Tips for Working from Home
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| Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash |
Hanifmr.com - I've been working in my own office for several years now.
During this time I mostly managed to concentrate on my work and of course I also learned a lot.
Therefore I would like to pass on some tips and experiences to everyone who also works at home.
Work from Home
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| Home Office Tips - Distractions, Setup, Motivation, Planning, and More |
For many, it sounds like a dream to work from home. After all, you can't just do this as a self-employed person or as a freelancer. More and more employees are also agreeing to work from home with their employer.
Of course, this has great advantages. You save the commute, you don't have a supervisor directly behind your neck and you can decide much more freely about working hours.
But this also comes with responsibility, because not everyone can muster the necessary discipline to work effectively from home.
Therefore, the following tips should be seen more as suggestions and inspiration. This works better for one person than for another.
Tips for Working Effectively
Here are a few tips and suggestions for working more effectively from home. The tips are not sorted.
Attitude
First of all, you have to find the right attitude towards work from home. If you have just started your own business, it may be very difficult to concentrate on working at home for long periods.
In the beginning, I had the problem myself that the television and the DVD collection were damn tempting and I kept going into the living room and watching TV while working. Unsurprisingly, of course, that turned out to be nothing.
I also had to get the right attitude first. This means that you become aware of yourself that you are independent and that you are solely responsible for your success.
Plan and Goals
This also includes setting goals and having a plan. That doesn't have to be a precise plan, because as a self-employed person you will and have to improvise a little anyway.
Still, you should be aware of where you are going. So I imagine what it will look like in a year or two. Where do I want to stand then? What do I want to earn? How many customers do I want to look after? etc.
From these goals, a plan emerges as to how one would like to get there.
And from these main goals and the plan you should make small sub-goals that you can implement in a short time. Many such small sub-goals are much easier to implement and are more motivating than if you always have only one big goal in mind.
Separation from the Private
Now we come to the practical tips. If you work at home, it is much more difficult to separate the private from the professional. Those who go to work come into a completely different environment and then quickly get into the work mood.
If you work from home you should try to separate your personal and professional life as much as possible. So if possible an extra room.
You should also shower/wash and get dressed for work. I don't go to my home office in a suit and tie. But I also don't sit in front of my desk in my sleeping clothes or a bathrobe.
Family and Relatives
It is often not so easy to make it clear to your own family, relatives, and friends that you work at home. Anyone who has not yet worked properly from home cannot imagine working at home for 8 hours.
Therefore, you should make it clear to everyone as early as possible that you cannot just do this and that in between. And you don't have an all-inclusive time when the others think of something.
You have to be very tough at times and make it clear that you work from x to y o'clock.
Working Hours
One of the biggest problems is stamina/discipline. It's nice that you don't have to use the time clock in the morning and that no boss watches what you are doing.
However, this is also a problem for many home workers. You let it slide.
To avoid this, you should set fixed working hours. For me, these are given by the fact that I take my wife and child away early and collect them again in the afternoon. In between is my core working time and during this time I usually don't do anything else.
Routine
Routines are one trick you can use to beat your inner weaker self and get in the mood for work.
You should just remember certain processes and repeat them over and over again. So I shower early first and then take the family away. When I come back I'll make coffee and tidy up the kitchen. This has the advantage that I immediately have a little sense of achievement because I like it when the kitchen is tidy, as I am also the family chef. :-)
Then I make breakfast and read emails, Twitter, and feeds. This is my morning ritual. The advantage of this: I get in the work mood without straining my brain very early on. I always need a little before my “engine is warm”.
Of course, this is just my daily morning routine. Everyone has to find their routines. I have collected some tips for starting the day in the article “This is the best way to start the working day”.
Worktable and Chair
Many home workers sit at the kitchen table or in the corner of the bedroom on a folding chair. Of course, it is also true here that everyone has to find the optimal solution for themselves, but a real desk and a comfortable work chair are a great advantage.
If you work at your PC or desk all day, you should make sure that you have good seating, otherwise, you will quickly get back problems.
Tidy Workplace
I know creative people with terribly messy desks. It may be that they feel more comfortable with it. But I still believe that most people are more effective when they have a tidy workplace.
