Make Working From Home Work for You
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Break Time
Drawing a boundary between work time and leisure time is often one of the most difficult problems for home workers. It’s all too easy just to check your email one more time or make one more phone call, and before you know it, it’s 10pm. Put a routine in place: start work at the same time every day if possible, plan proper breaks throughout the day, and be disciplined about your finishing time. Take a break for lunch and, if possible, get outside and get some fresh air, or at least take some time away from your desk to do something completely different. This will help to keep you fresh and focused.
Family & Friends
You’ll need to be strict with friends and family, too. When you work from home, people can fall into the trap of assuming that you’re always available to chat, go shopping, or help them out. If friends phone for a gossip, tell them that you’re working but you’ll call back when you have your lunch break/at the end of the day. Be prepared to be robust about this: one of the most frustrating things about working from home is that other people sometimes assume you don’t really have a “proper” job – don’t reinforce their prejudices by not taking your work time seriously.
Stay in Touch
Put in place systems to keep you in touch with the office. A daily phone call and/or a weekly meeting will help to keep you involved and make sure you don’t get forgotten about. Try to meet up with colleagues socially from time to time so that you’re kept on the inside track of the office politics and what’s really going on.
Working from home can bring enormous benefits, helping you to juggle other demands, work more efficiently and reduce the stress of commuting. The secret to making it work for you is to be clear about the potential benefits as well as the drawbacks, and to put in place systems and procedures to make sure that you can work as efficiently and effectively as you would in the office. Then all you have to do is work out what you’re going to do with all the time you save!
If you’re considering working from home, starting your own business, or changing any other aspect of your working life, City Life Coaching can help you plan for it properly. We’re currently offering an intensive 2-hour “career audit” for the special price of £175 (normally £250). The price includes one month’s follow-up coaching support by email, to help keep you on track. If you’d like to take advantage of this offer, simply email jenny@citylifecoaching.com quoting “Monster offer”.
