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5 things about working from home

If you think everybody who works from home wears pj’s and sneaks in housework, Jeff Korona and Cynthia Kidder are here to prove you wrong. These home-based workers make it a point to look and act professional — even though there’s no one around to judge.

It takes some discipline, but Korona and Kidder say it’s doable if you follow a few rules:

• Dress for work.

There’s no time to be a slob. Take a shower and look like you’re going somewhere.

“I rarely wear blue jeans to work in my house,” said Kidder, 51, founder of the nonprofit Band of Angels, which advocates for people with Down syndrome. “There’s something about being in jeans and a T-shirt that makes it too easy to throw in a load of laundry.”

• Set a routine and stick to it.

Just like in the office, there should be a certain time of day when things get done.

“Every morning, I clear my e-mail,” said Korona, 46, president of re.Source Partners, a computer hardware asset management company. “I contact my partner with a morning call and then contact clients who need attention. I stick with the same routines as if I were in the office.”

• Keep work and fun on separate computers.

Don’t allow family on the work computer.

“My kids can’t do homework on it,” said Korona, of Novi, Mich. “You can’t get on the Internet because I don’t want unauthorized Web sites. It gets very unproductive if you’re trying to work and you click on the wrong thing and suddenly you have 15 pop-ups on your screen.”

• Interact with other professionals.

It’s hard to be motivated when you don’t have co-workers nearby. You have to make it a point to stay in the loop.

“Every now and again, I e-mail other professionals who I know work from home,” said Kidder, of Rochester Hills, Mich. “I’ll ask if they have five minutes to talk, and then we discuss projects.”

On the flipside, be careful about having too much social interaction at home.

“It’s easy for girlfriends and family to stop by,” Kidder said.

• Stay on top of your taxes.

“I use an accounting service that does payroll for us,” Kidder said. “It costs me $50 a month, and it saves me a lot in terms of mental anguish.”