Working from home – Achieving balance

When you work from home, whether it’s for yourself or for a company, sometimes achieving that work/home balance can be tricky. You have 24/7 access to your email, your cell phone becomes your lifeline, and your office is always there, taunting you, trying to get you to come in, even if for a minute.

So how to you achieve that balance when your work space is your home space?

For starters, make sure you have a designated work space in your home. An office is best, but if you do not have an office, make sure you have a designated area where you have your computer, files, printer etc., so you get in a habit of working only from there. This is important since we are creatures of habit, and you will most likely become accustomed to working from that area. If you work all over your house, things tend to get disorganized or misplaced, and you also create an environment where there is no “you” space or “work” space.

Next, make your home time, home time, and make your work time, work time. Don’t be too available to your family during work hours, and don’t be too available to your clients during family time. There will always be exceptions to this, but make a conscious effort to put 100% into both. Your family and clients both require your undivided attention, so setting boundaries is a good way to make sure you aren’t spreading yourself too thin. Spreading yourself too thin causes us to become frazzled and stressed and that’s not good for anyone involved.

No multitasking! Ah yes, this is a big one. In an age where everything is accessible at our fingertips, we fail to be 100% present in what we are actually doing. I’m guilty of this at times too. What I have come to realize is, this is not an effective method of working, or doing anything for that matter. You need to be present when making deals or helping a client resolve an issue. If you are working on other projects that do not pertain to your client or the task at hand, you are doing yourself and your client a disservice. Working from home is all about time management. We can fit it all in, it just takes organization and scheduling. Which brings me to my next point.

Create a work schedule and stick to it. Have designated times to read and respond to emails. Set times to make and take conference calls, times to return calls and most importantly, have a work start and stop time. This can be very difficult especially when you know there is an outstanding project or information you are waiting for. You do not want to find yourself having little or no separation between your off time and on time. Yes, there will be days you will need to begin earlier or work later or even switch up the order in which you do things, but staying on a schedule and organized is imperative to staying focused and not becoming burnt out. Sometime working from home can have you zig zagging throughout the day. A schedule will help to prevent this.

Working from home can be a beautiful thing as long as you keep yourself organized and on a schedule. Organization is probably the most important factor in all of this. Following these guidelines can definitely help your day to run more smoothly, and keep you from feeling like you never stop working. You will see it also reduces your stress levels. Once you become “too” available, a cycle of 24/7 working begins, and it really does create a very stressful environment. It’s okay to unplug. We need it for survival.