How to Make Home-Working Work for You

Homeworking can have huge advantages and can be a real opportunity to re-organise your life. There’s no boss standing over you, no long boring meetings to attend and neither do you have to face the daily frustration of a crowded commute.

But without a level of organisation, it’s easy to get side-tracked or lose motivation. Here are five tips to help you maximise your working-from home efficiency:

Keep your office apart from other family areas. Create a dedicated work area where you won’t get distracted. Make it into a private sanctuary. Fill it with plants or artworks and make it a place you enjoy spending time in.
Don’t go into digital meltdown. Only read your emails at certain points in the day, and resist the temptation to go off tangent tweeting or surfing. You could consider using a program called Freedom Internet Blocker which turns off web access for certain periods of time.
Looking professional is still important: Just because you run a business from home doesn’t mean you can’t appear professional. You should rent an office space (see your local Chambers of Commerce) or book a conference room for an important meeting.
Establish a clear work schedule and stick to it. There’s no-one looking over your shoulder reminding you what you need to do, so it can be easy to fritter your time away. At the end of each day make a plan of what you need to do the next day and have it waiting for you on your desk ready for morning so you’ll start motivated. And when you’re in ‘out of office hours’ mode, disconnect yourself entirely from all things to do with work and take proper time out.
Get some human contact: Working from home can be isolating so take time out to meet a friend for lunch or attend networking events.