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4 Secrets to Working From Home

Working From Home Can Be Very Productive

Whether you are employed or you work for yourself, working from home can be very productive, provided you put these four rules into practice.

Family Cooperation

It’s very important that your family understands that when you are working, you are at work and you should not be disturbed. If you have pets, especially dogs prone to bark, make arrangements for them to be away from you during work hours to avoid distractions if your pets cause you to get distracted. If you have young children, it can be difficult to explain that you are at work and you should not be disturbed. Spousal cooperation in that situation is the best case scenario.

Dedicated Workspace

Another must-have ingredient to a productive work-from-home scenario is a dedicated work space. If possible, dedicate a room in your home to be your home office. This is best because you can enter your office and you can leave your office and leave your work. A dedicated home office also helps you to make the family cooperation arrangements discussed above. If you live alone, not having a dedicated home office is more doable because you don’t have to share yourself with others in your homestead. That said, a dedicated home office is the best case scenario even if you live alone.

Technology

If you’re going to work from home, you need to have all the same office tools you would at a conventional office. Surely that includes a PC or laptop, internet connection and a phone. I’m aware that many people work from home using their cell phone. I’m not a fan of using your cell phone as your only phone. There are many affordable VoIP (voice over IP) phone systems that replicate an office phone. If you have employees that work from home, you can each have an extension just as you do in a corporate office. A VoIP phone allows you to avoid dependence on cell towers which sometimes can be unreliable. If you have a lot of conference calls, a VoIP phone works better in the long run. Additionally, a home office needs a printer and a scanner. Lastly, no home office is complete without an espresso coffee machine. These are requisite tools that any home office needs to be productive.

Work Schedule

Lastly, if you want to have a productive work at home experience, you should maintain a routine work schedule. Your work situation is unique to you. But, generally if you work with other businesses maintaining a standard schedule of 9am to 6pm (generally) Monday through Friday is what is expected. Whatever your clients or co-workers expect of you is really the work schedule that you need to maintain to be productive.

Working from home has its perks. The gas savings is great. The attire can be anything you want it to be, unless you participate in video conference calls, in which case you probably need to get out of your pajamas and into some real clothes. These four work-from-home rules are not really rules, but maybe they offer some tips to help you have a productive and enjoyable work-from-home experience. Share your thoughts and experiences below.

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