10 Productivity Tips For The Work-At-Homer

Image via : jazzmasterson

The real world of working at home is literally a mixed up jungle of unexpected distractions, mismanaged time management, lack of routine and sporadic loss of distinction between your personal and professional identities.

You start off working at home with lots of well thought out plans and good intentions. Pretty soon though, you find that your boss’ constant interruptions are replaced with your kids constant need for attention. The time you once wasted cleaning up other people’s messes in the office are now spent cleaning up after a messy brood. You ask questions like “Should I organize my appointment book or wash the dishes?” and “Do I have time to whip up lunch before that appointment?”

It’s natural that personal and family commitments get mixed up with your professional responsibililties. After all, one of the reasons you opted to work from home was the flexible schedule right? You never thought that working from home could be a possible cause for losing your mind!

But after years of working at home and talking about these experiences with other work at home parents, here are 10 simple ways to help you keep your sanity working from home :

1. Keep Your Space Separate
   You need to make sure that there is a separate, distinct area in your home that you call your “office”. Even if home is a small, cramped apartment, designating your desk and the immediate area around it as “office” can help to put you into “work” mode. We have two offices in my home. My first “office” is my workstation in the family room. It’s prone to lots of family disruptions, but I’ve learnt to work when it’s time to work and play when it’s time to play. My other office is the kitchen, where my wife and I run our home based food delivery business.
2. Plan Your Time
   When your business and personal time overlap, you need to learn to plan your day. Keeping to a routine helps you stay focussed and on track. NOT keeping to a routine opens you up to endless distractions because you don’t have any goals set for the day. Remember that your personal time - even if it is time for not doing anything - is as important as any other appointment. Personally, I’ve come to the point where almost everything from Monday to Friday is planned - from lunch with my kids to lazing with them to time for “spontaneous” horsing around and kiddie foolery. Okay, so even though planning is important, flexibility is still should still factor in your daily plans. A completely rigid schedule sucks the life and joy out of working from home and it can really start to feel like (or worse than) a full-time job.
3. Pass The Buck. Outsource If You Can
   When you start out working from home things get done quickly because YOU call the shots and YOU do everything yourself. But as your business grows, you can’t be expected to do everything. Your time is precious and if you’re going to spend it stuck in a 2 hour traffic jam sending a document across town, you’re not working smart. You’re the boss and it’s time you learnt to outsouce your assignments whenever you can. Sure, keep and eye on your budget, but don’t be a scrooge. Outsourcing can help you stay focussed on “real work”. You can’t be expected to come up with the next great marketing plan if you’re too pooped to think.
4. Get Tech Savvy
   Meeting people can be very rewarding when appropriate but not all meetings have to be in-person. With all the advances in technology, you can save lots of time doing business via telephone, fax and email. You can even have face-to-face teleconferencing using web cams without leaving your desk. Just think about all the time and money you save not having to sit in traffic jams and burning up gas while in your car. There are lots of other ways that technology can save you huge amounts of time and money. All it takes is a little bit of fact-finding to locate the equipment and software that best suits your needs based on your budget.
5. Plan Your Errand Route
   Try to group your errands or meetings on a specific day, within a specific location or along a route. For example, instead of making 3 separate trips, drop off your laundry at a store located along the way to your client’s office and shop for groceries on the way back. You’ve heard it lots of times before because it’s true - plan your route and you’ll save time and money.
6. Say No To Distractions
   It’s not always possible to keep your workspace off limits to your friends and family, but it IS possible to say NO to distractions. I’ve learnt to say NO to my kids when they want me to have a go at Guitar Hero on their Playstation even though I’d really love to, and they’ve learnt that a NO from Dad doesn’t mean NEVER - it just means “not now”. This can be a challenge if you have small children, but with practice, it can be done. My kids have learnt that responsibilities come first, but every now and then, it’s okay to throw the rules out the window now and then. After all, what’s the saying you’d like to work at home so you can spend more time with your family you DON’T?
7. Focus On Your Goals
   When you work at home alone it’s easy to feel lonely and discouraged. Running a home business is never going to be easy-peasy all the time. You ARE going to face lots of challenges. When these challenges pop up, it’s important to stay focussed on what you need to do and just do it. Don’t lose sight of your goals. The good thing about working from home though, is that you get to adjust your goals according to your needs without having to answer to a boss or committee.
8. Go With Your Mood
   What’s the point of working from home, running your own home based business and being your own boss if you work as if you’re at a regular day job? We all have personal work “moods”. Some of us are early birds and some of us are night owls. Some just have to sneak a 30 minute snooze after lunch and they’re pumped up with energy. Me? I like to work late into the night when the kids are asleep and there are no distractions. You yourself know when you work best, so take advantage of your own natural cycles and go with the flow.
9. Suit Yourself.
   Hey, this is YOUR office, YOUR workspace, YOUR business. Paint and decorate your workspace however you like it - unless your workspace is where you also meet clients, in which case, you should find some sort of compromise. If soft classical music is what you dig, then have it playing in the background. You’re going to spend lots and lots of time at your workspace, so make your work environment as comfy and cushy as you like. And there’s nothing wrong with brining your laptop to the park, beach or in your backyard to enjoy a change of scenery while you work.
10. Make Time For People
    Life can be really lonely when you work from home. In fact, one of the first things work-at-homer miss is the comraderie of fellow workers, so it’s always a good thing to schedule meetings with clients, prospects and suppliers. They don’t have to be work related. If you need to, then take a break and have lunch with a friend. It’s important not to lose touch with what’s happening in the world and with people in general.

So there you have it folks, my 10 tips to help increase your productivity when you work at home. It’s not an exhaustive list by any means because we’re all unique and we have our own quirky needs and wants. The good thing about beinig your own boss is you can do what you want, when you want and where you want!

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