Telecommuting in Cyberspace

I came across an interesting piece done by ABC News in 2007 on the future of telecommuting. I know the video is a bit old but, the idea of a cyberspace office building with characters as co-workers was intriguing!

Check out the video here…

New FREE Work at Home Job Leads Just Added!

View them on the VirtualVocations' website and on our blog!

FREE Job Leads on Website

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Keep Your Computer Secure!

Find out some ways you can be sure to keep sensitive information secure on your computer. This is especially important for telecommuters handling private data from employers or contractors.

Read Full Article Here

Keeping Healthy at your Desk!

Check out this desk exercise routine!

FREE Work at Home Job Leads Updated!

Good Morning! It's Thursday, and our FREE work at home job leads have just been updated.

View them Here!

A Great Snack for While You're Working!

Need to make a quick snack for the kids then get back to work? This one takes about 15 minutes and is really yummy, and will keep them happy for another couple of hours until dinner because of the peanut butter.

Sweet Peanut Butter Popcorn

½ c. Smooth Peanut Butter

½ c. sugar

½ c. Karo syrup or cornsyrup

½ tsp. vanilla

pinch of salt

2 bags of microwave popcorn

Pop both of the bags of microwave popcorn and empty into a large bowl.

In a saucepan, mix and heat the sugar and karo or corn syrup together and bring to a boil. Allow to boil for 1 minute.

Add the peanut butter, vanilla and salt to the sugar and syrup in the saucepan, mix until smooth and runny.

Pour mixture over popcorn in large bowl and mix well. Allow to cool and serve!

Your co-workers (I mean kids) will love it!

Work at Home Jobs Being Updated!

Good morning! I hope everyone had a great weekend! Just wanted to drop a note to let you know that our free job leads and our main jobs database has been updated this morning. Also, if you aren't a subscriber yet, we have a 25% OFF special this month-

First month only $11.99, regularly $15.99!
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Rest Your Eyes!

Maybe you’ve noticed if you spend hours in front of the computer screen like myself, that your eyes have started to suffer. The endless glare, the bright colors, the radiating heat from the monitor…my eyes are crying out for help as I write this!!! What can be done?

When I was a kid and just learned to read, I spent probably 2 months straight for hours every day reading every single Nancy Drew book I could find at the local library. Afterwards, my eyes were so strained I ended up visiting the eye doctor (before I started on the Hardy Boys series), who gave me some pretty basic advice. Rest your eyes! My ‘prescription’ was that I read only for an hour at a time, after which I was to get up, go outside and spend 15 minutes gazing at the beautiful mountains that surrounded the valley we lived in. That served to exercise my eye site and helped correct the strain I was feeling.

Today, I still take my eye doctor’s advice and rest my eyes. I’m not quite as faithful as resting them every hour, but, I make sure I take frequent enough breaks that I don’t end up with blood shot eyes at the end of the day. Don’t disregard the importance of keeping your body healthy enough that you will be able to continue your work at home career! Since that means sitting and staring at the computer screen for most of us, rest your eyes!

New Search Options on VirtualVocations!

VirtualVocations has been making changes to help our users in their search for telecommute and work at home jobs! Now you can search the VirtualVocations job database and receive updates in a variety of ways-

• Search by keyword and/or location via the search bar at the top of all our pages
• We now save your last six searches and display them at the top of the page under the main search bar, that way when you come back to search new jobs, you can just click on your previous search links
• Now ANY search you perform through our main search bar can be subscribed to through an RSS feed. When you type in any keyword(s) and the results are pulled up, there is an RSS Feed link to the right of the search results. Just click and add to your feed reader.

Visit now and try out our new features! We’d love to get some feedback from you!


Start Searching Now!

Eating Healthy While Working from Home

Okay, I’ll admit it, I have a filing cabinet drawer with a bulk stash of Skittles and Starburst right next to my desk in my home office. I don’t really think about them that often, unless I’m having an especially stressful day, forgot to eat lunch, tell myself I’ve eaten great lately and deserve some, let’s see…I guess I COULD come up with about 10 more reasons I give myself that it’s okay to snack on them while I’m working. The bottom line is, it’s just not a good idea to have junk food in close proximity to you, especially if you work from home.

