Just a year ago, working from home was a rarity, with very few jobs allowing remote-working. Then along came the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, and overnight the vast majority of the workforce found themselves setting up offices in their front rooms. Some people have struggled with the loneliness of working from home and missed the water cooler chats on Monday mornings. However, others have thrived in their new work from home environment and found that they are more productive than ever.

 

If you are enjoying working from home and want to make it a permanent arrangement, the first thing that you need to do is to learn how to adjust to working from home by creating an office setup that suits your needs and enables you to get the most from your working day. If you want complete control over your work life, and your boss is not amenable to the idea of you working from home permanently, then looking into the prospect of taking on a self-employed work from home role could be the ideal solution. Here are some self-employed roles that you could consider:

 

Virtual Assistant

 

The role of a virtual assistant is a fairly new concept, but one that is always in demand. If you like your workday to be varied and you have impeccable organisational skills, then becoming a virtual assistant could be a perfect job for you. As a virtual assistant, you may start with just one client, but if you have the availability, you could always build this up further. 

 

Virtual assistants work on a large variety of tasks and can work for clients in a wide range of industries. You may find yourself booking plane tickets and hotel rooms for your client to attend a conference one minute and then carrying out data entry tasks the next.

 

Graphic Designer

 

With the right software and skills, a graphic designer can work from practically anywhere. As a freelance graphic designer, you may spend the majority of your time working alone, but this will be broken up with client meetings so that you can pitch new ideas and present your work.

 

If you love being creative and working without distractions, then freelance graphic design is worth considering if you have the necessary skills.

 

English as a Foreign Language Teacher

 

Being able to speak a foreign language is always a sought after skill, and it is also one that you can put to use from home. With travel restrictions in place, there is likely to be an increased demand for those able to teach English as a foreign language via distance learning programs. You will need to be patient to take on this role, but it is hugely rewarding to see your students develop their skills and master the language as a direct result of your efforts. 

 

To work as a teacher of English as a foreign language, you will need to acquire recognised qualifications, but it is possible to study for these online from home.