12 Successful Work at Home Tips

There are many pros and cons to working from home.  For some, being able to work at home is the best solution to balancing work and family.  Although there are other benefits such as avoiding long commutes and office politics, working at home is not for everyone.  This work option opens up new opportunities, especially to mothers who want to be home with their kids, but also requires a great deal of motivation, organization and self-discipline. 

Here are a few work at home tips to make the experience a more successful one… 

Stick to a regular schedule.  When working from home, it is important to stick to a regular schedule, but that schedule may be different depending on what type of work you do.  If you have clients that expect you to be available during certain hours, then make sure you’re not out running errands during that time.  If you are more flexible as to when you can work, then decide how many hours a day or week you plan to work and determine ahead of time when you are going to get those hours in.  If you leave it up to “when I have time” to finish work-related tasks, you’ll usually come up short for time.

Segregate work time and family time.  Working from home is not easy.  Although many of us make the decision to work from home so that we can still be home for our kids and be more available to our family, it is often difficult to separate work time from family time.   In order to be successful, you need to be sure to set clear limits on when it’s time for work and when it’s time for family.  It’s great if you can schedule work activities for when your kids are in school, napping or with a sitter, but that is not always possible, especially if you have young ones.  If you need to work at times that your kids are around, define clear rules and limits as to when they can have your attention, whether they are allowed in your office and what they can touch, what they must do when you’re on the phone, etc.  They may have to be reminded of the rules, but if you have a clear set, they will eventually learn to live by them.  It is important to remember, too, that when it is time for family time, work is over.  Don’t interrupt family activities with phone calls, emails, etc.  This is not always easy to do either, because work is always there, but it is important to learn to ‘leave work at the office’ when your work time is done.

Create a dedicated workspace.  Ideally it is best to have a dedicated home office with a door that you can close to keep out distractions when you’re working, and then close at the end of your work day so you can leave work behind.  Although this is not always an option, it is beneficial to at least have a dedicated space in which to work.  This helps you to stay organized and focused and keeps family members from getting into your ‘work stuff’.  Try to make the space inviting, bright and comfortable.  You will be more apt to be productive if you are working in a space that you like.  Remember that unlike a regular office, you do not spend much time walking from place to place or connecting with colleagues, so you need to be happy with where you are working so you are willing to stay there as long as is needed and remain focused.

Make sure to take breaks and move around.  If you work from home on a regular basis, it is imperative that you take the same breaks that you would if you were working outside of the home.  Schedule lunch breaks and other quick breaks to leave your desk and move around.  Since there are no other employees to talk to or offices to walk to, use your break time to play with your kids if they’re around, take a quick walk outside or around the house, or make a quick phone call to a friend (but decide ahead of time how long you are going to give yourself before you go back to work).  You need to stretch, eat and get away from your desk but keep the breaks within pre-defined limits.

Set specific goals on a daily and weekly basis.  It’s sometimes hard to motivate yourself when you’re working from home because there is no one looking over your shoulder or no one to answer to.  Although there are some great benefits to working from home, it usually requires quite a bit more self motivation and self discipline in order to make it work.  If you write down your goals, you become more accountable.  Be sure to also periodically reward yourself for meeting specific goals and deadlines.

Let your kids do age appropriate tasks to help you.  If your children are around at times when you work, try to give them age appropriate tasks to help you out, if that’s at all possible.  It gives you time to connect with them while you are working, makes them feel needed, and gives you a bit of help.  If there is nothing that they can really do that would help you out, see if you can give them some ‘mock work’ to do alongside you so they get to see you in action and learn what it means to work.

Take advantage of times to work when the kids are at school, napping, or in bed.  Although we’d all love to think that we can always have things fall into place just as we would like, we know that this is not always the case, especially when kids are around.  The best laid plans are sure to implode at some time during a cranky period or when you’re under a strict deadine. You can’t always count on them to be quiet when you need them to be or to not distract you when you’re on the phone, so it’s best to try to do as much work as possible when the kids are not around.  Plan your schedule around their school time, nap time, or other times when they are busy or distracted.  If you have older kids and spend a lot of time waiting for them at sports practices or dance class, designate that time to do smaller tasks and keep a folder with you in the car to take advantage of the uninterrupted time.

Don’t check email all day long.  Many of us waste lots of valuable time by checking email on a constant basis.  Make it a habit to only check and respond to your emails at certain times during the day.  Same goes for surfing the web.  If you’re looking for something specific, don’t allow yourself to easily get sidetracked.  This is a huge time drain.

Get a laptop and wireless modem, if possible.  Having a laptop and wireless internet makes you a lot more flexible when working from home.  It allows you to be with the kids if needed (or wanted) and still be able to work in any part of the house that they are in or even go outside.  It also allows you to enjoy a change of scenery when needed by moving to a different room for a different perspective or taking your computer on the road and going to the local coffee shop or library for not only a new atmosphere, but to see some other humans.

Check caller ID or let phone go to voicemail.  As a mom working from home, it is often difficult to convince friends or others that know you that you really work.  People that wouldn’t call to interrupt you at the office think nothing of calling you during the day just to chat, to see if you can do them a favor or meet them somewhere.  If you don’t want to have to keep explaining that you’re working, just don’t answer the phone.  By checking caller ID or letting the phone go to voice mail, you can return calls when you are done working or during a time that you need a break.

Limit distractions.  If it’s time to work, then work.  Just because you’re home doesn’t mean that you can also throw in laundry, turn on the TV because there’s a great segment on Oprah,  or start getting dinner ready.  Unlike leaving to go to work in an office, there are many other chores staring you in the face when you work from home.  Try not to let distractions get the best of your work day.

Learn to be flexible.  The best plans are made to be broken.  Working from home allows you a lot more flexibility than working in an outside office does, but it also requires you to be a lot more flexible, too.  The key to being successful when you work from home is figuring out what works best for you and then learning to be flexible when everything doesn’t go as planned.

When you work at home you can enjoy wonderful opportunities and an increased quality of life.  However, it definitely requires a lot of dedication and commitment to make it work well.  I wish you the best of luck in finding the proper balance to make it work for you!