While running a business from home can be inexpensive and convenient, it can get tricky as you try to balance work and home life, sometimes all from the same room. In order to ensure that your professional and personal lives don’t collide in the process, you should have a strategy or at least some techniques that will help you manage your home-based business effectively.
In a recent SmallBizTrends article, author Timothy Carr shares “Work at Home Strategies for Success that May Surprise You.” Here we detail 5 of his 9 suggestions:
1. Set a Morning Routine. The way you start the morning will set the tone for the remainder of your workday. When you’re able to establish a specific routine that enables you get into the work flow, you’ll find yourself more productive. As Carter explains, “Being intentional about what you do before you go to work is the foundation to the day’s success.”
2. Shut the Door. This advice actually comprised two of Carter’s nine suggestions. He believes that in order for your home-based business to be successful, you must create a distraction-free space in which you can work. In order to maintain a high level of professionalism, and to more easily distinguish you work life from your personal life, you should establish an office in a more secluded area where you can enjoy peace and privacy. The same applies from the other side of the door. You should be able to “clock out” every day and focus your time and attention on your family.
3. Get Dressed. Carter states, “Of course, you don’t have to go all out and wear a suit and tie, but psychologically, it helps to get dressed professionally. Part of the habit of getting dressed up for work gets your mind into ‘work mode’ since you’re not heading to the office.”
4. Set Your Hours. If you task yourself with working whenever you have a free hour or two, it won’t be long before you’re laboring morning, noon, and night. You’ll find that you’re much more productive when you set a work schedule that you honor. Be sure to share this work schedule with both clients and family, and ask them to respect that schedule.
5. Take Your Breaks. Whether you’re running your practice full or part-time, you’ll quickly discover that unless you take a break, you will quickly experience burnout. Avoid this by giving yourself regular stints of rest and relaxation. You’ll find that taking regular vacations will also help you rejuvenate your efforts, enabling you to better focus on your work when you’re open for business.
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Resource
Carr, Timothy. “Work at Home Strategies for Success that May Surprise You.” 23 February 2015 SmallBizTrends.com
