If you work from home, consider yourself extremely lucky. Working from home definitely has its advantages. For one thing, you can save a TON of money on gasoline and car expenses, plus you have more time to actively plan your work schedule around your life. However, while all of this may seem just peachy, you have to be careful to plan, plan, plan and be disciplined. Otherwise, your work-from-home dream can quickly turn into a work-from-home nightmare. The following are five tips to help you get the most out of your work from home experience:

1. Cut out the distractions. When it’s time to work, it’s time to cut out any and all distractions that will prevent you from being able to focus. If you live with roommates or have a partner who also works from home but who keeps slightly different hours than you, then you may need to find some sort of a compromise (such as keeping the volume on the television low during certain hours). Being distracted means that it takes longer to get your work done, which means less time that you’ll be able to decompress doing something other than work that you enjoy.
2. Be as consistent as possible. For some people, working from home is a dream come true because they feel that they will be able to get up at any time of the day or night and simply do their work. However, it is best to maintain some sort of a consistent routine because consistency  helps you stay organized. Besides this, if something comes up at the last minute when you were planning on getting some work done, suddenly you are faced with a dilemma. Choose certain hours between which to get your work done and then try to stick to it.
3. Respect boundaries. If you and your spouse both work from home, depending on how you are, you may need to have separate working areas. It is often tempting to run errands or find other ways to interact with your spouse such as watching television or taking a day trip somewhere, or even sitting down and joking around with one another. However, for every minute that you spend with your S.O., that’s one more minute that you aren’t getting your work done.
4. Be accessible. Whether you work for yourself or for someone else, one major consideration is accessibility. Whether it is via email, skype, text message or a phone call, it is always a smart idea to stay as connected as possible with the outside world so that people can reach you in the event of a deadline, emergency or some other miscellaneous issue. This is also why it is a good idea to try to stick to a consistent schedule (see number 2).
5. Get plenty of rest. Sure, getting out of that office environment may have been great, but in reality, most people who work from home actually end up putting even more work hours into their week than they ever did when they were in an office. Keeping that in mind, even though you may really want to get all 40+ hours of your work done in two days, don’t push it. Instead, force yourself to pull the plug when it nears the end of a regular business day. In addition to providing yourself with some QT for loved ones and other enjoyed activities, it also allows you plenty of time to wind down and relax for bed, ensuring that you get plenty of rest for the next day.

Having trouble finding a job these days?  Join the club.  However, more and more people are realizing the value of Twitter.  It’s no longer just about 140 word character blurbs.  In fact, Twitter may help you get a job.  Here are some tips on how:

5 Things to Consider When Finding a Job on Twitter

1. Revamp the Profile Appearance- If you still operate off of the original template that Twitter started you out with, shame on you! You’ll never attract any attention to yourself that way!  There are some great (and free) backgrounds that you can find here.
2. Join the Conversations- Twitter is all about tweeting your message to others, having them (hopefully) tweet back and then sharing that message with others.  You should be constantly engaging yourself with others.  The more you network and build up your online presence/reputation, the more people will notice you.
3. Using the Search Option- Twitter has it’s own search option where you can type in key words for what you’re looking for.  However, there is also something really cool called TwitterJobSearch, which is a search engine for twitter that was designed specifically for those out there who are seeking jobs.  Try it out and see how it goes! Tweetmyjobs is also useful.
4. Be Wary of Who You Follow- These days, most companies are jumping on the Twitter bandwagon.  If you’re interested in applying or have recently applied for a position with a particular company, don’t be afraid to follow them or to even send them a useful message on Twitter.  Also keep in mind that if you follow them, you’re probably going to want to hold off on the Tweets about when you last ate, brushed your teeth, etc…Also, you’ll want to follow people who you think will be most likely to follow you back, because let’s face it- no one thinks much of the person who is following 15,000 people but only has 3 following them back!
5. Use the Hashtags (#) & Make Your Message Count! There are a ton of job recruiters on Twitter nowadays.  Don’t be afraid to use your hashtags and represent your availability clearly when you tweet!

People You Should Be Following for Job-Related Stuff

• @microjobs
• @FindWorkSoon
• @mediabistrojobs
• @jobshouts
• @jacobshare
• @uvaucs
• @attjobs
• @MTVNetworksJobs
• @juicyjobs
• @SocialMediaJob
• @Web_Design_Jobs

For a more complete list of twitter jobs, Sarah Evans over at Mashable has a very nice list broken down into various categories.  To see the list, click here

Other Useful & Related Articles

• 5 Tips to Finding a Job on Twitter
• The Beginner’s Guide to Finding a Job With Twitter
• I Found My Job on Twitter
• Twitter 101: Get Yourself a New Job
• How David Murray Found a New Job Via Twitter

First people were getting Myspace fired, then they were getting Facebook fired…and then there was Twitter.  There is no doubt that Twitter is the hottest thing in Social Media at the moment, the idea being that you spout out whatever is on your mind…which can sometimes get you in trouble or even fired.  After all, you never know who is looking at your tweets!

140 Words or Less

Sure, there have been times when you may have been in the worst mood and didn’t even blink when you typed up your 140 character message to the rest of the twitterverse- or there may have been the time when, in your drunken stupor, you wrote something totally incoherent and moderately offensive, but now the tables have turned.  As Twitter has quickly climbed the ranks to win the social media popularity contest, more employers are now well versed in the Twitter language and can “tweet” with the best of them.  That being said, don’t think for a second that there’s no way your boss can find you on Twitter-or worse- that he/she can find out exactly what you think of your job and/or the people you work with. How do you think an employer would feel reading the following tweets?

5 Tweets Best Left Un-Tweeted

Sometimes you have to learn to keep your thoughts to yourself…or at least off of Twitter.  The following is a brief list of the aforementioned:

1. Boredom- Tweeting about how bored you are at work is not a good thing. Duh.  If anything, it alerts your employer and makes him or her believe that you don’t have enough work to keep you busy. After all, what are they paying you for?!
2. Anger- Things that are said in anger (especially regarding your job in today’s economic climate) are almost guaranteed to come back to bite you.  If you’re feeling a little grumpy about work or your boss, write it in your journal-not on the Internet.
3. Trash Talk- Remember that saying about how if you don’t have anything nice to say, you shouldn’t say anything at all? Riiight.