Just give it a try and clear everything off the desk that is not part of the current task. You can concentrate much better and then you also have the feeling that you can do something. When the desk is full of different documents, there is no end to it and that often harms motivation.
Separate Computers
If possible, separate computers should be used. So one computer for work and one for leisure, e.g. games.
Or you have a game console and only use the PC for work. That lowers the distraction.
And it has another advantage. I only play Wii and PS3. And for that, I “have” to go into the living room and thus really call it a day.
Current
DSL technology, an up-to-date computer, a fast printer, a functioning mouse, etc.
It is hard to believe how many desk workplaces are equipped with old technology. Now and then I see this with customers of mine. And then you can see how much time these people waste waiting for me or with problems.
An office computer doesn’t cost much anymore and as a home worker, you don’t have a lot of other investment costs besides the computer. So you shouldn't skimp on it.
In addition, you should regularly back up your data.
To Do List
To Do lists are also a matter of taste. I like them and I make a new one every day. Either the evening before or in the morning at breakfast.
I try to follow the 3 x 3 rule:
- 3 tasks that absolutely must be done.
- 3 tasks can also be done today.
- 3 tasks that I still do as a bonus when I'm done with the others.
I have to do the first 3. When I have achieved this, I am quite satisfied with myself. :-)
And it's best to start with the worst of the job. “Eat that frog” is what it means in English. That means something like “If you swallow a frog first thing in the morning, nothing worse can happen to you that day”.
On the other hand, those who postpone the worst tasks always have them in the back of their minds and will not be satisfied.
Appointments
In my experience, I find it difficult to get into the working mood again on the PC if I have an appointment beforehand. And it's also hard for me to concentrate when I know I'll have to go to the appointment in half an hour.
That's why I try to put appointments on one day a week and in this way do 2 or 3 appointments in a row.
80/20 Rule
The 80/20 rule states that 80% of the results are achieved with 20% of the effort (time). I try to take this to heart and not get lost in little things.
This is sometimes difficult when you are working on something and you want to do it right. But you should force yourself to carefully consider whether a detailed work is still worth the effort.
Usually, 80% is completely sufficient.
Distraction
Again on the subject of distraction. A television is deadly, and a radio can be very distracting.
Pure music, on the other hand, is often helpful and can have a motivating effect.
One should try to acquire an attitude towards work, as I have already explained above. My mindset is that I'm at work during the day. The living room doesn't exist for me during the day, and neither does my bed.
In addition, distractions like Twitter, e-mail, feed readers, Skype, etc. shouldn't be running all the time. You won't miss a thing if you just look in the morning, at noon and the end of the day.
Quitting Time
For self-employed, it is also often difficult to call it a day in the home office.
I have presented some tips on this in the article “9 tips to get off to a good start in the evening”.
Sleep
I used to sit at the PC for a long time and do something. But in the long run, your concentration suffers and you become less effective.
In addition, your health suffers from too little sleep. Therefore you should take your time and get enough sleep (7-8 hours). Well-rested you can do a lot more.
Breakfast, Lunch, Drinks, and Breaks
I have breakfast every morning. This is a great way to start the day, and an empty stomach doesn't help with work.
I only eat small things at lunch. On the one hand, this is because I usually cook for the family in the evenings and two full warm meals are not exactly beneficial to my figure.
To others, I always get tired after a real hot lunch.
So I love to eat some fruit in between and drink a lot of water, tea and also my morning coffee.
Now and then you should stretch your feet.
Software
Many little helpers can relieve you of work and save time.
I recently presented a nice free tool with which you can install over 100 freeware programs from all possible areas.
I also have an iPod Touch, for which there are a lot of useful apps. For example, apps with which I can check statistics or read the news. That saves me various visits to websites (sometimes including registration) and thus a lot of time.
External Office or Home Office?
Of course, every self-employed person who works from home will at some point consider renting an external office.
A “real” office has advantages and disadvantages that should be weighed up.
Especially for those who simply cannot work effectively from home, an external office is often the only way to be successfully self-employed.
But you shouldn't let anybody convince you that you can't be self-employed without an external office. I know some successful self-employed people online who work from their home office. An external office is neither a requirement nor a guarantee of success.
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