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Tips to make your home office work for you
Working out of your home provides many advantages over having a separate office. You’re accessible to family members and can take care of household tasks during the workday. Of course, working at home also has its share of distractions–because you’re accessible to family members and able to do household chores during the workday.
But whether you run your
business from a cluttered kitchen table or a well-equipped home office, you
can eliminate many common distractions with some organization and
planning.
Make it yours
Even an extremely focused person will have trouble conducting business in the midst of a busy household. Minimize interruptions by defining space for your office. Whether it’s a corner of the kitchen or a designated room, the space needs to be for your business only.
Defining your work area is as much psychological as physical. You may not need big privacy screens; maybe a piece of tape on the floor a la Les Nessman will do. But it’s important to let everyone in your home know where your work area is. And when you enter that area, whether you can close a door or not, members of your household should act as if you went to an office miles away.
No exceptions
Sometimes, even a closed door won’t protect you from distractions. That’s why you need to make rules. Tell your family when you’re going to be at work each day and that you’re not to be interrupted during that time, unless it’s an emergency. Also, discuss with them what constitutes an emergency to avoid any confusion.
If your work schedule changes day to day, hang a small whiteboard next to your desk and post that day’s work hours. Whatever your method for communicating work hours, be consistent and strict. If you start making exceptions, people will assume that interrupting you is not a big deal.
I’m alone, now what?
Getting your family to respect your office area is only part of the solution to productivity at home; you must respect it, too, by leaving personal business behind. Try to keep non-business paperwork, such as bills and magazines, off your desk. Do your pets crave attention? Keep them away from your work area.
You may not be able to control your appointments every day, but monitor when things at home are most conducive for work. If you have school-age children and your clients like evening appointments, then make your calls and catch up on paperwork in the mornings when the house is empty.
Structuring your day not only keeps you focused at home, it works in your family’s favor as well. They may not be able to interrupt while you work, but you’ll be able to spend more time with them overall if they stick to the rules–and you can focus on your business.
Photo © PhotoDisc.
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