How to Work from Home
By Therese Skelly, Business Coach, Marketing Strategist, and
Owner of ‘Happy In Business’
How to work from home, stay sane, and grow your
business at the same time!

It’s the big entrepreneurial dream to be able to get up when you want, slowly move through the day, head into your home office, and bask in the sweet freedom you have created after leaving that dreaded J-O-B of yours.

I hate to be a myth buster, but sometimes the thing we desire can also make us lose focus and freedom if we aren’t careful.  That’s why in this article I’ll talk about ways to work from home, but maximize your productivity.

The good part about working from home is that you have options about when you work.  The bad part is that there are no boundaries!  That means that when you get up at 2am to grab a drink of water, it’s very tempting to just check one more email.  And instead of leaving your work on your desk and clocking out at 5pm on Friday, there is nothing to stop you, so with working at home, you probably tend to do even more.

This is exactly why many business owners suffer from overwhelm.  There is no longer the distinction between ‘family time’ and ‘work time’ when the computer is in the living room, your phone is attached to your belt, and every time you get a Twitter message, it’s dinging your Blackberry!  We have become a tribe of constantly working, perpetually burned out people who have slowly traded away non-work time.

So how does a person who loves what they do manage all this?

Two words – SCHEDULE IT! 
I know us…we are slippery.  Being in love with our businesses leads up to tend to want to stay till every last email is returned, every article is written, every report read, etc.  And without the strong external controls in place, we are at risk.

So my advice to you is to block in personal time, and block in work time.  Then stick to it like it’s sacred.  Actually it is sacred.  Your time for renewal or recharging should be considered at the top of the priority list, and not squeezed out if you can cram in a few extra hours.

Get your calendar out now and block out for the next 90 days, all the personal time you want to take.  Trust me…if you don’t schedule it, it will get eaten up, so do that ASAP.

The next two words – SAY NO!
One of my favorite saying is, “No is a complete sentence.”  Meaning, it’s ok to say no because it’s just not what you want to.  Period.  No justifying, no bargaining, just no.  As a business owner you may need to get a bit ruthless about where you put your time, so you will have to begin training people around you what you will do and then set up some boundaries around that.  They may push a bit, but eventually they will come to honor your new way of working.

The last two words – ANALYZE IT!
With everything in business, you have to look at the return on your investment.  Imagine that your time is the biggest commodity of all.  Does the way you spend your time bring you joy?  Is it bringing in revenue?  Are you busy but not productive?  By getting real with yourself and analyzing where you spend your time and what results you are getting, you’ll be able to work on the high payoff activities and drop what’s not working so well.  The trick here though is to get real!  Then get some boundaries, and then map out when you’ll work.  Sounds simple, but it’s not.  But it is really worth doing so you keep enjoying the work you do.  And if you are happy and productive, you’ll grow!

Big Blend Radio - Therese Skelly was a featured guest on The Success Express radio show on February 3, 2010. To meet the rest of the guests and listen to the entire show, please click here. To listen to Therese's interview, please double click on the Play Button below.