Balancing Work at Home and Your Life
Finding the perfect balance of work and home is critical whether you are
working at an office or working from home. However, this can often be
more difficult for the individual working from home because they can easily
bleed together. This has negative effects on your work production as
well as adding strain on your personal relationships and home life.
A common beginning mistake people make is thinking that just because they
are working from home they can have a morning TV show on, cook breakfast,
work on the computer, pay bills, and curl hair all at the same time.
This is a good way to waste a lot of time and never fully accomplish
anything substantial.
A good way to plan your day, especially when starting out, is to
construct a very detailed schedule outlining what tasks need to be performed
in a specific timeframe. This can be done using Outlook reminders or a
pen and paper will work as well. Plan your schedule the night before
and then set your alarm. When the alarm goes off, get up! Get in
the shower; brush your teeth, put on your clothes and makeup. Get
ready as if you are preparing to walk out the door and drive to your office.
Some people may actually want to really leave the house, especially if this
is the schedule you are used to every morning. This will help to trick
your brain into getting into work mode. You don’t have to go far; you
can drive to the local coffee shop or just around the block. Do not
waste valuable hours lounging and thinking of all the work you should be
doing.
You can construct your day however you like, but try to stick to your
schedule as closely as possible. Most people gain momentum as they
work so if you stagger work tasks and home tasks too closely (say,
alternating every hour) this likely will break the momentum and you will not
be fully productive at either. Try scheduling 4 hour blocks of time to
insure maximum production or alternate days if your plan to work only part
time.
Another helpful tip is to make your work space, work space. It is
easy to become distracted if your new fashion magazines are pilled on the
desk next to you or if you are tripping over toys as you get up from your
space. As with any work space, keep your area clean and free from
clutter so you can have a more settled mind. This serves not only to
help you find what you need in a timely manner, but also helps you stay
focused and on task. If you are staring at a pile of dirty laundry out
of the corner of your eyes it will be harder to focus on your work.
When your work day comes to a close get up, turn off the computer and
turn off your brain. The other fatal mistake people working from home
commonly make is never allowing their brain to take any time off. It
can be very frustrating to the people in your life if you are leaving the
dinner table to take a call or “just check one more thing”. This can
even carry over into sleeping patterns if you don’t learn how to quiet your
mind and leave work at work.
Be realistic. Starting an at home business can be time consuming
and put financial strain on your family. If you feel like you
constantly have to be “on” just to make sure the bills are getting paid, it
might not be a bad idea to look into a part time job or other source of
income to help ease some of the financial stress. Do this at least
until you can realistically live off of the sole income of your work at home
business.
Don’t forget what you are working for. It does little good to have
the flexibility and luxury of working from home if you don’t maximize the
benefits. If your son has a small part in the school play, GO!
Remember it is the journey, not the destination you are living to
experience. Quality of life is far more important that answering one
more email. If you do find yourself falling into a work-a-holic
lifestyle, make solid plans for other engagements. You could go
golfing with clients for instance, or join the gym. Running is a great
accelerator for ideas and gives you the physical benefits as well.
Once you become acclimated to the environment, you will be able to give yourself a little more leeway in your scheduling. Until then, stay focused and make sure to complete your tasks but don’t forget to stop and smell the roses.
