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Working at home is no piece of cake. Most people understand that, but they do not really get why it can be so challenging. Outlined here are the five biggest challenges to working at home. These challenges will not stop a person from working at home but can cause a lot of problems and ruin any chance for making it in the work at home environment.

Challenge #1
Time

There is a lot of freedom when working at home and that means being able to manage time efficiently is very important. It can be easy to let time get away. It is also easy to underestimate how long a task or job will take and not allot enough time to get it done. To keep time from being a challenge a person should develop a schedule and be sure to schedule both work and free time.

Challenge #2
Boundaries

Many times family and friends do not take working at home seriously which can lead to problems with boundaries. It can be hard to tell someone 'I am working' and actually get them to understand and accept it. To help with boundary issues a person should set up a work at home area that is specifically for work. When in the work area no personal phones calls or interruptions should be tolerated.

Challenge #3
Too much independence

Working at home is about freedom, but being too independent can lead to problems. Everyone needs interaction with others.

One of the perks of working outside the home is interacting with other people. When a person works at home it can be easy to withdraw into that world and forget about the outside world.

The outside world is important, though. Networking is huge part of working at home success. Every person who works at home should find some type of online environment to belong to and be able to escape to during the work day just to relax.

Challenge #4
Being out of the loop

This kind of goes with independence. Being out of the loop means not staying informed. Working at home is about staying informed and knowing what is going on in the industry in which you are working.

A person should be a part of online groups and other communities that will give them information they should know.

Challenge #5
Lack of support

As mentioned before, sometimes family and friends will not be supportive. It is common for them to not believe a person is really working and that they are just messing around.

The way to combat this is to show them what is going on. A person should show what they do, how much money they make and make it clear that this is a real job.

These five challenges are going to be an issue for almost everyone who works at home. They are challenges that can be overcome, though, so they should never lead to a person giving up on working at home.
Challenges will just make a person a better worker and teach them important skills they need to survive in the work at home environment.