So you get to work from home. Awesome. Good for you. Now get to work.

Working from home, telecommuting, whatever you call it, is dangerous business.  There’s no supervisor breathing down your neck, manager keeping you on task, or co-workers to keep pace with, and these are good things - if you have the cojones for it.  It takes a tremendous amount of personal discipline to stay on track when so many distractions surround you.

-The most important thing I’ve learned about working from home is about preparing yourself for the day as if you were going to the office. Schedule an hour you must be up by, wash your face, put on some make-up if you wear it, and put some clean clothes on. It doesn’t have to be professional attire, but if that makes you feel more professional, then do it.  You’ll feel refreshed and ready to start the day.  Stumbling to the computer in your PJ’s just doesn’t work.

-Set up an office.  This is your space and no one else’s.  This space is also only for work, not for pinning photos or video chatting with your mom…

Conversely, you might be like me and need to do your work in a different place every week. Working at home can be lonely. For some reason I do better on the couch one week, or at My Favorite Muffin the next. There are studies that say changing location helps focus as well.

-If you’re very easily distracted, especially if you check Facebook or Twitter too much, set an alarm for every 20-30 minutes.  It’s a reminder to return to the task at hand should you drift off.

-Get a part-time morning job.  You have to get up, get ready, and when you get home you’ll be awake and energized.  The social interaction really helps as well if you’re extroverted.

-Set a time when you’ll be done for the day.  Turn off your computer for a couple hours, stop checking your e-mail and relax.  If you don’t clearly separate time for work and your personal time, you’ll feel like you’re always at work.

Take advantage of the flexibility of working from your home, or wherever else you might choose. Hit the bank when it’s slow, cook a healthy meal for lunch, but keep the distractions at a minimum. You’ll know when you haven’t put your best day’s work in.  You won’t feel professional and ultimately your work suffers.  There’s nothing more satisfying than putting a good day’s work in with nothing but your own drive and motivation.

I got my first job by being talkative.  I talk to everyone, about anything.  I never thought that this trait was actually a form of networking.  I thought I was just being friendly.

I like how Becca put networking in the last blog post.  It’s a scary sounding word that comes off fake and she’s totally right.  If you feel fake, it will come off that way.  The best thing to do is to be yourself.  If you talk to people in your career field, if you share a group or club together, if you go and meet some execs at a trip to an agency and just say hi, you’ve networked.  You’re probably networking right now without even knowing it.

I got a job as a Social Media Marketer by talking to my hairstylist, something I did every few months. What I hadn’t realized was that I was giving her Facebook tips in front of another customer of hers, a local ad agency owner.  Now no, I didn’t get a job at the agency, but he did recommend me to a client of his looking for a Social Media Marketer, whom I now work for.  I didn’t get much of an interview, I just walked in and was offered the position, because she trusted his recommendation.

I’m not saying you don’t need a portfolio or a great resume, but people listen to other people more than they do a piece of paper, so make sure people are saying good things about you.  Talk to others about what you like or what you would like to do in a career.  Offer free advice or blog about your experiences in your field.  It doesn’t matter if they own an agency, or know their cousin’s friend’s uncle used to work at one.

A word of advice from my own failings.  Remember names.  You can’t walk up and say hi to someone you want to get to know better if you forgot their name.  It’s never been a gift of mine, but I certainly have been learned some tricks on how to do it.  If you know something else you’re weak in, such as approaching people or making small talk, practice it in your daily life.  Just be yourself.

I also work a second job that I got the plain old-fashioned way.  I saw a listing, prepared a well-written resume, followed-up, and a month or two later received a call for an interview.  I practiced questions, wrote down responses and researched the company.  The interview was terrifying, but I felt very confident.  I say this because this way can obviously work too and is very crucial.  It just never hurts to keep as many doors open as possible for yourself by combining traditional methods with a little social fun.