Jul 20

Written by:
2010/07/20 08:01 AM 

A guest post by Erica Mueller

Injury, sickness, family issues; all of these things can force you to take time off work. Time off work means no money coming in... unless you work from home. When Robert sent a few of his friends a direct message on Twitter, explaining that he'd been attacked by a dog, and was unable to type much, several blogging friends came to his rescue.

What does this mean for Robert? It means he can take the time off to heal without having to worry about producing content to keep his blog alive. The fact that his friends are also bloggers means they have the flexibility to lend a hand.

Having a few posts written and stored for such an occasion is another way to ensure your blog continues to flow while you're unable to write. Unscheduled vacations are rare these days with everyone working 9-5 and getting 1-2 weeks of vacation time each year. Once again, blogging gives you flexibility. Write a bunch of posts ahead of time. Schedule them for the weeks ahead, schedule tweets and status updates via Hootsuite, and you're free to vacation whenever you want.

Just last week I personally enjoyed the benefits of being a work at home blogger when I took 9 days off and joined a friend on a road trip. What boss would have let me do this?

Work from the park, your living room, or your favourite coffee house. Wherever you feel comfortable or stimulated to research and write you can blog.

You don't even have to have an internet connection. Open a text editor and get the words on the screen. Format and schedule the posts when you have a connection. Would your current boss let you work from your couch next Tuesday?

Night owl? No problem. Stay up late and get in a few hours of writing while everyone else snoozes. When you blog for a living you set your own hours. Maybe you only blog part time and continue to work a 9-5... if so, blog during lunch, over the weekend, or early in the morning.

Suit and tie? Try shorts and T-shirt. Your clients don't have to know you're still in your PJ's at lunch time, or that you don't own a single neck tie. Working from home means you can be comfortable! In over five years of working from home as a blogger and web developer I have yet to find a corporate counterpart who enjoys the benefits and flexibility I do. What is your favourite work from home perk?

About the author:

Erica Mueller is a work from home freelance web developer (TechnoMomDesigns.com) who specializes in WordPress theme modification. She enjoys helping small businesses and bloggers get started with WordPress and blogs the basics of WordPress management on her blog, Erica Says. Twitter: @EricaMueller

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