subject: How To Increase Productivity Whilst Working From Home [print this page] Working from home brings some fabulous benefits. Perks that are normally impossible to do if you work the typical 9 to 5 office job. With the perks of course come the downsides. Lets be realistic. It can be difficult to leave the working from home job behind.
Make sure first and foremost that you have a specific location within your home which is your office space. Ideally this will be a dedicated room which can be referred to as your office.
Have a chat with other members of the household and explain that this area is your place of work whereby you will be doing serious work.
As you will be making and taking business calls it is important that you set a professional scenario. The dog barking, loud music, children playing whilst are normal for a family home can often create the wrong impression to clients who may be on the phone. Many people who work at home these days invest in a summer house in the garden to which electricity is supplied making it possible to work in and use technology as you would inside the home.
Set yourself a schedule. You should have a start time and a finish time. For the workaholics out there also schedule in a lunch break. It is not healthy to work all day without eating and many of us do it.
Be prepared to work a few late nights if you must do so. However too many can lead to resentment from your husband wife children and even pets. It can also lead to you losing motivation and becoming unhappy at work.
Working for yourself means that you may allocate yourself holidays more flexibility though of course it must fit in with your clients and projects to a certain extent. However with wireless connectivity you can enjoy more holidays with your family.
My advice however is to find accommodation that has wireless internet. Whilst it is better for you and the family for you to take a complete break from work the best option in my opinion is to take a two week complete break from work.
For short vacations in between take a predetermined amount of time out per day or per other day to catch up and answer any pressing queries. Make sure you communicate this to your family and ensure that you spend no more time than you plan on your work. This will make for very happy balanced family breaks, more of them, and an ability to continue running your business sensibly.
Working from home can bring about harmony and happiness when the right balance is met. However you need to keep yourself in check. It can be easy to get distracted away from work and just as easy it is simple to fall into the trap of working all the time as you never really leave work.
