Work From Home

If you're a mom or dad and have decided to work from home to spend more time with your family, you may have expected that it was going to be a breeze. You may have envisioned playing outside with your children while money rolled in on its own. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen. It does take some work to make a home based business thrive and sometimes it can become very easy to get distracted. Here are some tips to avoid those distractions and get things done!

Make your own space. Stop shoving stuff around on the kitchen table to make room for your business. Using the kitchen table or other common space around the house for business means stopping to clean it up when it needs to be used by the family or panicking every time your kids go near it that they are going to disturb something you are in the middle of. Ideally, if you have an extra room, or even a larger closet, turn it into your office! This means that you can close the door behind you and focus on what you are working on. If you can't spare the room, purchase (or better yet, make) a desk that is for work only. Don't let other people put their stuff there. Don't throw your personal bills on that area. Make it a dedicated work space only for your work from home business.

Keep your area clear of distractions. Now that you've got a dedicated work space, it's important to put it in the right place. Don't put anything on or near it that is going to distract you. Pulled in by day time television? Don't turn it on or even have it in view of your desk when you're sitting at it. My back is turned to my television when sitting at my desk, so it's not as tempting to turn around and watch it. This is especially true when I keep it off. If there's some show that you absolutely must watch, make it during your lunch time. Buy a DVR through your television provider (several companies are offering them as free perks for upgrading) so that you're not tempted to put stuff off in order to watch TV. Personally, I need some back ground noise to keep me sane. I use a free Internet radio service that I control. This way it is right at my fingertips to turn off when the phone rings or I need to concentrate on something. If you're easily distracted, this may not be a good choice for you. You have to know what works for you.

Make time for non work things. Did you start working from home so that you could spend more time with your children? Then make the time for them. If your children are older, you might need to make this time after you pick them up from school. It can be tough when the kids are home and they want to spend time with mommy or daddy and can't get your attention because you are busy working. Set some time aside that is just for family time. Also, set up some ground rules about not entering your “work space” until a certain time or if it is an emergency. This might also require some explanation on what qualifies an emergency.

Put on real clothes. If you don't have to leave the house in the morning, it can be very easy to slip into the habit of not putting on “real” clothes before you start work for the day. Set your alarm just like you did when you commuted to work. Go through your regular morning routine. Now, you may put on different clothing than you did when you were working in an office. Save yourself some time and money on dry cleaning and pass on the suits and pantyhose. However, it is important to feel like you're working. Staying in your pajamas all day can make you feel like you're not working and can also lead to negative feelings about your job in general.

Ignore the phones. You should have a separate work phone from your home phone. This way you can let the machine pick up the home phone. If you were working away from home, you wouldn't be answering it, would you? Make sure your child's school has your work information so that they can get in touch with you in case of an emergency. This goes for your cell phone as well. Don't let friends and family abuse the fact that you work from home or are you own boss. This means not letting people call and talk your ear off because they're at home. Also, don't get roped into doing things during the day for friends and family because they have “real jobs.” You have a real job, too and they need to remember and respect that.

Organize! Keep a list of tasks using whatever means works best for you. I recommend using your email provider. Most of them have some sort of task keeper or calendar integrated right into it. If this is not available to you, buy yourself a nice planner or larger calendar to keep on or in front of your desk. Don't forget to write down family things in there too. It's much easier to keep track of things when it's all in one place. If this still is not your cup of tea, make yourself a list. Get a dedicated notebook or printed out “to do” sheets. Keep track of everything you need to do that day. When the day is finished, transfer anything not finished to the next day so that you're ready to start in the morning.


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Be realistic. Don't beat yourself up because you didn't save the world today. Not everything on your task list or calendar is going to get done in one day. If it all does get done in one day, you're probably either not working on into the future as much as you should be or you're not working on as much as you should be either. Make reasonable goals for the day, week, month and even the year. Make action plans in order to reach those goals. The more you plan, the better you will do. It's not going to be easy all the time, but it is definitely worth it.

Avoiding Getting Distracted from your End Goal

A job that allows you to work from home can be a blessing. Unfortunately it can also become a total disaster. There are many roadblocks that can distract you from your end goal. Mental preparation, good communication skills and self-confidence are just a few of the tools necessary to help you do it right. Being able to wake up from bed, put the kettle on and sit at your desk reading emails and checking voice mails, all when you are still dressed in your pajamas is a dream for some. If you're not your own boss, the day that you do decide to stay in you bath robe is the day your CEO will surprise you with a video conference. Those who will succeed in this situation are the same people that will take the matter seriously while they are totally aware of the potential problems. These are people with self discipline who are capable of being their own bosses.

Here are six tips (and some warnings) to help you find your way:

Prepare yourself psychologically: For a large number of people who used to work in an office, the transition to working from home can be difficult. How you prepare for the new situation will determine how successful you are. Work from Home is still work, it's not a vacation or freedom from responsibility. Understanding this will help greatly when starting a work from home opportunity. As part of the process I recommend that you set up a real office at home. Don't use this space for other things. Don't let your kids play in it, don't let your spouse use it for household things. This is your space and you need it to be just for you. When you go to work in your home office, go to work don't go in and wander around mentally or physically. Go in there to work. This also means don't go in there on “non working” times to do anything else.

Take yourself and your work seriously: A good way to start this is to dress properly all day. The way you dress can affect how you feel and how you interact with other people. In addition, you should make yourself assignments, follow them and take them seriously. Include a strict schedule for yourself and stick to it. Arrange projects for yourself just like you were in an office and make sure that you are prepared for any scenario that you may encounter in your day. Instead of focusing on it being a work from home situation, just think of it as moving into a new office.

Avoid complete isolation: When you work from home, it's easy to feel like you are on all alone on a remote island. This is especially true if you are one who likes to work in teams and interact with others. You have to find an outlet to meet your social needs. Try going to the gym before you start your day or having a cup of coffee with a friend or neighbor, just like you would have done with a coworker at the office. Just make sure that you set limits with yourself and others on your social time. Don't let going to the gym in the morning turn into the gym, then coffee, then the grocery, and on while work sits untouched on your desk at home. Give yourself a window of time and stick to it.

Establish good communications with your colleagues : If you are working from home as part of a larger company that has a main office, there's no reason that you should be cut off from your colleagues. Keep in touch and consult with them by phone, emails, video conferencing or IM. It fills part of that social need and it's like they're just down the hall. If it is geographically possible, meet for lunch at least once a month. If it's not geographically possible, find time to meet sometime during the year in person. I find that once you've met someone in person, they are much easier to talk with through email or IM. Also, make sure that you are up to date with office events. If someone is getting married or having a baby, make sure to phone them to say congratulations. Ignoring events and even office politics can cause a rift in between you and your colleagues that is difficult to fix.

Give yourself credit for success: Often in the office when someone does something great or when things are going particularly well, the entire office is treated to a fancy lunch or everyone goes out for a drink. This is great for morale and can greatly improve motivation. Well, the same should go for you if you're working at home. If you get a big contract or finish a big project before schedule, treat yourself to something special. This could mean having a small party, buying yourself something special or even just going out for a drink with a friend. Those little things can go a long way to keeping your spirits up and keeping you going when times get tough.


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