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Posted by Lammo in 
Sometimes being an affiliate is absolutely brilliant and many of the benefits of working from home are immediately obvious to anyone who has ever had to deal with the daily grind of office work or the daily commute.
Here we are briefly exploring some of the more obvious benefits that make working from home a rocking alternative, as well as throwing in a few of the hidden benefits which aren’t as easy to identify without having experienced working from home for yourself.
Firstly there is of course the removal of the daily commute from your schedule. Not only does commuting take time out of your day and causes millions of people unnecessary stress on a daily basis but it is also a huge cost consideration. Commuting can cost thousands a year, whether you’re using public transport or covering the costs of running a car and that’s before you consider the impact it has upon the environment. Working from home makes you greener and better off – fact! It also generally improves your mental wellbeing as you won’t have to sit in traffic, endure the nuances of those particularly irritating fellow commuters or indeed base your home near to your office. This will further free you up to choose where you live. The internet is a truly global marketplace: as long as you’ve got access to a decent broadband connection you can take your work anywhere. Whether you’re working in a croft in the Highlands or a Penthouse in the City you’ll be able to make just as much money.
Next there’s the food. Working from home means you’ll never again have to guiltily munch on an overpriced, under-nourishing sandwich. You can not only reduce the costs of lunch every day but you can improve its health benefits by making your own healthy alternative every day. Even simply strolling to the shops without the constraints of a lunch hour is a huge benefit in its own right. You can also avoid the lunchtime rush and do whatever you need to keep your general health levels up. This means that off-peak gym membership is an option: you can skip the busiest times of the day for this – and indeed for everything you do. This is of course linked to managing your own working time and for many people their most productive period of the day isn’t defined by the set hours in an office. As an affiliate you can create your own timetable that suits you, with many people finding that working late or starting early is far better for them than adhering to the 9 to 5.
Choosing your working space and adapting it to your own requirements and tastes is yet another major benefit of working from home. Creating a room that functions as your office and which is organised to tease the best work out of you doesn’t need to take long or even cost very much and you should end up with something that is a far cry from the clutter, confinement and claustrophobia of the average soulless office cubicle.
Perhaps one of the less obvious benefits of working from home is the potential for serious, hard core concentration that you just can’t get in the office environment. Most people find that if they’re working without distraction at something that interests and stimulates them they will become more productive and able to maintain good productivity levels over a longer period of time. Working at home is conducive to getting your head in ‘the zone’ in contrast with so many office environments in which co-workers, time restrictions, endless meetings and other distractions sometimes make decent concentration levels all but impossible.
There is of course the worry that you’ll be negatively impacted by the lack of direct feedback from colleagues whilst working from home. In practice you will generally find that if you’re given the time and the opportunity to work on a project alone, make mistakes and learn lessons, you’ll have a far more enriching experience than one that is subjected to constant scrutiny and micro management by others.
Whilst most of us are essentially social beings and fear we may struggle in the absence of office-based human contact, the reality is that we simply find new means by which to interact. The affiliate industry offers plenty of events and opportunities for face to face networking and the building of lasting relationships. There are networks, fellow affiliates and merchants to engage with on the telephone, via various online forums and in meetings where appropriate. The point here is that YOU are setting the agenda and YOU can determine how much face to face contact you need and plan accordingly. If you are in a meeting with someone it is because you want to be there.
As you have probably gathered, I’m quite a fan of working from home, though I hope you’re aware that just as there are upsides there are always downsides to consider alongside them. Ultimately how you respond to working at home and how you change your habits to fit in with the new lifestyle depends upon your personal tastes. If you like the structure of an office day there’s no reason that you can’t apply similar constraints to your day whilst working from home, it all depends on your discipline levels and personal preferences.
For many of those working at home, there is, above all, one priceless benefit: they can structure their work around precious and irrecoverable time with their families. Not the other way around.
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I like to occasionally work from home, especially if I have projects that need a lot of concentration and quiet, but I have always found that I very much enjoy the interaction with my colleagues and I miss that when at home. We have a fantastic team spirit, that helps you unwind when the pressure builds up and you don’t get that working at home.
I have always found that working from home takes a huge amount of self discipline. What helps me a lot is to pretend I’m at work – I wear work clothes, try to avoid non work engagements (such as cooking or putting a washload in!) and generally avoid the temptations of home. The other problem I have is that I start working as soon as I’m up and don’t stop until it’s bed time – today for instance that I stayed in due to the snow, I’ve been at work since 7.30am.
