Staying Focused When You Work At Home

Working at home offers many benefits; some of them are being your own boss and being in control of your schedule. While some people can easily thrive in this type of environment, some people find it hard to stay focused on their business. When there isn't a boss watching over your shoulder, it can be very easy to take time off and procrastinate. Taking a day off to get caught up on your household chores might make you feel like you got something accomplished, but at the end of the week when you see the piles of work on your desk you will end up feeling overwhelmed and stressed. It may sound like a cliché, but in order to stay productive and keep your stress levels low, you will need to "plan your work and work your plan". Designate your "business hours" - the time you are going to work each day and let your friends, family, and customers know when those times are. Just because you work from home doesn't mean it is ok for family to stop over or friends to call and chit-chat. Politely remind them that you are working and that you will get back to them later. If you have young children at home, set up a special toy box filled with toys they can only play with when you are working. Save your junk mail and put it in a shoe box; when it is time for you to do some administrative work, get the shoe box out and give your children some crayons and let them go through "their mail" and "do their paperwork". Or you can hire a teen-ager to come over at the house and play with the kids while you get some work done. Each night, make a "to-do list" of tasks you want to accomplish the next day, and keep it where you can see it. This will keep you focused on what needs to be done, and keep you from getting sidetracked. Block out a half hour to respond to email; you don't need to necessarily reply to each email as soon as you get it. And try not to get caught up with surfing the web. That can be a big time-waster! Be realistic with your goals - you are not Superwoman, so don't overwhelm yourself. Accomplishing a set amount of tasks each day will lead to long term success!