People who work from home don’t have to “be” anywhere at a specific time. This is one of the luxuries of working from home. But this can also be a drawback in that, without having a set schedule, there is always the temptation to sleep a little later and not put in a full day’s work. To be successful, it is important to set up a schedule when you will focus solely on work.
Your work hours will depend on the job that you are doing. If client contact is a part of your business, you will need to be available during conventional working hours. But if your work is not dependent on the working hours of others, you can work whatever hours suit you. The important thing is to have a schedule and stick to it.
One of the pitfalls of working from home is that because work is only steps away, it is easy to fall into a trap of working all hours of the day and night. This can be important in the start-up stage of a business, but we all need some down time. Certainly, there will be occasions when you will need to put in some extra hours, but try to plan some leisure time every day.
5. Dress for Success!
One of the benefits of working from home is that you don’t have to fret about what to wear each morning and can dress casually. But casual doesn’t mean spending the day in your bathrobe. To get into the business mode, get up, take a shower, and get dressed every morning as though you were leaving the house to go to work. You can still put on a pair of jeans or sweats, but actually getting ready for work will help motivate you, further defining your working hours from your leisure time.
6. Separate Work from Family Responsibilities
This is often easier said than done. Before you begin working from home, discuss the arrangement with your family. Explain that even though you are at home, you are going to be working, and that certain things will have to wait until after you are finished for the day. The benefit of this arrangement is that you can be home when your children come home from school, and can work around their schedules. But there will be times when you cannot be disturbed, and you may want to consider making arrangements for after-school activities or day care a few days a week.
You should not use work time to clean the house, cook or run errands. Every time you are tempted to do something that is not work-related, ask yourself whether or not you would be able to do this if you were working in an office.