WAH (Working at home)

With gas prices always fluctuating and people having to drive farther to work, working at home is a lucky and awesome option.  The occasional work at home is great for avoiding traffic, not driving in bad conditions, and being able to go to appointments close to home (shorter commute = more work time).  However, there are some drawbacks.  There is a great comic about what happens when you work at home too much and in my chats with people, this isn't too far off, considering.

The awesome:

• More sleep
• Ability to listen to music without headphones
• Comfy chair or couch
• Hanging out with pet(s)
• Ability to do chores during little breaks (start laundry, empty dishwasher, etc)
• More food selection
• Saving on gas and tolls

The hidden dangers:

• Sleeping too late
• Spending too much time doing chores and less doing actual work
• Internet connection may fail
• Less face time with coworkers
• Feeling trapped in the house without anyone to interact with
• Making up for lost time by working longer hours

Tips:

• Don't wear your pajamas "to work."  If you're in jeans, you're more likely to be in the mindset of doing work and not lounging.
• Have an office.  If you don't have an extra room to devote to an office, designate part of one room to be your working area.  Ideally, you can have a door to shut and a desk with an extra monitor and mouse.  If you have an office, you're away from TV, bed, the door to the outside world!  You have less temptations and can trick yourself into thinking your at your cube...where you're productive.
• Be honest with yourself.  You know that you're going to do external things (chores, watch an episode, play with pets) so make a schedule and stick to it.  
• Don't work more than you have to.  You don't want to feel like you have to prove to people who are physically at your workplace that you do work by working longer and harder.  You don't want to burn out or mess up your work/relax/sleep schedule.
• Go into the office as much as you can.  You don't want to abuse your work at home privileges and you don't want to be associated with a voice on the phone or a name on IM.
• Don't do work on the couch unless you absolutely need to.  You're working, remember.

Otherwise, working at home is great.  It will take time to get used to how you handle your time and where you work best.