Head off conflicts
Managers and coworkers can feel stress and concern if they don’t know what you’re working on or when it’s okay to contact you. To avoid future conflicts, get in the habit of updating everyone on your current projects daily. Remember the big picture—you work for an organization and projects are interrelated. It’s important for everyone to be on top of what your part of the project is. Not only will daily updates help ease the minds of others, it will keep them from thinking you’re sitting at home with your feet up, which can lead to a lot of resentment and back-stabbing back at the office. Another advantage: you can get feedback from management to be sure the projects you’re working on are still a priority, and keep your work in front of your bosses’ eyes.

Stay social
Telecommuting can be very isolating if you let it. It’s up to you to keep yourself connected to people, and even better to make sure you stay in touch with others who work for the same company. If you’re new to telecommuting and you have friends who still work in the office, try arranging a lunch once or twice a week. This will help you feel less isolated and keep you up to speed on what’s happening at the office. It’s also easy to be overlooked when you’re not working side-by-side with others, so staying in touch can keep you on the minds of your peers.

If you don’t have connections with others from the office, join a club where you can talk to other people, or schedule a regular workout time with a close friend. Interacting with others is critical to our emotional health, so be sure to treat this need with as much attention as you would to your physical health.

Know when to quit
For some, having the computer right there in the next room makes them unable to stop. "Oh, I'll just run in and send that email," or, "Fifteen more minutes on that report will make tomorrow go better." Having an open schedule can become a liability when you're not disciplined. Often times people end up being "at work" more when they're not working in a traditional office!

There are many different strategies for dealing with this problem. Some people stick to a strict daily schedule, some work for three days straight and spend four days out of town. There's even a story of a woman who padlocked her office door each evening so she wouldn't go back in until morning!

Whatever the method, what it really comes down to is project management. What are your projects? Deadlines? Work backwards from the deadlines to come up with a weekly to-do list and then a daily to-do list. When your list for the day is done, so are you. Tomorrow's list can wait until tomorrow. Close the office door and do something fun.