6. You’ll check in daily at an agreed time
You will answer every phone call, and provide a weekly report. Showing your boss that you’re approaching working at home in a businesslike manner is also essential. Do that by instituting certain procedures.
Checking in at an agreed time – this can be done either by phone or by an exchange of e-mails – is helpful because it’s a way of confirming that you’re on duty. In addition, it gives your boss an opportunity to ask about what you’re working on – and possibly to change your assignment.
You can promise to answer every call (within reason) because it’s possible to adjust your cell phone or home phone so that you can hear the ring wherever you are in the house – unlike an office situation where it’s difficult to hear your desk phone from fifteen feet away. So, paradoxically, it should be easier to reach you at home than it was at the office!
Finally, the weekly report simply helps your boss to keep track of what you’re working on. When you were in the office, the boss probably bumped into you at least a couple of times per day and could easily monitor your activities. When you’re out of sight and miles away, a procedure like the weekly report fills in the gaps in your boss’s knowledge.