If you think working from home just means rising late, shuffling to your office in slippers, and figuring out your schedule over coffee and a box of doughnuts, you probably won't last very long as a teleworker. Such personal freedom might be one of the perks of working from home, but it is a benefit only appreciated by those who really know the realities of working from home.
To decide if you are someone who can make it as a teleworker, there are ten important traits you should possess.
1. Planning & Organization. Are you an organized person? Do you know where things are at, and what you will be doing next? Being organized is a top trait of successful teleworkers. Nothing eats up precious time more than hunting down a document or telephone number that should have been filed neatly away in the first place.
2. Self-Disciplined. A lot of people think they're self-disciplined. Or, at least, not being self-disciplined is hard to admit. However, it's not as easy as some think. (Hence, the term 'discipline'.) Being self-disciplined means doing what NEEDS to be done even when you HATE to do it.
3. Professional. Are you? Do you go into your office each day with the attitude of: This is my work. I don't play solitaire while I talk to a customer. I don't eat a bowl of cereal over my client's grant proposal. And, I don't polish my nails while I wait for my creative juices to hit me. Professionalism isn't just a behavior; it's a way of thinking.
4. Educated. Do you know what you're doing? Do you have esoteric knowledge and/or extensive experience to back up your right to teach, preach, write, draw, add, subtract, or anything else you're doing and demand pay for it?
5. Find work intrinsically rewarding. Is your ego deflated when a colleague or supervisor fails to mention your major contribution to the success of a project? When you work alone at home you have to be able to give yourself all the praise you need.
6. Assertive. Do you feel guilty when you have to cut a phone call from a friend or relative short because they just want to chat? No one cares about a project or assignment the way you do; so until someone does, you need to learn to set limits on the amount of time they take you away from your work.
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. Prioritized. Yes, pencils do need to get sharpened. But must you sharpen them before you make that important phone call?
8. Independent. How many opinions do you need before you get moving on something or make a decision? If you aren't confident enough to think through a problem and make a decision about it on your own, then you might be too dependent to work alone from home.
9. Calm. Do you remain calm when nothing seems to be going right? Or, do you panic when unexpected delays or changes occur? Panic causes us to misinterpret our environment; in turn, leading us to react to situations in ways that aren't always appropriate.
10. Desire. Do you want to work from home badly enough that you will be able to plan for the drawbacks that come with working from home, such as those mentioned above?
To be a successful teleworker, you must possess to some degree each of these traits or you will face problems when you are met with the realities of working from home. If you are not Assertive, the phone calls and interruptions will never cease. If you are not Prioritized, you may find yourself sharpening pencils before you call an important prospect. And, if you are not Calm, you might fall apart as soon as something you Planned goes away.
So, before you make that leap to ask your boss to let you telecommute, or you quit your day job to become an independent contractor, go over this list carefully. Otherwise, you might end up having to fire yourself.
About the Author
Pamela La Gioia is Founder and Administrator of Telework Recruiting
www.teleworkrecruiting.com, a premier job-lead web site that provides thousands of job leads and job resources for the US, Canada, and the UK. She is currently writing a book on telecommuting, which offers step-by-step guidance on finding real home-based employment. Questions or comments are welcome and can be sent to Pamela at
pam@teleworkrecruiting.com 
