Working from Home – A Blessing or a Curse?
Working from Home – A Blessing or a Curse?
--Anonymous
If you are among the increasing number of individuals who work from home, you know that it has some wonderful benefits – no traffic and parking hassles, no office politics to drag you down, nobody looking over your shoulder, you can wear your house slippers to work, and you can set flexible work hours. But these same great benefits come with drawbacks – a sense of isolation, no external pressure to keep you motivated and on task, and no limit to your work hours. In essence, if you are not careful you can easily find yourself “at work” all the time.
With some good planning, it is possible to reap the benefits and reduce the drawbacks of working from a home office. Here are 10 tips to help:
1. Begin with the big picture in mind. Clarify what needs to happen in the next three years in order for you to feel like your life has progressed in the way that you want it to.
2. Plan and organize your week so you are focused on your priorities – both professional AND personal ones. Do you find yourself putting things off that are important to you because you have so many urgent tasks that need your attention? Do you look back at the end of the day with regret and wish that you had spent your time focusing on more important things ... such as time with your family, time for self-care, or time to work on an important project that has no deadline? Being technically proficient in your business or profession will only get you so far … especially if your life gets out of balance in the process.
We are all accustomed to making appointments with other people, but not necessarily with ourselves. Because most of us tend to focus on that which is urgent, we tend to put off activities that are important but have no deadline. Schedule “protected time” -- time during the day when you let calls go into voice mail and you don’t check email -- so you can concentrate on activities that are important but not urgent.
W. Clement Stone once said, "No matter how carefully you plan your goals, they will never be more than pipe dreams unless you pursue them with gusto." If interruptions in your home office make it difficult to concentrate, consider going somewhere else to work on important projects requiring concentration.
Be clear about how you choose to structure your week.
* How much free time do you choose to spend away from work?
* How much time do you choose to spend delivering the primary product or service you provide? Are you available evenings and weekends?
* How much time do you choose to spend doing the support activities important to your work?
All of these activities affect each other. If you neglect support activities (returning phone calls, responding to email, follow-up, filing, etc.), things will start slipping through the cracks. Then it becomes difficult to take free time to relax and rejuvenate. Without free time, the quality of what you deliver will suffer. It becomes a viscious cycle!
3. Limit the number of places you post reminders of activities requiring your attention. I recommend that you check these three places daily:
* Your tickler file -- visit my website and search for Tickler File for more information about how to set this up.
* Your contact management program (such as ACT or Outlook) – This can contain your scheduled appointments with others, as well as your scheduled appointments with yourself and reminders for follow-up with others.
* E-mail – Flag the items you need to come back to and do something with.
4. Create a Perhaps List . Most people have stashes of lists in multiple places – several legal pads containing to-do lists, sticky notes plastered on the computer monitor, the wall, the desktop, etc. Instead of writing these ideas down in multiple places, collect all of them in one place.
5. Schedule 10-15 minutes at the end of each workday to organize your work space and review your plans for tomorrow. Psychologists have found that we enjoy our non-work hours much more when we leave the office with an organized desk and a plan for the following day. This is also a good time to check your tickler file for the next day so you can begin mentally preparing for what needs your attention tomorrow.
6. Schedule time with other people. Working from a home office can be isolating. If you need more human contact, build in opportunities that will help you feel more connected to others. Join a service club or networking group, or treat yourself to having lunch or playing a sport once a week with a friend, colleague, or client…whatever it takes to feel more connected.
7. Schedule weekly “admin” time to tend to routine activities that you know need to be done regularly – filing, checking email, returning phone calls, invoicing, paying bills, etc. Although these activities are important, they are generally not urgent…but if they get neglected long enough they will become urgent when you cannot find something you need or a bill does not get paid by the due date.
NOTE: Not all hours are created equal. Pay attention to your own body rhythms. Schedule your “high brain” activities (things requiring creativity, for example) during your best time of day, and schedule the “low brain” activities (the auto pilot stuff) during your low energy time of the day.
8. Page-Up Copy HolderSay NO to activities that are not important to you. If you need a reminder of what to say YES to, consider using a daily checklist and a PageUp Copy Holder that can hold your checklist upright (see photo) so it does not get buried on your desk.
9. Trim the F.A.T. – File, Act, Toss. When you open the mail, immediately make a decision to either FILE away for future reference, ACT on it, or TOSS it.
10. Create a filing system which will enable you to find things quickly, no matter where you filed it. The number one reason people pile instead of file is a fear of never finding it again. You're invited to participate in my FREE upcoming Find Anything in 5 Seconds teleclass and I’ll show you how you can file your papers so you’ll find them in 5 seconds or less.
Working from Home A Blessing or a Curse - To learn more about this author, visit Kathy Paauw's Website.