When I worked in a regular office, we all had our stashes in our desks; however, it was a bit different. If you were going to eat some of your stash, you either had to do it in secret or share it with everyone, and, if you ate a lot, someone was bound to make a comment! At home, the only thing that happens is the kids swarm me and want me to give them some as well, and since I planned ahead and bought in bulk, sharing doesn’t deplete my candy storage.

So, is it possible to stay healthy when your at home working and can take a break anytime you’d like to grab some candy, a bag of chips, Twinkie, Skittles…need I go on? Of course! Here are some general tips for keeping your snacking habits under control when the kitchen is just 10 feet away:

Plan for your cravings- You KNOW you’re going to have them! You just have to make sure you have something on hand to satisfy them that’s not loaded with sugar or fat! When I’m craving something quick that’s got fat and sugar, I like to have cottage cheese and fruit. You can even buy them (I think it’s Knudsen brand) premixed. They are low in calories and sugar, and actually give you some protein. There are lots of other combinations of healthy foods that can satisfy cravings as well, apples and peanut butter, hard boiled egg and string cheese or crackers and low-fat spread.

Don’t keep junk food in your desk- This one should be a no-brainer, but for me, it is pretty difficult. The alternative? Keep some ‘one serving’ healthy snack packs around for when your cravings kick in. I like to throw in a bag of microwave popcorn for only 100 calories, it usually satisfies me for the afternoon.

Take a 15 Minute Break- If you succumb to your cravings, which all will do, take a 15 -20 minute break from working. Going for a walk around the block, or a couple sets of crunches can help you work off some of those newly eaten calories, rejuvenate you for the rest of your workday, and help stave off more cravings later on.

Don’t let working from home get the best of your ‘belly’! While it can be a more difficult task to manage your cravings when working out of a private office, with a little self-control and preparation, you can find healthier alternatives for when those snack attacks sneak up on you!

View Today's FREE Job Leads!

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Getting Dressed to Work from Home

Have you ever noticed how easy it is lounge around in your pajama pants all morning long while you knock out some of your day’s work? While it is one of the nice parts about working from home, it may not be something you should make a habit of. I have found over the years I’ve worked from home that I am much more productive in my career if I am actually up, dressed, and feeling like I am ‘put together’ for the day. I have also noticed that when my wardrobe for the day consists of what I put on last night before I went to bed, it creates my attitude for the work day. I am much more laid back about accomplishing my work, which results in not completing as much as I could have.

As much as we would like to think that ‘looks don’t matter’, they do, and they matter to us even when we are working from home without anyone else around. I’m not saying you need to get dressed in an Armani business suit each morning, or put on your best heels before you go sit down at the desk in your living room, I’m just pointing out the connection between our wardrobe and our everyday professionalism and work productivity. Some of you may think I am completely off my rocker here and a traitor to the work at home lifestyle, but I say, try it! Get dressed and ready for the day before you start working and watch your organizational level and productivity increase!

Does Telecommuting Affect Your Personal Relationships?

The answer is a resounding YES! With working from home becoming more and more accepted, people are having an even harder time than in the past, separating their work from their home life. Family relationships can quickly be put on the back burner with work taking precedence, especially when it is waiting for you from some back corner in your home. Gone are the nine to five days when you left your job and went home, not thinking about work until the next morning when you were back at the office. With telecommuting, your home is your office, making it difficult to separate the two. How can we take back our personal lives and relationships in a world where increasing technological advances seem to monopolize our time and energy?

1. Scheduling- Working from home is looked upon as offering the ultimate freedom and flexibility in employment. While it does have its benefits, it can also make work become consuming to the point where it is all you are thinking about, and using your bits of spare time at home to complete, time that you would usually be spending chatting with your spouse, children or friends. Scheduling your work to be completed during certain hours of the day can help you mentally separate work and home life. I have found scheduling to be very effective in my work at home career, I usually set aside a ‘schedule planning’ session at the beginning of each week, going over what goals I need to accomplish for work that week, along with what the needs of my family are. It gives me the flexibility to change my work hours as needed to accommodate family relationships and needs.

2. Set Aside Time- Setting aside time to spend with those in your circle of family and friends is a great way to alleviate the sometimes consuming power of working from home. Many times I have given my children and husband something to look forward to, maybe a board game, renting a movie for the evening, taking a walk or going out to dinner. Giving everyone in the house something to look forward to when work time is over greatly helps to cultivate your relationships and keep your work in balance.

