I always want people to keep their overheads as low as possible
when they're starting a business, and starting up from home
rather than paying out for office space can be a great way
of doing this. However, starting a business from home can
have its disadvantages as well.
Set clear boundaries
A lot of businesses are run by people who
want to have a flexible lifestyle and working from home definitely
suits this. If you're a parent and you want to work school hours, and then do a little more after the children have gone to bed, working from home can fit really well with having breaks in your day, or working in the evenings.
Problems can come, however, when there are no clear boundaries
between your home life and your work life. This can lead to
working late because there’s no set home time when you’re
already home, or the opposite problem of not getting settled
into work mode because there’s always something that needs
doing.
Why we procrastinate
If you’re prone to procrastination, working from home
can always provide excuses to not get on with the work in hand.
Because procrastination usually comes about when we step outside
our comfort zone, there is a big tendency to put things off
when starting up a new business, so this situation can be double
trouble.
Make sure that you get into an effective routine when
you work from home – set out what hours you’re going
to work, and have some kind of ritual which switches you between
work and home life. One client who works from home finishes
each evening and washes up when she finishes work. She says
that this helps her to clear her head of thoughts about work
and start thinking about the evening ahead. Another business owner recommended
going out of the house in the morning at a set time, and doing
their to do list sitting on the beach, before returning to the
house feeling energised and ready to get on with the day.
Working too much makes you unproductive
If you have the opposite problem of working too much and never
leaving the computer, make sure that you do leave the house
at least once a day. A little walk, going to the shops for a
paper, or a midday yoga class will bear dividends because it
will make you more productive than if you just grind away for
the whole day. Remember that you need to move away from the
computer and do something completely different every 45 minutes
to avoid damaging your hands, and because our poor little human
brains can’t really concentrate for more than 45 minutes.
Get your own space
It's important that you have some sort of dedicated space which is just for working.
If you convert a spare room to an office make sure that it is
an office not just a room with your computer in. Some people
have built separate garden offices, which helps with the perception
that you're going to work now. If you have limited space, and
have your workspace in a bedroom or a corner of the living room,
make sure that it's marked off from the rest of the living activities
psychologically it's vital that you have an area which is
specifically for work. Make sure that you have everything that
you need within easy reach, it's very easy to become disorganised
if you don't have a place for everything, and you'll waste so
much time if you're constantly looking for bits of paper with
phone numbers on or that file. Look into small workstation units
that incorporate filing and storage space and can be closed
up when you've finished work for the day.
Make sure that you keep your other life separate from your working
life. If you worked in a “real job” you wouldn’t
have a pile of ironing, or a bunch of toys sitting next to your
desk would you? So don’t do it from your home either.
It will distract you and drive you crazy, and you need to feel
fully professional when the phone rings with someone wanting
to talk about that big tender, and that’s difficult to
do with a giant teddy staring at you.
Other people
If you live with other people, ensure that they understand that
you are at work now. Close the door on them and forget about
them for the time that you're working. This can be particularly difficult if you have your family
around you. Partners and children need to know that you’re
working and cannot be disturbed, and you need to prioritise
your work and see it as important enough to take the time to
get absorbed into what you are doing without worrying about
domestic details. Remember that you are important and that your
business is important.
Julia Chanteray
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