Many people have dreamed of working at home. Let’s face it, going to a job every day, for most people, is not fun and can be very stressful. While working from home can appear to be the way out, it’s not as blissful as it sounds. If you’re really serious about starting your own business and working from home, I applaud you, but first, let’s look at some of the difficulties that can come up and what can you do to overcome them. Here are some tips for working effectively from home.
Practice Self-discipline
It can be tempting to stay in bed for a little longer when you are working at home. The urgency to get up and beat the early morning traffic or to be at work by 7:30 am is missing when you only have a short walk to your desk.
If you’re going to make this work, you have to be motivated. Think about why you wanted to work from home in the first place. Was it to spend more time with the family? Was it so you’d have the freedom to pursue other interests? Whatever your reason for wanting to work from home, take time to visualize your ideal lifestyle. Keep that vision in front of you. Find images that represent the life you want and look at them every day.
Set up a Routine
Establishing a daily routine can help us stay motivated and focused on what needs to be done. What time will you start working every day? What time will you take your breaks and eat lunch? A set routine will help you adjust to your new role much faster than a, “Lets see what happens today,” approach. Following a schedule means you’ll have a set time to work and a set time to stop working. This will help you stay focused and get more done.
Dealing with Loneliness
Let’s face it, working from home can sometimes feel like talking to your houseplants for too long – they’re great listeners, but the conversation tends to get a bit one-sided. As much as we love our green friends, we’re born to interact with other people. In a work environment, there is daily contact, whether a quick 5-minute chat at the water dispenser or sharing your thoughts at the weekly safety meeting. Interactions with other people are essential to making our lives feel complete and in a home-based business, this is missing.
To overcome this feeling of isolation, which will be particularly intense during your early months, you have to hook up with other people who are in the same position as you. Agree that you’ll talk on the phone at least twice a week, and make plans to have lunch or a quick coffee once every 2 weeks. Your family may not be the right people to talk to about issues you’re having in your business, so it’s best to find someone who can relate to your successes and problems.
Get Out of the House
Being in the house all week without seeing the light of day is certainly not good for your health or state of mind. You may be so focused on your work that you convince yourself you don’t have time to leave the house. But for the sake of your well-being, you have to schedule a time to get out and spend time in a different environment.
In addition to meeting regularly with other people, you could also join a health club, go for a bike ride once or twice a week, or check to see if there are any meetings or classes you could join in your area. Don’t fall into the trap of staying home every day- working, eating, and sleeping. Get out of the house!
Another idea to change your environment is to get away from your desk. Take your laptop out to the backyard, go to the local park or even the library. It doesn’t matter where just as long as you’re out of the house.
Create an Office
If you have been used to working in a formal office environment all your working life, then switching to the kitchen table or the couch in the living room can be an unwelcome distraction to the rest of the family. To help you stay disciplined and focused, designate a part of the house as your office. If you have a spare room or study, then, even better. Remove anything that’s distracting and buy a desk and office chair, filing cabinets, and other office supplies- whatever you need to make it work for you.
Stay Organized
Another tip for working effectively from home is to keep your paperwork organized. The saying that a cluttered desk leads to a cluttered mind is true. Your efficiency and productivity will suffer unless you’re organized. Buy filing cabinets, box files, waste paper bins, and put up shelves, so that everything has a place.
Getting organized and being efficient also includes setting ground rules with the family. They need to understand that you are at work and not at their beck and call for every little job that needs doing. Be firm and say no unless it is very urgent and requires immediate attention. Don’t allow anything to get in the way of your business. So there you have it, 7 tips for working effectively from home.
If you are wanting to quit your job and start working from home, I recommend the book, The Weekend Marketer: Say Goodbye to the ‘9 to 5’, Build an Online Business, and Live the Life You Love
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