Are you of spicies that working at home?

Posted by Offer Tsuriel on September 13, 2009

If you’re thinking of starting an at-home business, you must first check your mental readiness. Can you work productively without adult supervision? Do you panic when faced with unstructured time? Are you too attached to your necktie, your coworkers, and your salary to leave your workplace hehind?
It takes years of mental and financial preparation to work at home. Only the strong of mind and spirit land wallet) can withstand the daily onslaught of housework and home repairs, computer crashes, and culinary catastrophes.

Here’s a handy quiz to test your mental preparedness. Think of it as a checklist of your coping resources, similar to those inventories of canned goods kept in bomb shelters. The test is self-scoring. There are no wrong answers. If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll soon realize you’re as crazy as a loon to even consider leaving your regular job.

 

Question: The thing I fear most about working at home is:
(a)solitude
(b)forgetting the niceties of social interaction, such as table manners
(c)creeping insanity
(d)my children
(e)all of the above

Question: The thing I would most enjoy about working at home would be:
(a)solitude
(b)setting my own schedule
(c)smoking at my desk
(d) Jerry Springer

Question: When I’m working, I like to wear:
(a)stylish clothes that catch the eye
(b)conservative business attire
(c)sweatpants
(d)nothing

Question: When the doorbell rings, I know it will be someone trying to sell me:
(a)Avon
(b)Amway
(c)fresh fruit
(d)salvation
(e)all of the above

Question: When working on a computer, the error message I fear most is:
(a)”Insufficient memory at this time.”
(b)”A fatal exception has occurred.”
(c)”General failure.”
(d)What’s an error message?

Question: My child is stuck up a tree, screaming for help. I would:
(a)call the fire department
(b)climb up the tree and help him down
(c)stand below, ready to catch him, while gently coaxing him down
(d)hide in the house until he figures it out on his own

Question: When the phone rings, I expect it to be:
(a) an important client
(b) a telemarketer
(c) my spouse, wondering whether I’ve accomplished anything today?
(d) the state Child Protective Services Department

Question: Faced with two inches of water on the laundry room fIoor, I would:
(a) unplug all electrical appliances, clean up the mess, and try to find the problem
(b) call a plumber
(c) call my spouse and whimper into the phone
(d) tell the kids we’re having a pool party

Question: To make my home the perfect place to work, I need:
(a) a supportive family
(b) a loyal dog
(c) e-mail
(d) duct tape
(e) a straitjacket

Scoring: If you’re anal retentive enough to actually add up your score, you’re probably not suited to working at home. At home, you’re surrounded by toys, scrambled files, and dirty socks. Better that you should work in a regular office, where they have janitors.
The rest of us will plunge ahead, searching for our utopia those rare moments when it all comes together. The kids are in school, deadlines have been met, and the dog is asleep. And our warm, fluffy sweatpants have just come out of the dryer.