3. Take Care of Yourself- This can be the hardest area for many people to spend time on. Making sure you are getting adequate rest, healthy food, exercise and ‘you time’ is essential in keeping the rest of your personal relationships alive and well. It also doubles by keeping your work time productive as well. One thing I have found to be of great importance for myself is sleep, and making sure I am sitting ergonomically correct while working. It is so easy when working from home to slump on the couch with your laptop, or lay in bed while you type up a report and watch TV (at least that’s what I like to do!). Taking care of your body physically will greatly increase your stamina and the energy you will have to devote to your relationships when the work day is over.

Working from home definitely has it’s benefits, and I wouldn’t give it up for anything, however, it does require a balancing act that is many times difficult to manage. Creating a work schedule will help utilize your time effectively and increase your productivity, afterwards rewarding yourself and cultivating your personal relationships with some type of activity away from your desk. Don’t forget to take care of yourself and set aside some time for sleep, recreation and exercise. Adding all of three of these into your telecommuting lifestyle will increase the quality of your relationships and maximize the benefits of working from home.

September Special! 25% OFF Monthly Subscription

This month we are offering to all our new subscribers the opportunity to start their monthly subscription at 25% off. Regularly priced at $15.99, sign up now and get your first month for only $11.99!

Your subscription includes:

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VirtualVocations Launches New Blog!!

VirtualVocations has just launched their new blog! Featuring a newer, sleeker design and additional resources to help you in your telecommute and work at home career.

New resources found on the blog include:

· Telecommute site reviews and resources updated on a regular basis

· Additional FREE work at home job leads posted exclusively to the blog

· The opportunity to get to know and connect with the VirtualVocations’ staff and founder.

· Subscription specials and prize giveaways announced on a monthly basis

Come join our community and become part of the fastest growing online provider of work at home job leads and resources!

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Free Organizational Tools for Telecommuters

As telecommuting becomes the norm, companies are looking for ways to help their employees or contractors make the most of their workday at home. Below are just a few resources we’ve come across in our search for organizational tools for home offices.

Read more here....

Today's Job Leads Updated!

Check out our daily job leads, they were just updated for today, September 1, 2009!

Medical Writer Consultant
Graphic Designer
Online Defensive Driving Instructor
More!

Today's FREE Job Leads!

Are You Bilingual? Working from Home is an Option!

Are you lucky enough to be fluent in more than one language? I know I’ve tried using Muzzy to learn Spanish (yes, for myself AND kids), I’ve looked into Rosetta Stone for French, but nothing can compare to growing up fully bilingual, able to read, write and speak dual languages.

If you have the skill, put it to good use! LanguageLine is a company that allows bilingual people to work from home as phone interpreters. They have positions for pretty much every language you can think in! Of course, as any legitimate work at home company, they do have a few requirements for their phone interpreters, including the following:

-Educated, native, or near native proficiency in English and a non-English language
-Dedicated Landline
-Noise canceling headset with microphone and mute button
-Great customer service and oral communication skills

Use your skills to earn some extra money, while keeping your linguistic talents up to date!

Click Here for More Bilingual Home Based Jobs!

Only One More Day Left to Enter FREE Giveaway!!

Only one more day left of VirtualVocations’ FREE ‘Back to School’ Giveaway for August! We want to know what you dreamed of being when you grew up! Come post on our blog and be automatically entered to win the following prize basket:

-$40 Barnes & Noble Gift Card
-One-month subscription free to VirtualVocations
-Deluxe Cross-Tech 3 Multifunction Black/Chrome Ballpoint Ben

Don’t miss out! Enter now!

Working from Home Leads to Weight Gain!!

Proven!! At least by me! Over this past summer, my husband took over running after our three children, ages 3, 5 and 7. He so graciously woke up with them every morning, made all the meals, took them on outings, and basically became ‘Mr. Mom’, while I devoted 6-8 hours a day sitting at my desk, in my comfy pajamas, working away at trying to build my home business. Three months later, I find the summer coming to an end, and all of a sudden it’s time to get dressed again and take the kids to school. Hmmm….regular clothes not fitting!?! What happened?

I hadn’t been pigging out all summer while sitting at my desk, however I hadn’t cut my calories down either, considering I wouldn’t be running around after three small kids. Consequently, all those extra calories I was normally burning resulted in a weight gain of 7 pounds!! I think next summer I’ll put HIM to work sitting at the desk!! ☺