Work From Home Tips - Tip #6:Don't Devote Your Life to Work

Tip #6: Don't Devote Your Life to Work.

When working from home, it's easy to let your work consume you. In fact, for most jobs, it is easy to let work consume you. Within most occupations, people will tell you to leave your work at work. Sometimes this is easier said than done, but when you are working from home it can be even more difficult.

Even when you are working from home you need to find time for you. You also need to find time for your family and friends. Family and friends are your biggest support systems, and the people you depend on to lift you up when you're down. Make sure when you are spending time with family and friends that you don't just talk about work. Find a fun topic to discuss; talk about family, talk about anything other than work. If work comes up, address the question/comment but move on quickly. Remember, work should be left at work.

Once again, when it's time to quit work, it's time to quit work. Leave it in your defined work space at the end of the day. Go spend some time with family or doing something else that you enjoy. Find a hobby that you enjoy and spend some time doing that a few times a week. This can be a time for you to relax and clear your mind of work.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post. Check back tomorrow for more tips about working at home, and subscribe to the blog if you like it!

Work From Home Tips - Tip #5: Does Your Work Space Help or Hurt?

Tip #5: Does Your Work Space Help or Hurt?

When you look at your work space does it make you want to sit down and work or does it make you want to run away? If it makes you want to run away, or even if you like it, you may want to consider freshening up your work space. By this, I mean you may want to consider putting things in your work space that will encourage your work or will make it a happier place.

The first thing you may consider is insuring that your work space is comfortable. Probably not a couch or bed, but a comfortable desk chair that you don't mind sitting in for a few hours at a time. This is especially important if you have back problems or other problems that prevent you from sitting in one place for too long. A nice, comfortable desk chair is something worth investing in; especially if you plan to be sitting for long periods of time at a desk.

The second thing you may want to consider is making your work space a happier place. Add some bright colors, such as blue, green, purple, red, or something else that fits your personality. Light blue is a good color if you want to have a more calm work space. Also, add some things that inspire you. Quotes, pictures of family and friends, pictures of nature, or anything else that may have a positive impact on your mood. Make your work space your own. This is where you will be spending much of your time and it should be a place that you enjoy.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post. I would also love to hear some of the things that inspire you! Check back tomorrow for more tips about working at home, and subscribe to the blog if you like it!

Work From Home Tips - Tip #4: Neat Work Space!

Tip #4: Neat Work Space!

How many times have you sat down at your desk and just sighed when you looked down? How many times have you sat down to work and found yourself cleaning instead of doing work? If you answered more than one to either of those questions, you might want to consider this: clean up your work space.

Having a clean work space will definitely help you stay motivated on your work rather than on cleaning up the area where you're trying to work. If you put papers out while you are working, make sure that you put those up when you finish for the day. Put papers in a neat stack, pencils and pens in a holder, and any other supplies should be put away when you are finished for the day.

Making sure your work space is clean the night before will ensure that you don't need to clean up your workspace before you even start working the next day. When you don't have to start your day by making room for you to work, you will have a more successful day of work because you got off to a better start. After all, aren't we all trying to be more successful by working at home?

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post. Check back tomorrow for more tips about working at home, and subscribe to the blog if you like it!

Work From Home Tips - Tip #3: Start Your Day the Right Way

Tip #3: Start Your Day the Right Way.

When was the last time you went to work looking like you just crawled out of bed? Probably never. So why would you do the same even if you are working from home? Instead of getting out of bed and going straight to work, take a shower and get dressed and ready for your day just like you would if you were going to work with coworkers that you see every day.

Getting a shower first thing in the morning will help you feel refreshed and energized. Shaving and getting dressed will also motivate you to get your day started off right. Next, go eat breakfast! This will not only help you feel more prepared to work, so your not hopping up for snacks later, but it also jump starts your metabolism and will help you be in a better mood throughout the day.

Now that you have taken a shower, shaved, gotten dressed, and eaten breakfast, you are ready to start your day and go to work. Granted, everyday may not start out perfect, but you can do your best to try and make it happen. Add this into your routine, make it part of your everyday life and see if it doesn't help you stay on schedule.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post. Check back tomorrow for more tips about working at home, and subscribe to the blog if you like it!

Work From Home Tips - Tip #2: Stick to your Schedule

Tip #2: Stick to your Schedule.

Becoming familiar with a new schedule can be difficult. It can be so tempting to sleep in, watch T.V., play games, or even become distracted by all the household chores that need to be finished. These are all distractions, and there are plenty more, that either need to be avoided or need to be put aside during your scheduled work time.

Sticking to a schedule will help you stay in a routine, and thus you will get more work done. I know it's difficult to put off distractions while you are working at home, but if you can it will make working at home a lot less difficult.

Lastly, if you find you can't put off your distraction, don't put it off. Do what you need to do, but don't try to make up the work time lost later in the day. Just accept the fact that that time will be lost. If you find that you have lost a significant number of hours of work throughout the week, you can set yourself a couple of hours to work on Saturday or Sunday, but try not to work too much on the weekend. It is the weekend after all!

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post. Check back tomorrow for more tips about working at home, and subscribe to the blog if you like it!

Work From Home Tips - Tip #1: Set a Schedule

Today, we will begin giving tips for working at home. These tips are designed to help all those who are, or those who are thinking about, working from home. My hope is that they will encourage people who are working from home, and that they will bring a more positive light to working at home.

Tip #1: Set a Schedule.

This is very important. The first thing we did, before we started working from home, was make a schedule. If you set a schedule for yourself, and stick to it, you are more likely to be successful. Also, when your schedule is complete, place it where it is easily viewed. Put it somewhere where you will see it while you are working.

