Yes, I'm getting ready to make the plunge—into my backyard pool—which I'll get to do more often when I begin working from home. That's right. I can get off of a conference call, wrap up an email, take a quick dip in the pool and then get back online to finish a report. While working from home requires discipline, scheduling, focus and organization, there are some incredible bonuses—and it's not just avoiding a commute—as we share in this issue of Promotional Consultant Today.

1. Your office can be any kind, anywhere. Working from home doesn't mean you have to have to fill a corner of your living room with a clunky desk, a huge monitor and an ugly rolling chair. You can fit your office wherever it fits in your life. So find the place that inspires you most. And you don't have to be tied to your home, either. Take your laptop outside or share office time with a neighbor who also works from home.

2. You'll save money. Of course, you'll see an immediate difference in your bank account when you don't need to bear the costs of commuting. But you'll also find savings in other areas such as no more separate wardrobes for work. And you can also save on food costs since you'll easily be able to whip up your own lunch and coffee if you work from home.

3. Your schedule can be your own. A lot of the work that can be done remotely nowadays can also be done on a flexible schedule. For example, if you need to write blogs or content for your website, you can most likely do your writing whenever it suits you as long as you meet your deadlines. So, night owls, rejoice! You can still put in your eight hours without starting at 8 am.

4. You can have enjoyable and effective meetings. When you work remotely, you'll be more comfortable and more focused during meetings, and much more effective. With just a few clicks, you can have 10 people on a video call that'll probably last just 15 minutes instead of 45. And you can use the chat function in the video call to quickly share documents.

5. You can keep in touch more effectively. Because you don't have everyone physically around you all the time, you become much more aware of the importance of keeping in touch. Instead of just knowing that you can pop around the corner to chat with your teammate about a client's project whenever you like, you know that you need to email her or at least have a video chat. So, either in the process of composing your message or planning the meeting, you'll refine your thoughts and questions, and end up saving time for both of you when you do have that discussion.

6. You can stay more focused. You should find yourself getting more done when you work remotely. That's because you can more effectively control your working situation—you don't have to worry about co-workers stopping by to "just ask a quick question," obligatory socializing when you grab more coffee or offending someone by shutting the door to your office. When you work remotely and need to really concentrate, you can just change your status in the group chat to "do not disturb" and buckle down. You also avoid the politics that tend to happen in traditional work settings.

Source: Adda Birnir is CEO and co-founder of Skillcrush, an interactive tech-learning platform with friendly instructors, an active student community and laser focus on helping you achieve your career goals with technology. With her self-taught tech skills, she has built sites for the New York Times and MTV, and her work has been featured on the BBC, Fast Company, NBC and Mashable.