I get up every morning like everyone else; I get my coffee, do all my morning duties, and then I commute…about 100 yards to my office.
I don’t have to get a fancy wardrobe to go to work, but I will say that I have an extensive slipper collection. Yes, that’s me – the girl that works from home.
For the first 3 years I worked at ETE REMAN, I had a commute of about 120 miles round trip daily.  Currently, I’m at home for 4 days of the week and attend Monday morning meetings.
People ask me all the time how I stay disciplined and productive, especially when I could wear my pajamas every day if I wanted to. I hear things like, “I could never work from home- I would want to be doing all the things that need to be done around the house.” Working from home is a privilege that I don’t want to lose, so I use these 3 rules to stay on top of my day – and my sales:
Rule #1: Make a place to call your own. I had to designate an office space. When I first started working from home, I was in the common area of the house right in the middle of everything – it was easy to be distracted.  I now have an office where I can close the door, away from anything else.
Rule #2: Create a routine. I set my work hours as if I was in the office.  One of the challenges I had found working from home is knowing when to stop or pause. Take a lunch and step away from your desk to give your mind a break. Go outside to get out of the house. When I wasn’t doing that, I felt burnt out mid-day. Take that designated break and come back feeling like you’re ready to rock it again.
Rule #3: Have multiple ways to communicate. Communication with coworkers is important to every office environment. When working from home, your coworkers can’t just walk down and ask you a question. So, you have to make sure that you are as accessible as if you weren’t remote. One of the best tools other than the phone that we use is messenger services like Skype, AOL, Digsby, and Yahoo. It is great for immediate responses for my teammates and customers as well.
I’m lucky enough to have a great company to work for and coworkers that, even with the distance and not being in the office physically, treat me as though I am. They keep me up to date on anything important and even the occasional office shenanigan. I appreciate the 15 hours of commuting each week that I get back by being able to work at home – but it’s entirely up to me to make it count and do my part.
photo credit: © [Natalia Merzlyakova] / Dollar Photo Club

Mary Matthews, aka the Queen of Key Accounts, isn’t new to the ETE team but she is brand new to the Reman U author line up. In her very first article, she shares her tips for keeping on track – while working from home. Like what Mary has to say? Leave her a comment here or email her directly!