Working from home is growing in popularity in this unsettled economy. It’s great for the working parent as they can be there for their children and save money by avoiding the long commute day in and day out. Bosses are growing to appreciate this style of work as working from has actually proven to churn out more productive workers. However, when working from home there are always the temptations to stray from your work or just plain getting distracted. It may sound like a dream but it takes some serious discipline to work out of your house. Here are five tips to increasing your productivity as you stay home and work:

1. Stick to a schedule.

If you’re used to a 9 to 5 day then carry that over with you as work you from home. If you fall into a trap of putting things off and laying on the couch until 11 or 12 you’re going to get behind and this whole idea of working from home will go up in smoke. It’s imperative you treat each workday the same as you would if you were going into the office as normal. Wake up and shower and get dressed professionally. Don’t turn on the television; go to your workstation and begin tackling your day.

2. Set up a true workstation.

If you have your computer in the family room where there are distractions galore then move it to an unused room away from these temptations. You have to create some semblance of an office setting. Do you have a comfy couch with cozy blankets at your office? No, you don’t.

3. Let everyone know where you can be reached.

Give out your cell phone or land line numbers to your clients and co-workers. If you change your email address then let this be known. There can be no miscommunication and nobody will care about your excuses. The prevailing theme you must remember is that you’re still doing the same work; you’ve just changed locations. Consider it as you got moved to another office.

4. Leave your work at home.

As you’ve already developed a schedule (see step 1), you must stick to it. Once five o’clock rolls around it’s time for you to leave work and live your life. If you don’t follow the schedule you’ll fall into the trap of sneaking away to your computer during family time and odd hours when the rest of the people you work with are away from the office. You have to stay on the same page as your industry and Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. are probably not peak hours.

This post was contributed by Heather Johnson, who is an industry critic on the subject of types of credit cards. She invites your feedback at heatherjohnson2323 at gmail dot com.

• 1 Comments

  

Comments

I've had a home office since 2004. There are definitely pros and cons.

Pros:
-no commute
-more freedom to your job
-flexible work hours

cons:
-work and personal life merge. For me this was more work spilling into my time off.
-It can be a major inconvenience to the rest of your family.
-You can get isolated socialy

I've found setting up a separate area (a separate room is idea) is necessary. You need to be able to shut down at the end of the day and the best way to do this is shut the door.

Also, it is key to set boundaries. No email or phone calls after 5pm. Get started working by 9am. No excuses.

 Posted by: B Smith @ Wealth and Wisdom at June 13, 2008 2:30 PM

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