Telecommuting or jobs that can be done from home have gained popularity over the period of years as this brings down the infrastructural costs incurred by the company to a great extent. The time spent on commuting, providing for transportation, all can be saved when the employees are provided the opportunity to work from home. But to make it a successful venture, the home office must be well organised so as to prevent obtrusions in work.

The first task is identifying a right place in the house to work which makes one comfortable. The place should be well ventilated and well lighted as this makes working easier. On identifying the place to work, the next step is to pin point the items that will be required to make home a miniature version of one’s desk in the office. Stationery, filing cabinet, telephone and fax machines, and other articles that are unique to one’s job must be recognised and bought in advance. The personal desk must be well organised so that the required articles are kept within reach. Designing the office layout is important as a huge amount of time can be saved if everything has a place. On deciding to work form home, a separate phone connection must be acquired.

Time management is very important while working from home. Personal issues must not be dealt with during the working hours. Peter. F. Drucker has aptly mentioned the need for time management as “Time is the scarcest resource of the manager; if it is not managed, nothing else can be managed.” If the individual have personal commitments which are the cause for working from home, then the total hours must balance personal and professional life. However in the absence of such a commitment, morning hours can be used up for dealing important matters when the mind is very fresh. The employee can seek relaxation by mingling with other employees in a large office. As this is not possible while working from home, the after lunch hours can be spent for doing mundane jobs until the mind becomes alert. The timings for doing the tasks depend on the personal discretion of the individual.

Organise the daily agenda in advance and plan the work accordingly. Unlike working from office, disruptions in power and internet can be a cause of worry to an individual while working from home. Adding buffer into the daily program helps in confronting with sudden requirements.

Working from home has the disadvantage of having to face many interruptions while performing the task. Measures should be taken to overcome the obstacles. For instance, an answering machine can minimise the number of trips to answering the telephone.

Working from home calls for a stronger mindset if it is to be effective. Dedication to work and an uncompromising approach is inevitable to prevent unwanted interruptions from family members. The initial days of working from home are an eye opener in identifying the mistakes and taking corrective measures to make it a successful venture.

With organisations like Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and DSL Forum provide better security measures for internet, the popularity and success of working from home, however, depends on the organising ability of the individual, of his time and work.