Working from home can be fun and convenient. Especially when the kids are small.

But the flip side says that it needs much more of motivation and tons of self-discipline.

There are a lot of things which people don't consider when trying to establish a SOHO

• In a normal office, you are expected to be there at a particular time and ready to work. In a home office, you can start working at your leisure. One day it could be Harry Potter that keeps you away from work, another day it could be that the maid is on leave and therefore you are busy with household chores.
• Working in a normal office requires you to remain there for a certain amount of time. In your home-office, you can quit working whenever you feel like it. Therefore, the tendency to procrastinate and put off tasks is incredibly high.
• In a normal office, there are certain deadlines you must meet or you are given a certain amount of time to complete a task. In a home-office, it is you who must decide how long you need to take to perform the required tasks. This means you should have good organisational and planning skills to be able to prioritise what and when something should be done.
• In a normal office, time for breaks and/or lunch is pre-established. In a home-office, you must set your own break times and the duration of those breaks. The TV, food and drinks are readily available and within reach.
• In a normal office environment, family members and friends may call occasionally. They also avoid making excessive calls to you at your place of employment. In a home-office, family members have a ready access to you and will be tempted to call on you for even minor issues.

While you get support from the people in a normal office environment, you may have to work consistently and hard to gain the support of family members… especially in the initial stages when there is no income from your home-office business.