Working from home was often limited to taking your work home with you or putting plastic pegs in plastic holes and earning a few pennies for every 1,000 you put together.

But NOW, with most of us having online access from our own homes things are changing…

Many large companies are appreciating the benefits of fewer staff in their offices and some are designing jobs specifically for work-at-home mums – haven’t seen much evidence of facilities for work-at-home dads yet, but hopefully it’s on the cards.

With so many of us becoming self-employed and deciding to work from home – the working world is changing dramatically. Definitely a good thing.

The 9-5, 40-hour standard working week isn’t family-friendly and is often a cause of stress and other more serious medical conditions. And the juggling we have to do with a family is astonishing. How do we do it?

Although working from home requires developing self-discipline skills – more about that in a minute – the ability to be able to pop outside and enjoy a rare dose of sunshine during damp grey days of winter will do wonders for your health – mentally, physically and spiritually.

“Is working from home an option in your world?”

Take a little time to decide whether this is going to work for you. Don’t throw all your eggs out of the basket in one go. They will surely not come together as an omelette.

The number one skill you’ll need to make working from home a success, whether you have babies, school-age kids, teenagers or elderly relatives living with you, is SELF-DISCIPLINE.

I have to write this in caps to remind myself of the importance. I’m pretty sure I don’t have any natural self-discipline, although I’m learning!

The great thing about self-discipline is that it’s learn-able and the results can be fantastic. The discipline I need to write books demonstrates this well for me. When I have a finished book in my hands, the satisfaction and feel-good emotions are second to none, as well as a boost of self-confidence.

When you start writing your first book for example, or building your own website store, you may have a feeling of unease – excitement yes, but a certain unease. This is perfectly normal.

We have a natural defense system that gallops to the rescue when we attempt anything that’s outside our familiar environment or comfort zone,

If we choose to be rescued and dissolve back into old ways, that is a choice. But having the self-discipline to run with that scary feeling and boldly go where you’ve not been before has bonuses beyond measure:

– your self -confidence and self-esteem will grow daily
– your ability to deal with challenges will exceed your wildest dreams
– and most of all you will stay on the path of self-improvement making your world and the whole planet a better place to live.

Well, if they aren’t good enough reasons to ride those fears nothing is!

Linda x

P.S. I’ve recently started listening to the audio version of Tim Ferris’s 4-hour work week. Very appealing 🙂 but also very interesting and inpirational!

The 4-Hour Work Week

“This step-by-step guide to living the life you want reveals:

• How Tim went from $40,000 dollars per year and 80 hours per week to $40,000 per MONTH and 4 hours per week
• How to outsource your life and do whatever you want
• How to eliminate 50% of your work in 48 hours
• How to trade a long-haul career for short work bursts and frequent ‘mini-retirements'” and lots more!