Taking the plunge and resigning your corporate job – and your commute – is a big deal. You may have daydreamed for years about working from home and you’ve finally found the time to do it. Welcome to the working from home club – if you’re working for yourself, it can feel terrifying to take a huge leap like that. However, it’s not as simple and wonderful as you’d like to imagine it would be.
Home working has tons of advantages, from the availability of the refrigerator, to the freedom to set your own schedule. You could complete that basement conversion and set up the office, or simply be there for the workmen and know that your home is safe while things are renovated. However, when you work from home, you may find it much harder to keep to the schedule you set yourself. You also may not find it as easy as you’d hoped to remain productive. The good news is that there are things that there are five golden rules for working from home that can help you to do better at your job.
- Rule 1: Set A Workspace
You need one specific area in which you work in the home. You need a separate area in the house to work with confidence and concentration, and that means getting an office set up. It’s hard enough to keep the work and home lines separated without them blurring into each other all the time. When you set up a space to work exclusively, you are setting yourself up for success.
- Rule 2: Make Work Simple
Take some time to make work manageable. If you set aside a couple of hours in the morning and the evening, you can get your work done in two pieces. Trying to aim too high too quickly can exhaust you and be too overwhelming all at the same time. Compact your sessions and make time for other things and you’ll find it far easier to manage.
- Rule 3: Get Out
Just because you work from home, doesn’t mean that you must stay in the home at all times. There are plenty of other places that you can work, from shared offices to coffee shops. It may sound counterproductive, given that the goal is working from home, but working from home gives you freedom to work from wherever you like. You are no longer hemmed into an office space! Embrace it!
- Rule 4: Socialise
Being social is usually not the goal in the office, but you’re not in the office anymore. Being social is a necessary part of the day and when you work from home you often don’t have anyone to talk to through the day. So, the best idea is to get out and about and see people. Meet clients, get lunches booked in and get out of the house. It’s the best way!
- Rule 5: Log Your Activity
By keeping a log of your activities day by day you can be ready to pick up where your day ended without trying. Think of it like a diary for work that makes sense to help to guide your day.
