great now! I don't use an alarm to get me up. I just go to bed reaffirming my goals and dreams, get excited about the coming day and tell myself that I will be up by 7am...I am been getting up at 6:55am ever since.

Pretty cool stuff.


Dorian
 
The most difficult issue I face is people understanding that when I say I'm working, I mean I'm working!! People have a tendency to think, "just call her, she's always home..." Well, now I either take the phone off the hook or just let the voice mail take messages and if they get upset with me, I keep reminding them that my job is no less important (and takes a GREAT deal of concentration) than theirs in an office is and that they just have to think of me as "off to work" if I'm unavailable. Some get really frustrated with me, but I have to be rigid or I'm the one who suffers.
 
I am with you, I have been working from home since my children where born. And I do really work, from the time the kids get on the bus in the morning to when they get home (maybe a coffee break now and then), but I would not trade it for a normal 9 to 5 anyday. I love the independance and besides, I get to listen to the music I like.
 
MI
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