1.) Set Work Hours & Stick To Them - Treating your home business like, well, a business is the first step to being successful. It can’t continually be on the back burner. If you worked outside of the home, your boss would not be pleased with your performance if you were continually putting off your daily tasks or not showing up at all. Set a work schedule for yourself. Designate days and times that are devoted specifically to working on your home business and make sure that you do it. This can take quite a bit of planning on your part. You will need to make sure that your family is otherwise occupied and that you have a time period in which you are not going to run into a lot of distractions.
2.) Get Dressed For Success - Just because you can work from home in your pajamas doesn’t mean you should work in your pajamas. Remember, you need to take yourself seriously in order for others to take yourself seriously. Sure, other people won’t necessarily be seeing you. But, it changes your whole mind-set if you have gotten out of your ‘lazy clothes’ and made yourself look nice. Imagine if the people on the other side of your computer screen could see you. What kind of impression would you make? If you do freelance type work and have to apply to work for someone else, what if they want to schedule an impromptu video chat through Skype. Would you be ready?
3.) Designate Your Work Area - If it is at all possible, use a separate room with a door for your home office. If you do not have the luxury of being able to do that, then perhaps you could invest in a partition or find some way to separate yourself from the main part of the house. It is very distracting when you are constantly surrounded by all the goings-on in your home. Especially if it is a busy one, like mine.
4.) Work When It’s Quiet - Remember that one of the reasons you work from home is because it allows you the flexibility to work during the hours that are best for you. This comes in handy especially when you are not able to separate yourself and your work area during the busiest parts of the day. Personally, I find that I work the best when I schedule my work hours during the late evening or early morning when everyone else is asleep. The tv is not on, the phone is not ringing, playtime and mealtimes are over or have yet to begun. Find the time when you are most likely to not be disturbed and schedule your work hours then. You may have to stay up later or get up earlier. But, the ability to complete your tasks and work with a clear head will be worth it. You will be more productive in a shorter amount of time.
5.) Turn Off Your Instant Messengers - Friends and family may be of the opinion that because you work from home you are always going to be available to give them your undivided attention. If you are working on the computer with your messenger set to available, this is exactly what your buddies think you are - available. Avoid being distracted by chatty friends by setting your messenger status to ‘busy’ or putting up a custom message stating that you are working if you must have it open for business purposes. Better yet, have a messenger that is designated just for business contacts and keep your personal one off.
6.) Have A Separate Line For Business Calls - If you are able, have a separate phone line for business use only. It does not come across as very professional if your four year old answers the phone when a client or prospective employer calls unexpectedly. If this is not possible, at least have an answering machine or voice mail with a professional sounding greeting to screen calls.
These are just a few suggestions to help you find a routine and work more productively in your home business. If you practice them routinely, you should find that you are able to accomplish a lot more than if you were dealing with constant interruptions and distractions.
