The beauty of working from home for me is/was that I could structure my work around my personal and family needs when required. The essence of any work, whether you do it from home or at work, is self-discipline, commitment, and effectively structuring your work program. Working from home brings two more dimensions, distracted personal focus and your family’s need for attention.
Therefore, working from a home-based office provide unimaginable freedom, but also similarly challenges to do what needs to be done. My list is not necessarily complete because my experience might be different from that of other people.
Vital in working from home or office,
Self-discipline is key to working from home or any work.
Structure your day carefully, preferably similar to your working day.
Practical stuff,
If you are easily distracted by your children and family, position yourself in an area that provides you with the privacy needed to work undistracted. Please do not underestimate the power of social media and the internet in general when working from home.
Try to work early morning or if you are a night person later at night, well, if possible. This time you can exchange to prepare the kids for school or during COVID to have breakfast with them.
I have always dressed as if I am going to work or meeting with a client; in other words, your working clothes.
Break regularly, e.g. I try to break for 10 minutes every two hours, and I taught myself since my school days to take a 30-minute rest/nap/siesta during lunch when I am at home before continuing with work. You may laugh at my 30-minute nap, but if you start early and work in the evenings, then that 30 minutes is gold.
Do not postpone your tasks/activities to the next day, if you went to the park with the kids during your working day, take the time up tonight after they have gone to bed
Remember, time is money, whether you work for yourself or an organization. Working from home often means you can work undisturbed and, as a result, more productive.
No-No’s of working from home,
Only accept critical calls or tasks after hours; this is a difficult one and requires discipline and judgement to not deal with issues immediately, mainly when you work for yourself. It is and was one of my family’s most prominent criticisms, I was fanatic about my clients and responding to the needs of my clients even if we were on the beach during the summer holidays.
Do not work between 5 pm and 9 pm, that is family time.
It is easy to work longer hours when working from home, which is acceptable for short periods similar to what we experience at work, but don’t fall into the habit of not balancing your work and business life.
My mentor taught me that maintaining a balance between your personal and working life is key to your success and that of the people closest to you at a personal and business level. I only realized later in my life the wisdom behind those words.
Enjoy, and if you need advice from an old dog, then feel free to send me contact mail at mdup@dupcon.onmicrosoft.com.
Note: My mentor always said that working for yourself requires commitment, opportunity, unequivocal levels of service and the hunger to have to earn a living. As Psychologists, we propagate that money is not a motivator, but I have learned that when you work for yourself, the drive to earn becomes a key motivator.
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