Working from home is something that many people would like to do; it has been presented as a way to create a good work/life balance. However, many are surprised to find that it’s not as easy to work from home as it’s often presented. Here’s one thing that you can do to help you get off to a great start if you’re new to the world of telecommuting.
Staying productive can be challenging in any setting. If you work in a corporate office, it’s mostly people who can interrupt your work time. If you have a home office, it can be a variety of things – housework, errands or television and sometimes even social media.
Working from home takes a lot of discipline, and it’s even harder to do for newbies. You’ll always feel as if you have plenty of time to do the work, so you’ll run errands, do housework or hang out at the park. Time can get away from you quickly, and you’ll soon realize that the deadline crept up way too fast.
The key thing to do, to ensure that you get your work done, is to set office hours. Yes, that’s right, even though you’re your own boss now, and can work anytime that you choose, you should still set a specific time to begin and end work.
Your paying work should take precedence over your housework and errands. Treat your work time no differently than you did when you had to punch a clock when you worked in corporate. Make it a priority to ensure that it gets done and on time. That doesn’t mean that you can’t have flexibility but do those things outside of office hours.