As to the food – I’m eating more when at home
I can certainly see that the office banter can be missing from the working from home equation (will cover that in my “working from home sucks” post to come next week lol) – as affiliates we’re always going to have that I think.. I hated having an office full of staff so went back to working from home, but still meet up with all the staff every 2 weeks for a good chat/banter/planning etc.
And of course we still get the “virtual water cooler” that is Twitter to distract us and keep us in touch with the outside world in some way!
It is easier to work from when you get up to when you go to bed working from home.. i try to set hours, but don’t always stick to them
It was good to hear about the whole world grinding to a halt because we’ve got half an inch of snow today whilst my daily commute took its usual two minutes including making a cup of tea though 
I actually eat healthier when working from home.. poached/scrambled eggs on toast rather than burgers/pasties/sandwiches full of mayo when working from the office – but I can also see that a fully stocked fridge can lead us to temptation!
Yes and then again a big fat no.
I have worked from home for the last 6 years. Some of what you said is true, but you have ignored, forgotten about or are not affected by one of the biggest variables: Family
Most “Work at home” opportunities online promote “Spend more time with the family” as a coveted bonus. Actually, I am now longing to get an office away from home.
You have a busy, productive day planned but lo and behold:
The school is closed due to snow.
It’s the school holidays.
It’s a weekend
It’s after 3.30pm
It’s before 9am
Result, naff all gets done.
God forbid the phone rings. Try appearing professional with “dad dad dad dad dad dad dad dad” in the background. Worst ever: I was speaking to a network, when a fight broke out which spilled through my office door, scaring the cat which jumped onto my desk and knocked my coffee into the keyboard.
Er…. Sorry, I’ll have to call you back.
It can be great working from home (when everyone else is in bed), but no-one ever takes you seriously.
lol Andy..
My son’s only four months old at the moment, so I’ve yet to have him crashing through the door yelling “dad, dad, dad” – perhaps I’ll have changed my opinion in a few years time if a lock on the door and soundproofing don’t work!
What it does mean is that at the moment I’m here to watch him grow up – I’m not missing out on any of the big moments, and I’m spending quality time with him rather than arriving home from the office feeling tired, stressed and irritable.
I spent a year working from home before moving into some offices where I have been located for about a year. This year I’m going to split my time 50/50 between the two places as both have pros and cons.
Working from home, like you say, provides more opportunity to get your head down and do some serious work, but it can be really boring and the Xbox is constantly trying to grab my attention.
Working from an office has allowed me to build relationships with a number of other small business owners which I have found very useful. The downside is the petrol costs and the lure of the daily Oliver Adams sandwich van.
Ive been reading your very helpful comments and would like to pick your brains, if you dont mind. My website is not making any money which is totally down to my failings. I had the domain name, didnt know what to do with it, found out about affiliate marketing (which I had never heard of) and careered forward. In short, I want somebody else to take over the site and want you to look at it and see if you think it is a site that warrants an ‘affiliate marketing future’ or should I just call it a day (as my affiliate marketing capabilities are zero!) and get a new website or sell the domain name as that should get me some money. Any constructive criticism readily accepted – thanks!
Hi Peter,
You might want to submit your site for a review by the Affiliate Doctors who will give you some excellent feedback.
My own two cents though – I’d ditch that site and build something much much more targeted – What you’ve got at the moment looks very pretty, but is a very generic shopping directory/banner farm.
Have a look at this post to see how you can get started with a more targeted approach.
Finally!
Today, all the schools re-opened and I had a whole 7 hours of peace, quiet and productivity.
You’re right Lammo, working from home Rocks!
Mind you, your new post on how it also sucks hits the nail on the head 2.
Maybe it’s a day to day thing, like working in an office/workshop/shop/factory. You have good days and you have bad days.
Today was a good day, I got more done than I have in the last 4 weeks. Made some living too.
You’ll enjoy watching your son grow up, but wait while he’s walking, and talking! Lol. Good luck with that! I look forward to the posts.
With a 10 year old and a 4 year old, I am daddy dare care, taxi driver, and supermarket shopper, however I can get loads done in school hours, and then have the evenings free to do what I want.
Most the office banter was people backstabbing each other – so better off socialising on an evening with your proper friends.
“Most the office banter was people backstabbing each other”
you’ve either worked for companies with the wrong work ethos or with really bad people.