As a followup to a recent post, “The Downside of Working at Home, I thought it might be best to try to expand on it and perhaps solve some of those issues.Those of us who do work at home would have to agree there are certain problems we all usually face. The number of those working at home has continued to grow over that last few years. And, we the continued trend of businesses allowing more and more workings to telecommute, the numbers will surely grow. The problem is how do we solve the issues of working in the same place we are living. And the issues increase and most likely become more intense if you are married and even more if you have children.For me, I have been running a professional service firm from my home office for all most three years. I can not imagine working back in an office downtown. I just won’t.Here is a list of 10 problems I see and maybe some ways to solve each.

1. Separating work from the family life.

One of the main advantages of working-at-home is to be closer to the family. But, this can be one of the biggest disadvantages too. And if you have an active household, the problem can be amplified. The daily routine in the house could get in the way of getting your work done.If you have children, the situation can become even more exciting. Telephone calls might be the most interesting in this case. I know from my own experience, talking on the phone with a client while my youngest is upstairs entertaining a friend can cause problems. And I will be honest, I would imagine the work from family life balance can be worse for the work-at-home business mom than it might be for the work-at-home business dad. At least in my own situation, my wife is a stay at home mom so she deflects a lot of what is happening in the house while I am working.So how do we solve the separations of work from family life. You have to set hours as the first wave of defense. You have to operate you home business just as you would if you were working in an office or a retail store. You have to have office hours. And do you work than and your household chores when you would if you were not working at home. If that won’t work for you due to the obligations you have as a parent, than schedule your work time when you can. The answer here is obvious. Take advantage of any parenting down time you can. Nap time, school hours and when the children are in bed.One thing I do know, those of us who work at home, tend to be very good at multi-tasking. We seem to have the ability to do way too many things all at once. But, in the end, we have to find a way to separate work from family if both are going to work.

2. Not enough space.

While it is true, we can work from anywhere when we work form a home office. The goal should be to have a designated space or location where we can spread our work out. And where we know our equipment will be safe. While the ideal solution would be to have a separate room or even structure. That is not always possible. The space or location we have available will also dictate what we ultimately purchase for a computer. For me the only solution for my main computer is a MacBook notebook computer. I could not imagine being tethered to a desktop computer.How do we solve the space problem. You may have to be creative. Work where you can if you want to work at home. Establish some rules, even if you have to get out the duct tape and make yourself some walls.

3. Being taken seriously.

In my own home business, I experienced this. It will always be a problem of being taken seriously by some of those who work in a “normal” business setting. We as the work-at-home business have to be the ones to do what we can to solve this problem ourselves. We have to project a professional, serious business image. And we have to do that in how we conduct our business. This might be as simple as having a live person always answer our phone. To the type of stationary we use. We should be proactive in the solution and not reactive.

4. Cannot get any work done.

Even the best laid plans can be derailed from what ever reason. We make that short commute to our home office to start our day to only be interrupted by the friend that drops by to chat. Housework or home repairs take our attention away. The neighbor’s dog has been barking non-stop for the last 4 hours. Or the baby is teething or we just can’t keep our mind on the task at hand. It happens and it will happen again.First, we have to set rules. And mainly we have to set rules for ourselves. While we are in the office, we have to stay focused on the task at hand. We have to work. If we can’t, we need to revisit number 1 above, and adjust our work schedule.For me, those times I simple cannot work at home, I like to visit my favorite coffee shop. With MacBook in hand and wifi and a good cup of coffee waiting, I leave the home office for the “third office” and there I seem to get work done.

5. Lack of privacy.

This is not the same as we have already discussed. This goes more to being able to protect the privacy of the document on our desk or the projects on our board. While we work at home, we have visitors at our home. Make sure you can protect the privacy of the work you do.

6. Strain on family relationships.

While this might be considered part of number 1 also. It really is not. If we don’t discuss with family members that while we are at home all day, we can’t drop everything we are doing to pay attention to them. We also need to make sure our families understand what it takes to operate a home business. (You should already understand this yourself as this should have been the one of the first things you considered before moving the office home). We have to talk to our spouses and children and ask for their support and explain to all involved our need to be given time to work so we can keep the home and pay the bills.But, at the same time, we have to know when to stop working for the business and start living as part of the family. Which brings us right into the next issue.

7. Working too much.

For those of us who work at home, we know there is a line between work and family that sometimes do cross each other. I know that I sometimes allow the temptation to work to much to sneak into the picture. We have to remind ourselves to set those regular hours we discussed above. In addition, the beast we have created due to the advantages of technology tend to cause us to take work with us way too much. I know for me, my new iPhone has allowed me to stay on top of emails way to easily. We have to set limits for ourselves and shut the phone and computers off at some point in the day.

8. Feeling isolated.

This is truly not that much of an issue for me. I don’t miss having employees around. I don’t miss the water fountain conversations either. Those times when I might feel the need for other humans in my general location, I do what I suggested above. I go to the coffee shop.While I know there will be some who will feel isolation more than others. There are solutions to the problem. Start a weekly early morning breakfast “club” of other individuals who work at home. Get together and discuss common issues and goals. Not only will it help solve the isolation problem. It is a great way to network with others who might have a solution to a client or customer’s problem you had not thought of.

9. Self-discipline or self-management.

Think about it. If you don’t work you most likly will not be making any money. It is harder to stay on task in a home office when there is no one watching over you to remind you to get at it. It is also harder sometimes to stay focused if there is no formal office routine.Some of the solutions we have already discussed will really help here too. Set hours, use a task list, limit the distractions and manage your time and you will accomplish your goals.

10. Zoning, home and condominium association regulations.

This might be the one thing you can’t fix or solve and it may be the biggest problem you face. Before you even consider the work-at-home route, make sure you can. Check and double check whether your location will preclude you from having a home based business or office. If it does, you will than need to decide if it is worth it to you to actually move so you can have the at home office.While each of the problems and solutions are not exclusive in and of themselves and not all of us will face the same ones. We each will at least have our own problems. We are by nature entrepreneurs as home office workers. If there are problems, we will find a solution.