1.      Trying to work at home and take care of the kids.

Many people, especially first-time parents, become interested in telecommuting to avoid the costs of childcare. They believe they can watch the kids and work at the same time. Please do not make this mistake under any circumstances! Whether you have a new baby or a young child, you cannot work effectively while watching your kids.

2.      Not forwarding your phone to your home work location.

If your boss or coworkers can't reach you, they may assume you're not working. Or at a more insidious level, they'll stop coming to you with issues or for help and go to others instead. They already can't see you or walk over to your cubicle for a conversation, if they can't reach you by phone you'll suffer horribly from the out-of-sight-out-of-mind pitfall.

3.      Not arranging a quiet place in the house to work

If you have a full house (kids, a spouse), constant interruptions can really break your concentration and prevent you from buckling down and getting your work done. And don't forget, your phone presence is now your primary form of virtual presence. You can't conduct a professional phone meeting with your boss, coworkers, or customers if there are screaming kids and other noises in the background!

4.      Letting your 6-year-old answer the phone when your boss calls!

Can you imagine the embarrassment? Your boss calls for your regularly-scheduled one-on-one meeting or your performance review and gets a young child's voice saying "hello?". If you have a 6-year-old you know how the conversation will play from there - and the likelihood that you may not even successfully get the phone handed to you with your boss still at the other end. Make sure you have a separate phone line for work or your kids understand to never answer the home phone when you're working.

5.      Missing meetings because you can’t attend in person

An important meeting is scheduled with your team and you're telecommuting that day. Does this mean you shouldn't attend? Absolutely not! Work with the person who sets up the meeting to make sure there's a phone number you can dial into. Do not let your team forge ahead without you - do not get left behind. Make sure you are present and involved - virtually!  

6.      Trying to work from home over a dial-up network connection

Chances are a lot of your work requires email with your customers and coworkers and other internet-related activities such as accessing online files, attending web-based virtual meetings, etc. You cannot work quickly and efficiently trying to send and receive large documents via email over a slow dial-up line. And you cannot afford to be any less effective as a telecommuter than if you were physically in the office - at least not if you want your telecommuting option, and your career, to last!

7.      Thinking telecommuting means never going into the office

Telecommuting requires flexibility. Although much work can be performed virtually, there may be times when you really need to be physically present to be successful - or maybe your boss simply perceives that it's needed. Either way, be prepared to come into the office now and then for critical customer or team meetings. Be flexible - the occasional trip to the office still beats a 5-day-per-week commute!

8.      Isolating yourself from your coworkers

It's easy to become isolated from your coworkers when you're never there and never see them. You don't bump into them at the coffee station. You can't stand up and ask them a quick question over the cubicle walls. So take some positive actions to make sure you aren't out-of-sight-out-of-mind, like scheduling a short weekly phone call with them to review any items that have stacked up throughout the week.

9.      Poor email etiquette

When you're working from home, a very large portion of your interactions with your team and boss are via email. There are many mistakes people can make communicating via email that they'd never make in a live face-to-face conversation. And these mistakes can be costly, in anything from how quickly and efficiently you can get the answers you're looking for, to a mistakenly-perceived bad attitude. Learn how to email clearly, effectively, and professionally.

10.      Mistaking working from home with only-working-when-you-feel-like-it.

Working from home does not mean you can sleep in, roll out of bed at half-past-nine, have a leisurely coffee and danish over the morning newspaper, and then settle down to work for a couple hours before you take your lunch break. Although you may think you're getting away with it for a little while, your lack of productivity and your unavailability will soon be noticed by your team and your boss. Work from home like you would work from the office. Set your alarm clock. Get up and get going. Schedule your working day on your calendar, including break times, if that's what it takes to keep your focus and discipline.

Knowing the major mistakes to avoid is the first step in becoming a successful, effective telecommuter. And learning what to do right and how to do it is the most important education you can get.