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Virtual Work: 5 Unique Challenges That Web Workers Face

People who work in traditional office settings usually envy the unique and flexible work lifestyle that web workers enjoy.

They may imagine us sitting around in our pajamas, eating ice cream and cheerfully working along without any of the hassles that life in a cubicle can bring.

People new to virtual work may be a bit surprised at how hard it is to adapt to this less structured lifestyle.

I've put together a list of some of the top things that web workers have to get used to in learning to work unattached to a physical office:

Working Virtually: Web Workers Have A Hard Time Taking Vacations

Working virtually has many perks:

• You can work whenever you like, day or night.
• You can work from any location, as long as there is an internet connection.
• You can structure your day to suit your lifestyle--you can break your work periods up during the day to fit your schedule.
• You can work from the comfort of your own home.

These are the lifestyle benefits that draw many people to work virtually. The result is less time spend commuting in traffic, less stress, a more relaxed daily life (no need to put on a power suit or even get out of your pajamas), and more freedom to organize your days according to what's important to you.

As attractive and flexible as this lifestyle is, it can create special challenges in setting boundaries between work time and down time.

How To Delegate To Your Virtual Assistant, Part 2

Some people love to delegate, and it comes naturally to them. Other people have to learn this skill.

Last time we covered some ways to make delegating easier.

This time we'll answer some specific questions about how to delegate.

How do you determine what tasks you can delegate?

Thinking about delegating your routine tasks--these are things that you do every day or nearly every day (such as managing email, processing orders, interacting with customers, any online marketing that you do, etc).

Training someone to do routine tasks is an investment--it may take a few weeks to get someone up to speed, and during those weeks it may feel like you're putting in extra work, but it pays off in the end.