If you find yourself working from home, then you may be struggling to balance your work time and family time. Working from home can be a stressful experience, especially when you have small children, a spouse, or even pets around that can make your quarters seem cramped and noisy.
A crowded and hectic workspace makes it nearly impossible to focus and get through your day. To work from home successfully, and without driving yourself crazy, you need to set in place a few rules to make it easier on everyone.
Set Aside a Space for Working
Make yourself a designated place to work. If it is at all possible, set aside work space in a different room that you can use as your office. Being able to access your computer and other necessary items somewhere where you can get away and close the door to maintain some privacy and quiet will go a long way to making your work-from-home experience more enjoyable.
When it isn’t possible to retreat to a separate room, you should still have an assigned work area even if that means setting up your laptop on your kitchen table.
Don’t do your work from your living room couch or your bedroom. You need to have a separation of work and home both physically and in your mind.
Create a Schedule
You should make yourself a schedule and stick to it. Decide what your work hours will be if your employer does not have required hours.
Make sure that your family members understand that while you are on the clock you are not available for the household chores and issues unless it’s an emergency.
Try your best to stay on schedule. When it’s time for your day to start be ready and waiting at your computer, and when your shift is over logout and go about the rest of your day.
Organize and Prioritize
An important part of working from home is making sure that you stay organized and keep your workspace neat and tidy. Avoid clutter that can cause confusion and lost work.
Lists are a great way to keep track of your tasks and responsibilities. Prioritize work in order of urgency and importance so you can get to the items that need to be done first. Lists will also help you to stay on task and observe your progress to keep you motivated to keep going.
Take Breaks
Be careful not to burn yourself out. In many cases of people working from their own homes, they tend to work longer hours and skip over breaks and lunches. Don’t do this. Stop and get up to walk around every once in a while.
Take at least one break every morning and afternoon with a half hour to hour break for lunch. Use your breaks to get away from your computer. If possible, go outside for a quick walk and some fresh air to get your blood flowing again and clear your mind so you’re ready to get back at it when the break is over.
Reward Yourself
Even though you are working from home, you still need to take a vacation once in a while. Reward yourself for your hard work with a fun trip.
Plan that dream vacation so you can get away and enjoy some time to relax. You could even use your vacation time for an important life event like cruise weddings or the renewal of vows. This can be a great way to celebrate with the people that you love and enjoy a vacation in luxury.
Occasional vacations and other rewards keep you from overextending yourself and becoming burned out. Too much hard work without a break is overtaxing and will negatively affect your productivity in the long run.
It is very possible to successfully work from home if you take some steps and lay out some ground rules to make the transition easier for yourself and your family. Everyone will appreciate these guidelines and they will help you to thrive in your career while surrounded by family.