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"It pays to plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark."
--Anonymous
If you are among the increasing number of individuals who work from home, you know that it has some wonderful benefits – no traffic and parking hassles, no office politics to drag you down, nobody looking over your shoulder, you can wear your house slippers to work, and you can set flexible work hours. But these same great benefits come with drawbacks – a sense of isolation, no external pressure to keep you motivated and on task, and no limit to your work hours. In essence, if you are not careful you can easily find yourself “at work” all the time.
With some good planning, it is possible to reap the benefits and reduce the drawbacks of working from a home office. Here are 10 tips to help:
1. Begin with the big picture in mind. Clarify what needs to happen in the next three years in order for you to feel like your life has progressed in the way that you want it to.
2. Plan and organize your week so you are focused on your priorities – both professional AND personal ones. Do you find yourself putting things off that are important to you because you have so many urgent tasks that need your attention? Do you look back at the end of the day with regret and wish that you had spent your time focusing on more important things ... such as time with your family, time for self-care, or time to work on an important project that has no deadline? Being technically proficient in your business or profession will only get you so far … especially if your life gets out of balance in the process.
We are all accustomed to making appointments with other people, but not necessarily with ourselves. Because most of us tend to focus on that which is urgent, we tend to put off activities that are important but have no deadline. Schedule “protected time” -- time during the day when you let calls go into voice mail and you don’t check email -- so you can concentrate on activities that are important but not urgent.
W. Clement Stone once said, "No matter how carefully you plan your goals, they will never be more than pipe dreams unless you pursue them with gusto." If interruptions in your home office make it difficult to concentrate, consider going somewhere else to work on important projects requiring concentration.
Be clear about how you choose to structure your week.
* How much free time do you choose to spend away from work?
* How much time do you choose to spend delivering the primary product or service you provide? Are you available evenings and weekends?
* How much time do you choose to spend doing the support activities important to your work?
All of these activities affect each other. If you neglect support activities (returning phone calls, responding to email, follow-up, filing, etc.), things will start slipping through the cracks. Then it becomes difficult to take free time to relax and rejuvenate. Without free time, the quality of what you deliver will suffer. It becomes a viscious cycle!
3. Limit the number of places you post reminders of activities requiring your attention. I recommend that you check these three places daily:
* Your tickler file -- visit my website and search for Tickler File for more information about how to set this up.
* Your contact management program (such as ACT or Outlook) – This can contain your scheduled appointments with others, as well as your scheduled appointments with yourself and reminders for follow-up with others.
* E-mail – Flag the items you need to come back to and do something with.
4. Create a Perhaps List . Most people have stashes of lists in multiple places – several legal pads containing to-do lists, sticky notes plastered on the computer monitor, the wall, the desktop, etc. Instead of writing these ideas down in multiple places, collect all of them in one place.
5. Schedule 10-15 minutes at the end of each workday to organize your work space and review your plans for tomorrow. Psychologists have found that we enjoy our non-work hours much more when we leave the office with an organized desk and a plan for the following day. This is also a good time to check your tickler file for the next day so you can begin mentally preparing for what needs your attention tomorrow.
6. Schedule time with other people. Working from a home office can be isolating. If you need more human contact, build in opportunities that will help you feel more connected to others. Join a service club or networking group, or treat yourself to having lunch or playing a sport once a week with a friend, colleague, or client…whatever it takes to feel more connected.
7. Schedule weekly “admin” time to tend to routine activities that you know need to be done regularly – filing, checking email, returning phone calls, invoicing, paying bills, etc. Although these activities are important, they are generally not urgent…but if they get neglected long enough they will become urgent when you cannot find something you need or a bill does not get paid by the due date.
NOTE: Not all hours are created equal. Pay attention to your own body rhythms. Schedule your “high brain” activities (things requiring creativity, for example) during your best time of day, and schedule the “low brain” activities (the auto pilot stuff) during your low energy time of the day.
8. Page-Up Copy HolderSay NO to activities that are not important to you. If you need a reminder of what to say YES to, consider using a daily checklist and a PageUp Copy Holder that can hold your checklist upright (see photo) so it does not get buried on your desk.
9. Trim the F.A.T. – File, Act, Toss. When you open the mail, immediately make a decision to either FILE away for future reference, ACT on it, or TOSS it.
10. Create a filing system which will enable you to find things quickly, no matter where you filed it. The number one reason people pile instead of file is a fear of never finding it again. You're invited to participate in my FREE upcoming Find Anything in 5 Seconds teleclass and I’ll show you how you can file your papers so you’ll find them in 5 seconds or less.
Working from Home A Blessing or a Curse - To learn more about this author, visit Kathy Paauw's Website.
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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