Seven Tips for Working from Home
February 20, 2009 by Adam
Filed under Personal Development, Productivity
Whether you are an entrepreneur, a freelancer, or simply telecommuting to save energy and time; working from home has seen a huge surge in popularity since the advent of the internet. Now, that we are able to stay connected with our teams 24/7 from the comfort of our own homes, a whole new business structure has evolved.
But even though working from home has many benefits, there are also challenges. It can be difficult to stay motivated, organized, and efficient when you are working in the same place you sleep. So I have compiled a list of seven tips that you can use to make your work-at-home experience positive and productive:
1. Set Your Alarm
Even if you don’t have to be to the office at a certain time, you should set your alarm at the same time every day, and be ready to work by a certain time. Maintain “office hours” for yourself, preferably during the times that the rest of the world is doing business, so that are accessible to your clients and/or employers.
2. Take a Shower
This is just as much for your benefit as it is for anyone who might be living with you. Just because you work from home doesn’t mean you can sit around in your sweats for two weeks. You should get up every day, take a shower, and get ready as if you were going to meet someone. This will help you stay alert and help you feel motivated to make phone calls and make other kinds of contact.
3. Create Space
Don’t plan on working from your lounger. Make sure you have a space that is set up for real work. That means supplies, equipment, work space, and a comfortable, ergonomic chair. Just because you work from home doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take your job seriously. Keeping a space dedicated just for work will help you put on your game face when it is time to buckle down.
4. Draw Lines
Make sure everyone in your home knows when and where you work. Your desk is not a place for the kids to do their homework or your spouse to fold and stack the laundry. Let everyone living with you know that you have certain times that you must be able to work without interruptions. When you work from home there is a tendency for people to think that you can drop what you’re doing. While flexibility is a great benefit of working at home, you’ll find yourself plagued with requests to do things at all hours and your work momentum will suffer if you don’t explicitly tell people that you are simply not available during certain times.
5. Know When to Stop
One of the biggest risks in working from home is not being able to stop and walk away. Your computer is staring at your 24/7, and there is always something else you can do. Being able to turn your computer and cell phone off and just relax is as important as being able to stay productive at work.
6. Turn off the TV
It is easy to flip the TV on and keep it on all day for background noise or news updates, but it can actually be very disruptive to you when you are trying to focus on your work. Plus, if clients or co-workers call and hear Days of Our Lives or Wheel of Fortune in the background, it doesn’t exactly instill faith in your professionalism.
7. Go Outside Every Day
When you work from home, days can go by without you leaving the house. This is simply not healthy. You need to take at least an hour a day to go outside and get some fresh air and sunshine—no matter how busy your schedule is. Don’t just roll out of bed and start working for 12 hours, ordering a pizza for nourishment. Take walks, go to the gym, play ball with your kids for an hour after school. You’ll find yourself feeling refreshed and much more focused after you do.
As you can see, the key to being productive when you work from home is keeping yourself focused and able to maintain a sense of business when it is time to work. Do you work from home? If so, what are some of the ways you have found to keep organized and productive?
All are good tips to remember. One that it always important is to get out of the house or “office” and do something else. Being home all day working and then not working can make you feel isolated. Get out and go shopping, go to a coffee shop, or just go for a walk. Not only will you get out the “office” but you’ll feel refreshed and ready to go for the next work session or for the next day!
“Get good support from family member(s)”, This is some thing I feel is quite important, as many people treat working at home not very seriously as my wife used to do. I also feel “Create Space” is a very important detail you must take into consideration and remember: have a set space which creates a quiet and comfortable environment.
One tip for both home or away that works great fort me … when I remembrer to use it that is … do some of whatever you hate … or feel you are the worst at … first. If you feel you are bad at marketing your services, for wxample, send out five promo letters, or make five phone calls. first, before you get into something more interesting. It will boost your business to get the tasks out of the way and it will make the whole remainder of the day go so much better. Works for me.
I do this thing that I learned from Brian Tracy’s book, “Eat That Frog” which kinda goes along with what Dave says…
Whatever it is that you really don’t feel like doing, your day’s biggest task, whatever’s giving you the most anxious feeling, do that FIRST! Before doing anything else.
This can be flipped the other way around also by forcing yourself to NOT do something that you typically do which isn’t productive. For instance, I tend to be a compulsive email checker. When I boot up my computer in the morning, the first thing that I really like to do is check my email.
Then recently I started this new thing where I don’t check my email until noon. Just don’t let myself do it. There’s nothing urgent in there and usually it throws me off into a half-hour tangent. So I just don’t do it.
It’s good to save time and to discipline yourself.
Other than that, I like to eat a lot of fruit and drink a lot of water.
Very good examples. I try to follow all 7. You got the most important tip at #1 so good job.
I’d add exercise to the list - first thing in the morning for me
You absolutely have to stick to these tips if you want to get anything done… Great post!
These are all great tips, you should always get out of the house or else you would go crazy, staying the house all day. It will give you time to take a break from work and enjoy life.
Really good blog,You have provided good tips and tricks. These are very important for working from home.Thanks for sharing.
Yeah working from home is something that many people dream about, oftentimes they decide to make it a reality, and they jump into the work at home lifestyle. I think its important to work with that psychological mindset that you are actually working. Yes, make it seem like you are not actually at home, but in a real office. Create your own “office” where you work from and have no idle distractions like hello kitty posters in your room. You have to be in the mindset that you are at work, not at home.
Till then,
Jean