When you’re clocking in long hours at the office, the idea of working at home seems like the Holy Grail. But before you bid adieu to your current position in favor of flex, here’s what you’ll really need in order to successfully work at home:

A dedicated office space. If you think you’ll be able to work a little from your couch, a little from your bed, and a little from your kitchen, think again. Working at home requires set office space—even if that’s a corner in your living room. Restricting work activity to only one location will help you be more focused and productive.

The ability to work independently. Sure, you may not miss your overly demanding boss, but working at home requires you to be able to continuously start and complete assignments on time. Without anyone checking up on you, you’ll need to be self-motivated and passionate about your position to stay on task.

A babysitter—or three. In the beginning, you thought that working at home would mean that both you and your toddler could spend days together while you weaved work into your schedule. Now, you realize that you need a babysitter—and multiple backups, stat. In order to be as professional as possible, you’ll need to hire someone to watch your child during your meetings, video conferences and crunch times, just as you would if you were working in a traditional office.

Excellent communication skills. Lacking face-to-face contact with your colleagues, communication can become cloudy when you telecommute. When you need clarity regarding that new report assigned to you, for example, it’s up to you to ask for those extra details.

A can-do attitude. Gone are the days of asking the geeky IT guy to help solve your computer’s incessant freezing issues. As a telecommuter, you’ll don many hats in order to make your telecommuting position truly work for you. Self-discipline, planning and strong organizational skills are all keys to a successful work at home situation.