10 Good Reasons to Work At Home

I've decided I love my job.

Of course I love my job most days, you already know that. I just love it more than usual today.

You see, I had lunch with a good friend today who still works at the same bank where I used to work before I became a full time freelance writer. She's tired and stressed all the time. She spends two hours every day of her working life in the car fighting with traffic. Her relationship is suffering under the weight of her long hours at the office and she's really worried that the bank might start cutting jobs to keep their profit levels high. She'll have no income if that happens and she's terrified about how she'll survive.

I offered her a lot of sympathy (after all, I remember feeling exactly as she does right now once upon a time) and that's when I decided I love my job more than usual today. ;)

My friend asked me why I like working at home so much and was curious if I would be bored or lonely - or going broke. Understanding that she's feeling kind of low right now, I only gave her my favorite reasons for working at home. But if she'd been in a better mood, I could have given her twenty.

Top Ten Reasons to Work At Home

1) Freedom

The enormous freedom of not having to sit in a stale office with people you don't always like is amazing. The freedom of not having to drive through hideous traffic jams for hours is heaven.

The freedom to take time off to go out for lunch with friends is great. The best freedom of all is knowing you're in charge of your own life.

2) Family

I have a four year old daughter. Before she was born I made the decision to spend as much time with her as possible. I wanted to be a part of her development and I wanted to be there for her young years.

I didn't want a baby-sitter or day-care worker to witness her first steps while I was at work in a job I hated. I wanted to see it for myself. I wanted to hear her first words, read stories to her, play in the park, involve her in the family chores instead of just dumping dinner in front of her - I just wanted to be with my little girl.

3) No Commuting

A few short years ago I worked at a bank in the city. It was almost an hour driving time for me to get there each day - and an hour home again.

The advent of the internet means I no longer have to travel to the city. Of course it means my work is no longer limited to just ONE city. I can now work in London, New York, Sydney, Hong Kong and Johannesburg without even leaving my living room.

And it saves me a small fortune in fuel costs and car maintenance bills.

4) My Own Hours

I love that I can work when I want to work. If I'm not getting anywhere with one assignment, I'll switch to something that interests me more and do that for a while.

If I can't sleep, I'll drag my laptop onto my lap and sit up in bed writing until I'm sleepy again. If I need a day off, I can take it without needing to justify what I'm doing to a boss. I can pick up my daughter from kinder and take time out to play in the park.

Being able to set up your own flexible hours is a great benefit.

5) Choose Your Own Work-Load

When I first began freelance writing, I would accept every assignment I could find. Even the bad ones. At the time I felt I had no choice. I thought I needed to take them all in order to make money.

I've since learned to only accept assignments that interest me AND pay me properly for my time. This way every day is filled with work that I already know I'll enjoy and I know I'll get paid well for my efforts.

6) Your Own Boss

I love being my own boss. There's no better feeling than knowing your freelance business is all yours and no one can dictate how you run it. If clients become difficult, get different clients. If money is tight, find better paying assignments. If you're tired - stop writing and take a break.

It's all up to you!

7) Cost Saving

This is a weird benefit that I didn't expect when I was still planning to work full time at home. I was so worried I wouldn't be able to make my mortgage payments or pay my bills and so I stayed in my horrible job for longer than I should have.

Once I took the leap and began staying home full time to write, I noticed my expenses were dropping very quickly. With less expenses, this meant I needed less income to survive - which made earning income at home a whole lot easier when you suddenly need a lot less money to cover everything.

I spent a lot less money on fuel and car repairs (of course). But I also spent less on silly little things, like buying lunch at the office, having coffee after work with friends at a cafe, buying bottled water - all the myriad of silly little things we buy and don't even notice.

The biggest cost saving was buying take-out after a hard day's work. After 8 hours in an office I was too tired to cook or bother with grocery shopping. So I'd buy expensive pre-packaged foods, or junk food take away.

I just don't do those things any more because I'm already here. It's actually easier to just throw something in the oven and let the buzzer on the timer remind me when I have to think about it again.

8) Choices

I like being able to choose what I'm going to do with each day. There's no boss to tell me what to do next. I get to decide what I'll work on and what I'll write based on the mood I'm in that day.

You can't beat having a wide range of choices of what you'll do next every day :)

9) Friends and Relatives

My old work friend was worried that I'd be lonely, tucked away in my house like a prisoner on my own all day every day.

Nothing could be further from the truth! I am more social now than I was when I worked in the office. Friends pop in for a quick coffee regularly during the day. Family know I'm home, so they'll call or visit often too.

I get to see my neighbors now - I didn't even know who they were when I worked in the city. Now we're great friends!

...and the top reason to work at home...

10) You're Not Stuck in a Job You HATE

This has to be the best reason to build your own freelance writing business and work at home when you want to work.

Have you ever been stuck in a job you absolutely hate but feel as though you need to keep just for the money? I have. Let me tell you - it's no fun.

If I had known working as a freelancer was so much fun - and such great money - I would have done it years sooner.


Now you know the primary reasons why I choose to work from home. If I had more time I'm sure I could list another ten reasons why I love it so much.

Have you figured out your reasons for wanting to do the same yet?

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