Working at home has its own set of responsibilities, like working with freelancers, coordinating shipments with suppliers, managing remote workers, and keeping on top of client relations. Your lunch break and the 15 minutes here and there you walk away from your office are the perfect times to complete extra tasks, clean, or even make money. We discuss how to best optimize your time so none of your precious minutes during the week are wasted.
Earn Extra Dollars Apart from Your Business
First off, here are some actionable ways to earn income via your mobile phone or outside while you take a breather:
Fill Out Surveys Online – There are many companies sourcing the opinions of certain demographics related to a large number of topics. These surveys may relate to household products, cars, cooking items — many different entities you could give valuable feedback on. These companies are looking to grow their offerings or improve upon what they are selling in stores. By filling out the surveys, you can make a little income and it can also be therapeutic to express yourself and make a difference for these businesses.
Play Games Online – When engaged in responsibly, you can make significant passive capital by playing games online. When searching for one, use key phrases like online casino Canada real money to find legitimate businesses. It really depends on the country you’re in whether it’s legal to play online. Make sure to check the laws in your area. You can find a good website by typing in your country name along with the type of casino game you’re interested in, so you don’t waste your time, as this should be enjoyable for you as well.
Walk Other People’s Animals – Neighbors down the block may work full-time and far away from their home. You can make income by walking their pups during your downtime for 20 minutes. You will get a bit of exercise and make some cash, while taking care of animals. This form of supplemental income is very rewarding, and will keep you positive and productive for the rest of the workday. There is an opportunity for good money here, because once your other neighbors hear about your service, and get feedback from their neighbor friends, they’ll be calling upon you too.
Spend Your Free Time Cleaning
Another good way to utilize your work breaks is by keeping your workspace, or home office, spotless and organized. Unlike the typical workplace in office buildings where there are janitors and custodians who handle the cleanliness and proper maintenance of office furniture and equipment, at home, you are pretty much in charge of picking up after yourself.
Why bother keeping a home office clean and tidy? There is no one to criticize you if you have a cluttered desk or workstation since you are practically your own boss. Well, an organized and well-maintained workspace can have a huge impact on your work productivity, as well as on your health. It also will affect the happiness of your employees. Think about it; you are essentially spending a huge chunk of your time each day in that confined space, sweating it out while working hard. Would you or your employees really be comfortable working in such an unsightly and messy office environment, even if it’s in your own home?
What many individuals who work at home fail to consider is the fact that a cluttered home office can have an effect on a staff’s workflow. In addition, keeping a dirty and unhygienic office space could potentially put you at risk of catching unwanted bugs or viruses that will essentially hold back your work output. This is actually one of the reasons why the term “ergonomics” is closely associated with workstations and the office environment.
The following are several tips that can be quite useful in keeping your home office as functional and orderly as possible:
Tidying Up on a Daily Basis Provides a Healthier Working Environment – Cleaning and tidying should be a daily task and not a spur of the moment kind of thing. Dust settles virtually anywhere. Allotting a few minutes of your time to do a little dusting can save you a lot of trips to the doctor. Keep your ventilation system maintained, so as to ensure good air quality. Invest in plants as well to keep the oxygen flow consistent.
Prioritization Begets Order – In any office environment, prioritizing is essential. Almost every office task involves some sort of paperwork, even in this digital age. You might be a blogger, an Internet marketer, or an online entrepreneur; up to a certain extent, you may still find yourself doing nominal paperwork. Perhaps you’re note-taking. With that said, cleaning up an office should start with the proper filing of all documents and other relevant papers.
Minimum Clutter Makes for Better Working Conditions – Any office worker knows that office clutter is virtually unavoidable. However, with a little effort on your part, you can keep the mess at a minimum. For instance, who actually uses half a dozen pens and pencils? Who keeps a handful of rubber erasers and pencil sharpeners? One or two of each of those objects is actually enough. You don’t need to hoard a box full of stationary or paperclips in your office, do you?
Go Bags Are Not Just for Frequent Flyers – Things that you normally carry with you when you leave your office should be placed in one location. Objects like your wallet, keys, mobile phone, and Bluetooth earpiece should have their own space in your office, preferably next to a power outlet or phone/PDA dock for charging. This way, if you have to go meet a client or pick up the kids, you won’t waste precious time trying to find your car keys or your wallet.
If you take the time during your work breaks to establish a clean and orderly office space, doing work will be much more comfortable and stress-free for you and your employees. You will also become more efficient and productive. And if they get the chance to visit your workspace, your clients may even praise you for it!
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