The technology that makes working at home possible can also be the small businessperson’s worst enemy. Your modem allows you a 24-hour connection to the Internet. Your computer is always lurking there in your home office, just waiting to be turned on. You may be tempted to work late at night or weekends just because you can.
Office routines that once told you it was time to eat lunch or pack it in for the day don’t exist at home. So it’s up to you to create them. Set firm start and stop times. Consider self-imposed deadlines on projects to pace yourself. Set appropriate times to have portions done and stick to them.
Decide ahead of time:
– How many hours you will work each day and week.
– What specific hours they will be.
– How many breaks you will take during the day. Do frequent, short breaks work better for you, or are one or two long breaks more effective?
Setting time guidelines for yourself will help minimize overworking. Prioritizing your workload will also help. Every request from a customer or client should be assessed for importance. Remember, even though you’re at home and so is your work, you don’t have to respond to every request equally. You can decide to respond immediately to critical requests and save the less demanding for another time.
