Running your business from home can be polarizing, if not complicated; you think you know for sure that flexibility and convenience are the reasons why you decided to leave your nine-to-five, but when you hear your spouse say something like 'John's working from home so he can watch ESPN all day long' or your teen telling her friends 'Mom's like, working from home so she can, you know, ground me in real time', sometimes you can't help but agree with them.
Taking advantage of the flexibility of working at home does not mean that you must answer to everyone's beck and call, or be distracted by each little thing. Sure you might go "dude, that's a given", but try saying it again while actually in the middle of a work day. At the moment, if the phone rings and you must choose between finishing a business-related email or answering the phone, the phone may seem more pressing. You want to treat your business like business if you want to be productive with it, rather than a pastime you can take care in the most slovenly conditions.
If you're thinking of working in your PJs or tightie whities, forget it, bud. You are what you wear, and don't let anybody convince you otherwise. The clothing that you wear can reflect how you feel about work. But do not misconstrue this as doing a Barney Stinson (i.e. wearing a suit in the house) unless you actually have some clients visiting your place for a power lunch or to discuss important business. It just means that, by wearing your pajamas and sweat pants all the time you will not feel as though you are really in the mood to put forward your most productive self. Oh, and in case you're thinking of going to work unbathed, remember your name isn't Wavy Gravy either -- take a shower and put on clothes that don't have polka dots or cartoon sheep on them, for crying out loud!
The second thing you have to do is to consider the time for work as a regimented schedule that needs to be planned. If you find that you are planning your work around doing everyone else's dirty work, then you are not dedicating yourself to your job. And when we say regimented schedule, we mean regimented; schedule everything from the time you wake up, your exact work hours and your break schedule as well. Make sure that the time scheduled for work is fairly uninterrupted. You may want to invest in another phone line for your home, or move your home office spot as far away as possible from the television, your kids' bedrooms (especially if you have older kids with a fancy for extremely loud, cacophonous 'music') or other distractions.
The last thing you have to ensure would be that everybody you work with is aware of your schedule and what it entails. For instance, an old college buddy of yours (yes, him or her again) might ask you to hang out somewhere for lunch -- can you do this if you were working a nine-to-fiver? If you want to schedule time for leisure, then do so on your days off from work; do this and you will likely be earning more and gaining more respect among your peers.
Taking advantage of the flexibility of working at home does not mean that you must answer to everyone's beck and call, or be distracted by each little thing. Sure you might go "dude, that's a given", but try saying it again while actually in the middle of a work day. At the moment, if the phone rings and you must choose between finishing a business-related email or answering the phone, the phone may seem more pressing. You want to treat your business like business if you want to be productive with it, rather than a pastime you can take care in the most slovenly conditions.
If you're thinking of working in your PJs or tightie whities, forget it, bud. You are what you wear, and don't let anybody convince you otherwise. The clothing that you wear can reflect how you feel about work. But do not misconstrue this as doing a Barney Stinson (i.e. wearing a suit in the house) unless you actually have some clients visiting your place for a power lunch or to discuss important business. It just means that, by wearing your pajamas and sweat pants all the time you will not feel as though you are really in the mood to put forward your most productive self. Oh, and in case you're thinking of going to work unbathed, remember your name isn't Wavy Gravy either -- take a shower and put on clothes that don't have polka dots or cartoon sheep on them, for crying out loud!
The second thing you have to do is to consider the time for work as a regimented schedule that needs to be planned. If you find that you are planning your work around doing everyone else's dirty work, then you are not dedicating yourself to your job. And when we say regimented schedule, we mean regimented; schedule everything from the time you wake up, your exact work hours and your break schedule as well. Make sure that the time scheduled for work is fairly uninterrupted. You may want to invest in another phone line for your home, or move your home office spot as far away as possible from the television, your kids' bedrooms (especially if you have older kids with a fancy for extremely loud, cacophonous 'music') or other distractions.
The last thing you have to ensure would be that everybody you work with is aware of your schedule and what it entails. For instance, an old college buddy of yours (yes, him or her again) might ask you to hang out somewhere for lunch -- can you do this if you were working a nine-to-fiver? If you want to schedule time for leisure, then do so on your days off from work; do this and you will likely be earning more and gaining more respect among your peers.
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