Working from home has its advantages and disadvantages. Working in a home office and maintaining work-life balance requires preparation and regular evaluation of your work practices. If you are not careful, your home office can take over your life. By following a few guidelines, you can avoid burnout as you take advantage of working at home.
Setting Up a Home Office
It is important to set up the home office properly in the beginning. A poor work environment will only harm productivity. So, make sure that you are comfortable and have all of the tools that you need to do your job well.
The Setup:
- Location: Choose a separate room or a location that is out of the way. This will help prevent distractions and create a professional work environment. Make sure that it is well-lit.
- Equipment: Be sure that you have everything you need, and equipment is functional.
- Clear out the office: Remove items from the office that are not work-related.
- Organize: Organize supplies so that they are accessible, easy-to-use, and functional.
- Make it a workspace: Limit the office use for work..
Setting Boundaries
It is difficult to establish boundaries in a home office. People do not see a home in the same way they see a traditional work office. Since you do not have company policies to prevent distractions, you need to create your own boundaries. You can base these boundaries on the rules and boundaries of a previous workplace. For example, do not take personal calls while you are working. Expect people to challenge your boundaries. You must stick to them, however, in order to be effective at your job and keep your work life in balance.
Dealing with Distractions
It is easy to become distracted while working from home. There is no one to supervise, and your family can easily forget that you are working. Fortunately, a few safeguards will help you avoid distractions.
Avoiding Distractions:
- Limit access: Ask your family to stay out of the office while you are working. Children, partners, and even pets can be very distracting.
- Use a timer: Schedule breaks for activities like social networking. Do not constantly surf the Internet.
- Turn off the television: Even if you need a television for work, it does not have to be on all the time. Turn it off to avoid distractions.
- Set aside time for phone calls: You cannot allow yourself to be distracted by every call.
Make a Schedule and Stick to It
Working from home gives you the chance to create your own schedule, but you do need to create one. Otherwise, you may have trouble accomplishing tasks on time. Most people find a schedule that sets tasks for each hour helpful, but you may use any format or time block you like.
Example:
• 8:00 am - Breakfast
• 8:30 am - Return emails
• 9:00 am - Call clients
• 9:45 am - Break
• 10:00 am – Research
• 11 am - Prepare reports
• Noon - Lunch
• 1 pm - Online staff meeting
• 2 pm - Return phone calls
• 2:45 pm - Break
• 3 pm - Complete paperwork
• 4 pm - Brainstorm ideas for upcoming project
• 4:30 pm - Schedule tomorrow's tasks
No matter how you create your schedule, you must stick with it. It is too easy ignoring your schedule when no one is monitoring your performance.
Until next time...
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