How to successfully work from home

The decision to work from home is one that, increasingly, many people make. The current economic status is one of the reasons behind the increase number of people choosing or even forced to work from home. Other reasons exist too of course ranging from changes in personal health, career path and so forth.

The reasons may be different for each individual however the option to work from home has to be approached diligently in order for it to actually work.

Working from home may, at first glance, appear to be a very attractive and easy option from the traditional nine-to-five office work but beware. Appearance indeed can be deceiving for there is nothing easy about it as anyone who works from home will tell you. In fact many work from home businesses run by well meaning people collapse each year for this very reason.

One of the biggest reason for failure resulting from working from home is the belief that somehow working from home is more laid back from normal office work. This belief creates an attitude to work from home that ultimately results in less work, if any, done. It breeds failure, disappointments and frustration instead of success and progress.

In order to avoid this trap one must do the followings:

1) Allocate a place for work – Allocating a place for work means simply setting aside an area, which will be used as an office while you work from home. Try to avoid places filled with disruptions such as the dinning or sitting area whereby the Television and/or phone are in view.

It is absolutely paramount that the allocated space is as free from disruptions as possible. This is because we have trained our brains to be in a different mode when we are at home from the office. So if you are switching from office work to home, your brain will need to be accustomed to function on the ‘work’ mode while at home.

This is especially the case in the early days of working from home. Hence having an allocated place for work only in the home, a place away from disruptions will help you focus and function on the ‘work’ mode. Otherwise you run the risk of finding things to do (disruptions) such as cleaning, watching TV, phoning friends and such none of which are work related.

It also helps to have an actual room or study dedicated for the work while you are at home. If you do have enough space in your home then start by setting a room aside to act as your office. Decorate your place of work (whether it’s a corner away from disruptions or a room) in a manner similar to a real office.

The more your area of work at home resembles a real office the more serious you will be likely to take your work. Also the better your brain will be to focus and function at ‘work’ mode rather than ‘home/relaxed’ mode.

So if the rest of the house is decorated in flowery, loud colors for example you may want to have plain colors in your home’s workspace unless your work is in design for example.

This separation created by decorations between home and office within your home will further aid your mental separation between the two. Thus when you enter your workspace you will be more likely to focus and actually do some work rather than be preoccupied by other domestic duties.

Approaching your work from home in this manner also aids in re-training those living with you to view your presence at home while working seriously rather than a convenience to get you to run other chores for them. This of course will also help limit outside disruptions for you while you work at home.

2) Allocate time and stick to them – Effective time management is the absolutely essential in accomplishing any work, it is even so when the work is done from home. You must plan your hours, days strategically and effectively depending on the type of work you do.

You must also stick to your plan and ensure that those who live with you know of your timetable. You can easily place a copy of your timetable in the kitchen or living area so that others know when you are free and when you are working.

Make sure that you include your personal goals in the timetable. These goals should include what you intend to achieve in regards to your business (whatever that business may be) on regular basis i.e., weekly, monthly and so on.

If a company employs you make sure to also include goals and other responsibilities you have to meet with the company. You may, for example, be working from home but still be an employee of a company, which requires you to report certain targets, every month and such.

In this case your timetable should also include times, days, names and such for you to fulfill the company’s obligations.

If you work completely alone (self-employed sole trader, for example) you could include things like the time allocated to make calls to businesses/customers of your targeted market, time allocated for any meetings with clients and so on.

Setting aside a timetable in this manner will further aid your focus as well as allow you to be motivated and work effectively. Thus avoiding wasting time wondering what to do next or getting frustrated by the disorganization that will ensue as a result of the lack of proper planning.

3) Be realistic with your timetable – Once you have a timetable double check it to make sure that it is realistic. Unrealistic timetable will hurt you rather than help you succeed. A realistic timetable is one, which takes into account a number of factors regarding how you work best, what sort of job you are in, what other commitments you have, your strengths and weaknesses and many others.

It is possible that when you first working from home you may feel like you can do a lot more than is actually realistic for you. The best thing to do is to recognize that you will be in a learning curve and to allow flexibility in your timetable.

Flexible timetable will allow you to adjust to things as you learn more about yourself as well as your business. This will also limit frustration and disappointments, which may result from over extending/expecting too much from yourself: unrealistic expectations fuelled by an unrealistic timetable.

Your timetable must also include non-work related activities including family time, domestic responsibilities and such. All work with no play is certainly not going to work so make sure that your timetable reflects all these other aspects of your life.

Besides working from home is usually a lonely and tough job, so don’t make it tougher by isolating others in your life including your own wellbeing.

3) Eradicate/limit disruptions - Disruptions are all the things that have nothing to do with your work and thus will only hinder/disrupt your work. As mentioned above the separation, both mental and physical, of what is ‘work’ and what isn’t is essential to keep you focused and motivated while you work from home.

Thus once you have your allocated ‘office’ in your home, it’s essential to treat/behave as though you are in a real office. In this sense it is essential to forget that you are at home as much as possible in order to eliminate the temptation to do other non-work related things such as laundry, watching TV etc.

You could say, switch your personal phone (including mobile/cell) off during your working hours. If you must do other domestic chores then make sure that you allocate the time on your timetable and stick to it.

If you are new to working from home i.e., if you have recently left office work environment, it may help you to adhere to the same timetable and rituals you used while working in an office.

Things like what time you wake up, have a shower, get dressed, how you dressed and such would have trained your brain to get into the ‘work’ mode. You may therefore need to adhere to this route, especially in the early days of you switch to working from home.

By waking up the same time, getting dressed (if though you may not need to go out) and even wearing your make-up and such will put you in the right frame of mind. Of course it depends also on the type of job you are doing so if the job is the same e.g., marketing whereby you now work independently after working for a company in an office for a while, following the same route as before including your dress code will be beneficial.

However if you used to be in marketing and hated it and now you are an author, then perhaps dressing formally in your best suit while at home may not help you much especially if the routine of getting dressed in this formal way was among the things you despised about your formal job.

In short, it has been documented that we become accustomed to operate in a certain mode/frame of mind, as part of our associated rituals/routines to the task. This can be implemented to aid your success and ease the challenges/switch of working from home.

Furthermore the decision of what to implement or not and how is left to individual’s discretion. No one knows you better than you so in the end it’s up to you to add what works best for you and thus your business/career.

Finally get out more on your free time. It goes without saying that we tend to get bored with repetitions. When you work in the same environment that you live in day in and day out, it will get to you. It is important to get away from the house and do something else that you enjoy as often as you can.

Sharing your free time and success with your loved ones will further help me. You will then get support and won’t feel guilty for neglecting them it will feel less lonely for you, which could further motivate you.