If you work from home, even occasionally, you know where this blog is headed. For the many who report to a site each day, the luxury of working from home is partly an “if only” sigh and partly a “lucky duck!” refrain…but life isn’t always what it seems. Recent studies published by the International Labor Organization suggest the grass isn’t always greener in a home office.

Successfully working from home requires several things:

1.      Establish a morning routine as if you were reporting for duty on-site. Good work habits are your responsibility now. No boss is noticing if you’re at your desk or not, so you must take over that proverbial whip cracking.

2.      Plan your coffee break and have it ready before you begin work. Stopping to get coffee encourages longer delays while scrounging for nibbles. Again. Discipline.

3.      Create a home office, even if it also doubles as a dining room table. A workspace doesn’t have to be an extra bedroom, but it needs to include the required desktop dimensions to get the job done. If you occupy space with others, you may need to relocate or set up shared domain work schedules.

4.      Find a way to track your hours and productivity. Keep a work log. To do lists assume gigantic proportions. Develop a maniacal adherence to task assignment. Even if you are the boss assigning the tasks, crack the whip and force yourself to get things done.

If you read the above and it didn’t sound like fun, you may not feel successful working from home. And while for some it does prove ideal, that required self-discipline and dedication to task accomplishment can slowly morph into an unhealthy picture of too much of a good thing.

Those who work from home recognize their good fortune, but they often wonder if their home is their office or their office is their home. Lines are easily blurred and the work life ratio gets unhealthily skewed, sometimes wildly out of balance. Our two sons each work from home, and one of them routinely puts in 60-80 hours a week. Yes, the pay is great, but at what price? Being chained to a desk is never a delight, even within the confines of your own home. What happens when your contracted company thinks you are now available 24/7?

How do we lower the stresses that accompany working from a home office?

• Learn the symptoms of burnout. Self-monitor levels of depression, irritability, sleeplessness and loss of focus. Tap the brakes when necessary.

• Schedule breaks.

• Include exercise in your daily routine.

• Put a reward system into place.

• Find an accountability partner to keep a clearer perspective.

• Set office hours for a client or boss who loves you a little too much.

• Maintain a healthy diet. Put calorie laden snacks back into the cupboard, and nosh on power foods instead.

A last crucial point: don’t underestimate the dangers of working from a home office. Your productivity makes you an ideal candidate for social engineering scams and phishing expeditions. You owe your parent company or clients protected work. Keep abreast of the latest dangers and protect yourself.

Stress is stress, whether it’s at a workplace or in the one refuge you thought you had: your home. If you work from home, don’t let your haven from the world become the tipping point for stress-related illness. Establish clearly delineated lines to keep everyone happy—your boss or clients, your family, and yourself. Don’t forget yourself.