The number of workers in home office settings is increasing each year, and it's not hard to see why. Rapid advances in technology mean that today's workers have unprecedented flexibility in balancing their work and personal lives. Numerous surveys also conclude that so-called "teleworkers" are more productive—in some cases, dramatically so. But working in a home office raises a number of issues, such as time management and data integration. This guide can help you synchronize your work and home offices, move efficiently (and confidently) between the two, and set up a home office that keeps you focused.

Syncing things up
First, make sure your home office is configured with the right hardware and software.

• PC. Choose a system that has plenty of hard drive space, enough memory to run multiple programs at once, and a fast processor. If you're doing graphics work, get as much hard drive space and RAM as you can afford. If you decide to go with a laptop, recognize that using a laptop poses ergonomic challenges beyond a normal PC. Consider getting a docking station for your laptop that allows you to use a regular keyboard, monitor and mouse.
  
• Modem. The faster your modem, the less downtime you will experience getting files from the company network. Speedier services include a broadband connection in the form of digital subscriber line (DSL), or a cable modem service.
  
• Other software applications. Make sure you have the same software applications (email, word processor, etc.) that are used in your central office.

Now let's get down to nuts and bolts. To gain full access to your work PC and data from the comfort of your home office, consider installing remote control software such as pcAnywhere. The program's file management capabilities offer a variety of options for transferring, synchronizing, and cloning files between systems. And pcAnywhere has extensive support for various connection types (dial-up, direct cable, or network), protocols (TCP/IP, NETBIOS, and infrared), and security options. You can also transfer the Windows clipboard between systems and schedule automatic file transfers.

An added plus: The software keeps a log of what occurs during each remote control session and can even record sessions. Say a help desk worker has shown you how to perform a particular task via remote control. You can then replay the session in case you forget a particular detail. That's a time-management bonus.

Traveling in safety
Effective telecommuting means being smart about shuttling data between work and the home office. Bringing a laptop home from work is one option; using a portable storage device (such as an Iomega Zip drive) is another. But the best results require real time, secure, remote access to all your critical information. One option for accomplishing this is through a virtual private network. A VPN creates a data "tunnel" between your office systems (such as mail and file servers) and your home office.

Staying focused
The home office of the future will include many of today's enterprise-based technologies. Wireless networking technologies (also known as 802.11b or Wi-Fi), videoconferencing, and distance learning are just a few of the enterprise applications starting to show up in the home. Explore all of them—they are capable of greatly improving your productivity.

But that increased productivity could go up in smoke if you don't have the peace of mind that comes from working in a secure environment. Norton Internet Security can help keep you focused on the work at hand.

Norton Internet Security offers several features designed to make working online safe, including Norton Personal Firewall. This home firewall program controls incoming and outgoing Internet connections and alerts you to any intrusion attempts. This is especially important if you have an "always on" broadband connection. Norton Internet Security also features Norton AntiVirus, which automatically removes viruses, worms, and Trojan horses, and scans and cleans both incoming and outgoing email messages.

Finally, when it comes to outfitting a home office, what you buy isn't nearly as important as what you do with it. Using the right tools—and that includes not just computers, but peripherals and software as well—and using those tools to their full potential, can make all the difference in the efficient home office.