Work At Home Couples - 5 Survival Tips!When I first tell people that I work from home - they are so envious! But when I tell them I work from home with my husband…….they are so horrified! The usual comments range from “we would kill each other in less than a week” to “why not just get the divorce now and save the time?”……but the truth is we have been working side by side now for almost 6 years, and we actually still enjoy it! Bob and I spent years on the road in outside sales before we met and married, so staying home and actually being able to enjoy our home is a new treat for us both. Bob is 62, and I am 52 (soon 53….) and we love living a life that lets us ignore the alarm clock, enjoy the morning routine of coffee and paper on the deck, and in general, just simply enjoy life! Still, we have learned a few tips to working with your spouse that might come in handy if you and your partner are considering a work from home venture:1) Schedule regular meetings during the week, or even daily over morning coffee to discuss projects, goals and tasks. Be specific in descriptions!2) Assign the tasks to a specific person - don’t just expect your partner to know what needs to be done - don’t assume that because you are living under the same roof that your partner can read your mind3) Don’t keep asking your partner for “updates” all day - trust your partner to get done whatever is on her/his agenda……at least until he or she proves that they need to be nagged ;-)4) Know your strengths, your skill sets, your individual knowledgebases and make use of them! If you are better at techie stuff - you handle the web site - don’t force your partner to take on tasks that are uncomfortable for them early in the game. Ease into the new things - as time goes on and you both become more adept at things - tackling new challenges (such as learning to install that new database!) becomes fun…..not daunting!5) Don’t critique unless asked and never criticize. Make gentle suggestions, re-write and re-work together - you both have great ideas and you both have the same goal - to run a successful business and to have the best possible life together - so remember that when you think you need to make a negative statement about your partner’s work. This is the person you want to go to bed with tonight - gentle persuasion goes a lot farther than harsh criticism!! Working at home with your partner or spouse is a wonderful way to live!!