This is a guest post by Mariana Ashley.

Making money online is an attractive business. It allows us to be flexible in our schedule.

We tend to answer to no one but ourselves. We can direct the nature of our money-making projects. And we are generally independent of others.

It’s a kind of employment promised land.

After all, most of us have to go to an office and work with others in order to earn a paycheck, and we rarely get to make our own decisions regarding how we think a company ought to be run.

Still those of us who are lucky enough to work from home and make money online have to still put forward our best effort and maintain focus on our job. Otherwise, we risk even greater losses than those who are employed by larger companies.

In a sense, staying productive at home is more important than ever for the online money-maker.

As someone who blogs from home and makes a humble bit of money, I’ve tried to gather together five tips that have helped me stay productive. Hopefully, they’ll be just as useful to you!

Follow Regular Hours

Sure, you can be flexible to an extent, but keep in mind that the rest of the world follows a pretty regular schedule. If you’d like to do business with the rest of the world, then you’ll have to meet them halfway.

I personally like to do most of my writing in the morning and then pursue contact with potential clients and collaborators in the afternoon.

The point is I don’t work late into the night, because I know most others don’t do this as well, so I don’t want to miss out on any opportunities.

Set Aside a Specific Work Space

In my house, I have my own office. I can close the door to the rest of the house and these allows me to keep my work-life separate from my other lives, if that makes sense.

Of course, everyone’s situation is different, so do your best to establish a space that is devoted to your work. Whatever you do, avoid working in the bed!

Make a List of Objectives

As someone who works at home and is self-employed you should make an effort to create a list of goals for your online money-making plans. Keep a list of long-term goals and short-term tasks that you think you’ll need to complete in order to accomplish your goals.

Each day, figure out what specific tasks you need to do, and then work towards their completion.

Evaluate Your Progress

Every few weeks you should evaluate the work you’ve done so far. Reflect on your achievements and failures. This will help you determine what your strengths and weaknesses are as an online money-maker, which will allow you to adjust your goals and tasks.

A healthy dose of self-reflection will keep you accountable. Think of it as a job evaluation that a supervisor would conduct every six months.

Keep in Touch with Others

Finally, make sure you keep in touch with others, either other bloggers in your niche, potential clients and current clients, or people with whom you work occasionally on your projects.

The constant flow of communication and ideas will keep your mind sharp and help you pounce on the next big opportunity in your niche.

Mariana Ashley is a freelance writer who particularly enjoys writing about top online colleges. She loves receiving reader feedback, which can be directed to mariana.ashley031 @gmail.com.

This is a guest post by Jessica Olsen.

Recently I got the opportunity to talk with a representative of IncomeatHome.com who was nice enough to answer some of my questions about their program.

Q: Most businesses profess to focus around a single philosophical idea. Does IncomeAtHome.com and if so what is it?

A: If we have a philosophy it’s simply that earning income at home is not impossible.

Q: How does your program help make it possible?

A: First off, we make it pretty clear to our customers that they must be prepared to work really hard. We never said making money from home was easy.

Competitors that offer similar programs might think saying so is bad for business, but we like to think it makes people realize we’re not trying to fool them, but more importantly all it takes is dedication to succeed.

Q: What kind of proof do you have to show that IncomeatHome is not only trustworthy but can actually work?

A: I’ll tell you this much, we’ve been in business for over a decade now, and we’ve kept an outstanding track record with the Better Business Bureau – an A+.

That ought to be enough to convince most skeptics but just to get the point across we’ve also maintained long lasting endorsement relationships with some of America’s most popular radio personalities: Sean Hannity, Dr. Laura, and Shirley Strawberry just to name a few. You don’t have those sorts of reputations vouching for you if you’re running a scam.

Q: For those still skeptical, what more can you say to convince them otherwise?

A: Anyone still thinking this is a hustle should consider the fact that the start-up information is free; all you have to pay for is the shipment cost.

The information we send describes the whole system, and invites you to a private consultation before arrangements are made. There’s no pressure and certainly nothing to lose except some postage stamps.

Q: How would you describe your ideal customer?

A: Our ideal customer is pretty much anybody that can sit in front of a computer, knows how to use one, and has daily access to one. The criterion is that simple.

But specifically I’d say our average customer is typically the stay-at-home mom type or someone living with a disability that keeps them from being mobile and looking for work.

Anybody who is more or less forced to stay home for one reason or another, but still has the determination to make money.

Q: Any final word of advice for those out there thinking about ways to make money at home?

A: Sure. Be prepared to work your tail off. If making income from home was simple then everybody would be doing it wouldn’t they? But it’s important you don’t get discouraged either.

The hard work pays off even if it doesn’t look that way at first. Before you know it you could be earning twice a month at home what most of your friends make at their office jobs during the same amount of time. If you have the will, IncomeatHome.com will show you the way.