While your friends think you’re taking naps every day, the truth is that you’re stressing out. You have no rules, no processes, and no administrative assistant.
You also lack snarky co-workers, communal bathrooms, fluorescent lighting, or a commute of any kind! *high five.* Spending time – and money – on a professional work environment isn’t a treat you earn, it’s the first step to success.
Design Your Ideal Space
Whether you have an office or a corner of the living room, dedicate this spot for work only. Sticky notes, yes! A place to hide laundry, no! Buy a chair you want to sit in for hours. Don’t settle for anything less than the perfect desk. Get a wicked coffee machine, and artwork that inspires. Making your workspace appealing makes it easy to take care of business both physically and psychologically.
Work It
Schedule dedicated work time, and gear this to your productive advantage. Do you sit at your awesome desk procrastinating all morning? Book morning meetings and hoard afternoons for office work. If you get antsy set a break-time alarm; give yourself permission to break free and you may find it easier to get lost in your work.
Use To Do lists regularly. Whether you plan your entire day or just order your list by priority, having a visual reminder of what needs to be done will help you retain focus when you get interrupted.
Embrace Distraction
Plan distractions! Do you love morning TV? Perform a task you can do while watching, like filing. Keep a doodle pad and pens handy and let your mind wander while you puzzle out a roadblock. Have a stress ball to occupy your hands while conducting research. And crank up those tunes! You can turn them down if a client calls. As soon as you can’t have something it’s all you want, so embrace the distraction and make it work for you.
The Kids
Your family may not interrupt unless it’s absolutely necessary. You aren’t available to help find that toy or drive your kid to their friend’s house until work-is-over o’clock. If you’re staying at home with young children your work hours might be when your partner comes home, or after the kids are asleep. It’s not a bad idea to hire a babysitter or make arrangements for grandma to take the kids on Mondays; you’re still a great parent.
Email Can Wait
Beware of time-wasters. This is anything from Facebook to emails. Incorporate into your distraction-action plan time to read and answer email, monitor your social media, and let voicemail work for you. All of these things will repopulate infinitely, but your bank account won’t.
Bookkeeping Can’t Wait
It’s tempting to put off your filing and marketing schedule in favour of completing a job early because MONEY! This is the road to disaster. Taking time each week to update your bookkeeping will make tax time easier, and posting on your blog will bring new work your way.
Consider the Co-Working Space
These rent-a-desk offices offer all the comforts of an office without a lease. Whether you need to meet a client or get a change of scenery there are rental options for your needs. Check it out, we bet there’s one near you!
Dream On
And don’t feel guilty about working that afternoon nap into your routine – there are perks to working from home!
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