When you sit down to make your schedule, don’t just start with the time you want to start working. Instead, try starting with a set time to get up and eat breakfast. A good breakfast is the best way to start your day! Allow yourself a few 10 to 15 minute breaks throughout the day, not including your lunch break. You may also consider setting aside a 30 minute break for exercise. Taking a few minutes away from your work will help you relax and come back to your work refreshed and ready to go.

Lastly, set a time to stop every day. When it’s quittin’ time, it’s quittin time. Try not to go past your set time to stop working for the day. You need to allow yourself some time at home that does not include work. This will help to separate home from work.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post. Check back tomorrow for more tips about working at home, and subscribe to the blog if you like it!

Amazon Mechanical Turk Review

Amazon's Mechanical Turk service (https://www.mturk.com/) is one of the easiest methods of making money online. You don't have to be hired, you just have to sign up. They refer to the program as 'artificial artificial intelligence'. Essentially, you do simple tasks that anyone could perform but are beyond the capabilities of current automated computer technology. Once you've registered you have thousands of HITs (Human Intelligence Tasks) to choose from. Different companies and individuals post a wide variety of HITs and set a certain payout for each task completion. Once you complete the HIT it is sent to the requester for review, and once they review your work as satisfactory the money is deposited in your Amazon Payments account. This money can be used to purchase items on Amazon or you can have it deposited into your bank account.

Of the myriad of requesters on MTurk, I have had particularly enjoyable dealings with two companies that post frequently. The first is Dolores Labs, also known as Crowdflower. The majority of the HITs posted by Dolores Labs are simplistic and just require you to identify or search for information. The average payout is between $0.01 and $0.05 per HIT. They pay quickly and provide plenty of work. You won't make a lot of money doing these HITs but it's a great way to get started and learn the system.

The other company that I have had great experiences with is QuestionSwami. They post various short writing HITs as wells as writing proofreading tasks. Pay varies greatly depending on the length of the article and the topic. If you have any interest in pursing a freelance writing career this is a good place to get started. They also post special writing assignments for preferred writers that pay as high as $10 for a 500 word article. Most of the work I've done with them has been paid within 24 hours.

There are many more requesters and a wide variety of tasks available on MTurk. A word of caution: don't perform to many tasks for a single requester until you have been paid by them at least once or have it on good authority that they are reliable. I would also suggest never giving out detailed personal information to a requester. Be cautious and remember that it is possible that someone could post fraudulent work (this can be reported to Amazon if you do encounter issues).

If you need any help getting started with Amazon Mechanical Turk feel free to comment with any questions you may have.


Subscribe to our blog and check back often for more reviews, tips, and advice about working from home.

ChaCha Review

Today I'm going to be reviewing one of the companies I first started using to earn income working from home. ChaCha (http://www.chacha.com/), much like KGB, is a SMS text message answering service. Basically, you text them a question and they send you back an answer. Unlike KGB, using ChaCha is free (standard messaging rates apply) because they make their profits from advertisements sent back to the customer. ChaCha also allows users to submit questions through their website, a toll free phone number, or an iPhone app.

The process of answering the questions is handled by several different guide roles. Most workers have one or two of these roles. The current roles are Expediter, Specialist, Vetter, and Affiliate. Workers are hired as independent contractors and can select to have their pay direct deposited once per month or have their ChaCha balance transfered over to a special debit card at any time (there is a fee of $2.00 per transfer).

Most questions come to the Expediter (EX) first. The EX answers simple questions with tools provide by ChaCha such as definition finders, movie listings, horoscopes, and business listings. They also quickly edit answers to questions that have been asked before. Finally, for more complicated questions they succinct and edit the original question and pass it on to a Specialist. Expediters are paid $0.02 per completed question, regardless of the method of completion.

Specialists (GE/SP) answer the more complicated questions asked by customers. After receiving the question from the EX they use whatever research tools they deem necessary to provide an answer to the customer. This process is more time consuming than other roles. Specialists are paid between $0.10 and $0.20 per question depending on the category.

Vetter (VT) is the newest role available at ChaCha. ChaCha has usage limits on questions for Expediters and Specialists. To provide answers to customers who have exceeded these limits ChaCha developed a program where users can submit answers to questions online. The VT selects and briefly edits the answers provided by the community to send a suitable answer back to the customer. Vetters are paid $0.005 per question (yes, that's half a cent). Vetter is by far the fastest pace role and is recommended for people with fast load times to maximize earning potential.

Finally, Affiliate is the rarest role at ChaCha. Affiliates are hand selected and have never had open applications. They handle questions from special business partners of ChaCha. The role currently pays $0.17 per question, but it is expected to decrease after the program is further developed and traffic is increased.

Obviously ChaCha shouldn't be considered a full time job (though there are a few people who use it as such). Most workers average $3-$6 an hour, but with efficient work, good system traffic, and utilizing bonuses it's possible to make close to $10 per hour. However, there is no guaranteed hourly rate. You are paid by the question (with occasional bonuses) and your hourly earnings will depend on your abilities, system traffic, and promotional bonuses. You can work as many or as few hours as you want, so there is a ton of flexibility.

I have had, and continue to have, a good experience working with ChaCha. I work exclusively in the Expediter role because I enjoy the pace. It's a pretty fun and easy way to make extra money in your spare time. Many workers play games or watch TV while they're working (unless system traffic is very high).

I hope this review has been helpful! If you are interested in working with ChaCha, leave a comment and I'll help you out with the application process.



For more work at home company reviews, advice, and tips please subscribe to this blog and check back often!