Are You A Professional?

If you've been following our blog for any length of time you'll know that this is not the first time we've written on the importance of professionalism. While it's a crucial skill in any career, it seems to be one of the first things to fall to the wayside when working from home. As such, you can be assured that this probably won't be last time we write about it either.

However, the reason that I wanted to broach the topic again today is this great article called "Are You A Professional?" from TipsForSuccess.org. Actually, I'm not even sure I'd call it an article per se. It's more like a series of mantras for those of us who strive to use professionalism in our careers on a daily basis.

Now, these are pretty lofty goals. I have my doubts as to whether there is any person out there that adheres to all of these points at all times, but I'm a firm believer that we're always a work in progress. The most important thing is to recognize which areas you have shortcomings in and work on improving them. Of course while doing this you also need to maintain the areas that you are already are strong in.

I know that one of the areas that I need work on is "A professional keeps his or her work area clean and orderly. An amateur has a messy, confused or dirty work area." With five kids, I find it very difficult to stay on top of the housework and balance my work time for transcription. Usually the housework is the first thing to fall to the wayside when I'm under a deadline. I know this has a negative effect because I'm constantly distracted by the chaos around me when I'm working. The distractions usually lead to my work taking even longer, so I need to come up with an action plan on how keep the housework more current while meeting my transcription deadlines . . . short of hiring a maid or locking my kids out of the house all day!

So take a few minutes to read through the list, and then we'd love to hear your thoughts. Are you a professional? And if you'd like to share with us what areas you feel you need improvement in, perhaps we can offer each other some tips on bettering ourselves!