When you first make the decision to start to work at home in your own home office, there’s something you need to consider. If you’re someone that will get distracted easily or cannot seem to stay on task when working, or what if there is a needy child or someone elderly that demands attention, then to work at home may not be the best suited idea for you. Of course, those very factors could be the reason you need to work at home in the first place, so a great deal of self-discipline is required if you’re ever going to be successful in any work at home venture. This is true whether you’re working as an at home employee for another company, being an independent contractor, or operating a home based business such as internet marketing.

Self-discipline requires that you have three basic things in order to successfully work at home. These are time management, organization and setting goals. Each of these has their individual value in contributing to keeping you on track while performing your job duties during your work at home day.

The first of these is time management for a reason. As scheduling is one of the most important things you’ll do during your day, you need to master the art of time management to work at home. Setting a schedule every day will maximize your productivity. However, setting a schedule is just the start. Let's face it; you must also follow your schedule to make it successful.

As things can always come up and not go according to plan, you don’t need to be totally rigid in following your schedule. While it’s important to follow your schedule, it’s also important that you keep some flexibility in case you need it. You never know when an emergency may come up. When you can manage your time effectively, your efficiency also increases, letting you complete tasks and projects on time as you work at home. This makes you set limits for yourself while learning how to say no to something when you have a full schedule.

It should be easy to see that time management fits in nicely with organization. In fact, does it not take organization to be able to effectively manage your time? Staying organized is highly important to successfully work at home. Organization basically ensures that everything is in its proper place. This translates to keeping all supplies, files, contact lists and anything else you use on a daily basis in an easily remembered and accessible location. Calendars go a long way in keeping your daily tasks organized. Add such things as appointments, to do lists, and reminders to your calendar. Also note project time lines on your calendar.

To work at home, you need goal setting. This is sort of akin to a blueprint. Your goal gives you the place to start and then where you need to go next to complete your final project. To work at home means discipline and setting a goal is just an extension of the to-do list that you put on your calendar. When you set more complicated goals, create a project plan that is separate from your calendar. Here you’ll need to set deadlines. Don’t forget to be flexible with your calendar as well as with your project plans because things will most likely change as you get closer to completing your goals.

Becoming self-disciplined isn’t something that happens to you suddenly. It takes time to get adjusted to putting into practice strategies of time management, organization and setting goals. Once you’ve mastered these things, however, you’ll be on your road to a successful home business so that you can work at home, and be self-reliant. Wasn't that a goal?