Working From Home - Simple Helpful Hints

In the 1990s, I was fortunate enough to take my husband’s and I’s hobby of buying and selling collectible toys, and move it to an internet business, which I ran out of my home. Before I left my previous job, I researched the best ways to create a successful home business.  You have to remember, there was no all-knowing Google at that time, so I did the next best thing… I reached out to other small business owners and friends that had their own home businesses. They gave me excellent advice.

Fast forward to the present. I am again working from home, but now for a company. Much of the advice I received back then, still holds true.  I am sure you have heard some of these before, but hopefully one of these helps and is a good reminder for you.

• Find a place that is away from your home life and create an office for yourself.
• This can be a spare bedroom, sitting room or basement, if you have that available.
• If not, create a space in your bedroom or in a living space you seldom use.  
• Try not to use the kitchen or living room.  The rooms you and your family utilize most often will distract you and allow your housemates to think you are available to them at any time.
• Create a signal that you can turn on or display, which alerts the others in your house that you are doing something important or on a call and should not be disturbed.
• My husband and I use a light.  His office is upstairs and mine is on the main floor.  I put a little light at the base of the stairs that I can turn on when I need to be undisturbed. He has a door on his office, so he just shuts the door.
• Create work hours.
• If your work allows, create set hours.  I generally work 7 am - 4 pm.  This has many positive effects:
• People within my organization know a standard time that I can be reached easily, whereas after hours I can be harder to reach.
• My friends and family have learned when I am working and only to disturb me in cases of emergency or after work.
• You maintain a home life.  To avoid burnout, you never want to get in the habit of working all the time just because the laptop is sitting there.  Trust me, things can wait till tomorrow morning or even Monday morning.  If it is life or death, people will find a way to let you know that.
• You will be more focused on work when it is work time and more able to enjoy home time when you disconnect from work.  You shouldn’t be cleaning junk drawers in your kitchen during work hours or updating that work spreadsheet during home hours.  Keep a separate routine as much as possible.
• Pay back your time. 
• If you need to deal with the sprinkler company during work hours, that is usually okay.  Just remember to pay back that work time back. And, if you work late one night on a project that must be completed, consider taking a longer lunch one day.  

Remember: 

• Your company is serious enough to pay you for the work you are doing, you should be serious enough to earn that pay.  
• Even though you’re working from home, this is still a job.  You would not (or should not) sit in an office 12-14 hours a day, so you don’t need to do it just because your office is in your home.