First, clear your mind of all the advantages of being home with your children more. That can be your personal reason, but it's utterly irrelevant to persuading your boss, so don't even think about that right now.

Next, take a look at your job responsibilities. Can you honestly do them from home, with all the distractions, lack of access to coworkers, lack of supervision and so forth?

Now take a look at how this will impact your career. Not being in the office can mean you will miss out on many things. Out of sight, out of mind is a saying that is quite relevant here. You may not want to do 100% telecommuting, so that you can continue to advance your career and keep up on the latest information.

How many days do you want to work from home at first? It may be easiest to suggest only one or two to your boss, then increase as you prove your ability. It can be hard for a boss to understand that you are capable of working without supervision, so be prepared to only get a limited amount of time to work from home at the start.

Write up a proposal to show your boss that you are capable and serious about working at home. Emphasize the benefits the business will get, not what benefits you personally will receive. Suggest that you work one or two days from home for a period of 90 days and then have your productivity evaluated. Emphasize that teleworkers have been found to be 10-30% more productive because they face fewer interruptions, and that giving employees the option of telecommuting leads to happier employees. Remind him or her that with current technology, you can still be easily reached by phone or email.

Take a look at the case studies at http://www.CommuterChallenge.org for more help in planning your telecommuting proposal.

Finally, don't forget to make sure your family understands that when you are working from home, you are WORKING, and they should not disturb you unnecessarily. Their support is just as vital as that of your boss. It is an all too common problem that people think you are not really working when you are home. Be firm and reasonable.

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Stephanie Foster is the owner of Home with the Kids, a resource that knows that there's more to staying home with your family than just business. From money saving tips to parenting and marriage tips, to work at home jobs and businesses, you can get information and support here. You can visit the site at http://www.homewiththekids.com.

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