Increasing Productivity When You Work at Home
When I tell friends that I work from home, most usually say, “There’s no way I could do that. I’d never get anything done!” There are days when that’s certainly true. The laundry pile is too high, the dust bunnies in the corner are planning a coup, a child is sick – anyone of those things can pull me away from my work as a freelance writer. Add to that my husband - who also works from home - and our house is frequently a volcano waiting to explode.
The truth is, there are days when work is the last thing on our minds.
And that’s ok. It’s why we work from home. The trick is to maximize the time you spend at your job so you have time to live your life.
If you have a home based business or are about to start one, chances are you’ll be faced with the challenge of balancing home and work. Here are a few tips from a couple of pros:
- Establish hours each day that are devoted only to work. This will help you carve out a routine to fit your job into your life at home.
- If you have children, seriously consider childcare during your ‘office hours’ or work when they nap, are in preschool or are otherwise entertained. There’s nothing more frustrating (for you or for them) than trying to get an important e-mail off or take a phone call when your attention is divided.
- Don’t surf. Your work hours are your work hours. If you burn them up cruising the Internet or watching TV, you’re only eating up time that you could be at the park with your toddler or making cookies with your pre-teen.
- Have your own space, even if your house is small. Just a desk in a private corner of a room is enough to help you get. Make sure your family knows your boundaries – when you’re at your desk, you need to be left alone to get your job done.
- Plan for play. Allow some time each day to do the things you want to do so you don’t feel overwhelmed.
- Don’t beat yourself up. When you work from home, there will always be something more to do. At the end of the day, celebrate what you were able to accomplish and let the rest go. There’s always tomorrow.