Working From Home: My Four Biggest Time-Wasters

OK, first off: the good news. Working full-time from home is great. On rainy days, you can't beat the commute. On sunny days, I pull my laptop onto my terrace and feel nothing short of smug. However, I've discovered the hard way that there are many pratfalls you need to look out for, lest you want to be working from home well into the night.

What is my biggest pratfall of all? I bet you can guess. Time-wasters. Here are the biggies:

* Personal phone calls. I have discovered that some people equate working from home with not really working at all. As such, I have fielded many a long, involved personal phone call at, oh, 10:30 on a Monday morning. Next thing I know, it's noon. I have found the solution to be as simple as it sounds - Caller ID. If it's not work-related, I call back on my lunch hour. No exceptions. I've become hyper-vigilant about this, and noticed a big difference.
* Unexpected Visitors. A friend of mine is an artist who lives six blocks away. Thursday is his designated day off, where he does errands and likes to catch up with friends. The first couple of times he stopped by unannounced, I felt it was important to show I could be spontaneous and take advantage of my work-from-home freedom. Next thing I knew, it was 10:00 pm and I was racing towards a deadline. The truth is, you need to be disciplined, not spontaneous, for working from home to really work.
* Email. Perhaps the toughest time waster of all. Many corporations ban internet email, and that's a smart move if you ask me. Without coworkers to banter with, I often look to email as an opportunity to connect with people in a limited, time effective way. I don't feel a need to reply to every email, and save prolonged communications for the weekend. Does anyone out there have strategies for effectively limiting your email? I'm all ears!
* The Ellen Degeneres Show. OK, this is one rule I learned hard and fast. No TV. Never. Ever. I watch the Ellen Degeneres Show on vacation, and it's all the sweeter.

Working from home has pros and cons. You'll work much harder than you ever imagined (time is money), and it can be lonely. But if it's what you want, it is so worth it. I'd love to hear your stories of working from home. Is it all you thought it would be?