A Guide to Setting Up a Routine While Working at Home

Sleeping until noon, working at 3 a.m. in your pajamas all the while taking periodic television breaks sounds like a dream, but for anyone serious about making a career out of working at home this can spell disaster.

If working for an employer, they will catch on to your lazy haphazard ways and could fire you or ask you to stop telecommuting, but even if self-employed the lack of a schedule can still spell doom and gloom. After a few weeks of the incredible freedom, the weird hours and lack of direction will take their toll on any telecommuter. While working from home it's easy to push work off until later. Priorities can quickly shift. If a writing assignment is once pushed off because the newest episode of the Young and Restless seems more important, soon everyday will be filled with bad day time television and growing to-do lists of procrastinated work.

Even friends will start to worry when all emails and Facebook replies are time stamped at 4 a.m. Working while everyone else sleeps makes the world seem like distance place and home seem lonely.

Follow these steps to steer clear of the pitfalls of no schedule and no direction:

• Get up at the same time each and every day. Yes, that even means the weekends! Monday mornings and the reality of the new work week don't force telecommuters back on schedule. Even one day off of the regular schedule could throw off the rest of the week, or month.
• Don't work in pajamas. Make an effort to shower first thing in the morning, just like going to a regular office, or take a bath each evening. Keep the same grooming habits as if having to sit next to co-workers jammed into cubicles each day.
• Extend the commute each morning. Rather rolling out of bed and straggling to the computer, take a walk, or job around the block. The exercise will not do great things. But, also use the time to mentally compute our of chill at home time and into serious work time.
• Replace socializing with co-workers. As annoying as co-workers can be, having someone to give natural breaks to our work and to vent to about demanding schedules no doubt helps. Find groups online for like-minded people in the same industry. Make an effort to join meet-ups and networking groups offline.