Melissa Rich Author – Your Virtual Home Office Can Be a Reality!

With my long but flexible working hours, I frequently find myself working up to 12 to 14 hours per day.     Being in front of the computer for hours at a time and sitting at my desk certainly causes additional stress upon the body.   To combat that problem, I have found the
following tips helpful:

• Taking short breaks from sitting periodically.  For example, I often find myself pacing during conference calls.
• Shifting positions frequently.   Sometimes I adjust the height of the chair or the placement of my feet.
• Ergonomic furniture that adjust easily to new positions.

If you are home based or office based, I hope the above tips help you feel more comfortable within your work space and help alleviate the physical stresses caused by sitting for extended periods of time.

It seems like the work-at-home schemes are becoming more prominent, but they are also getting more sophisticated; consequently you need to stay alert and skeptical.    Use the tools in our book in Chapters 7-9 to research job opportunities and protect yourself.   Exercise due diligence and complete the necessary research to protect yourself.

Working from my virtual home office is the best thing I have ever done for myself and my family. However, not everyone feels that way. There are some virtual workers that need the everyday office drama and feel somewhat isolated from the day to day grind of the traditional brick and mortar job.

I personally have more interaction with people working from my home office than I would if I worked outside of the home. By working virtually, I am able to pick and choose my working relationships. In a traditional office, I would be required to interact with everyone.

When you are working in a virtual world, you really have to be extra careful when banking. Should you participate in direct deposit? I am a firm believer that if it is meant to happen-it will, but I don’t want to help it along. In my own personal transactions, I have used Paypal services for payments received from companies – as well as old fashion checks in the mail.

If you feel comfortable with the company you are working for, then by all means use direct deposit. Snail mail seems to have gotten slower over the years. Remember on direct deposit, if the company has authorization to put funds in your bank account, they also have authorization to remove them. Make sure you check out the company to verify they are issue free. The BBB is a great source for complaints on companies.